PEOPLE
FREDERICK MAXFIELD, PHD
Principal Investigator
Fred Maxfield is the Vladimir Horowitz and Wanda Toscanini Horowitz Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Weill Cornell Medical College.He received a PhD in Chemistry from Cornell University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute. Before coming to Weill Cornell, he was a Professor at NYU School of Medicine and Columbia University Medical Center. He is interested in the use of quantitative methods measure dynamic processes in cells. These studies have included analysis of endosome pH, kinetic mapping of endocytic pathways, and studies of cholesterol transport. Translational applications of these methods include (1) studies of the interactions of macrophages with lipoproteins and with dead cells, (2) analysis of the degradation of Alzheimer’s amyloid plaque by microglia, and (3) development of novel therapies for Niemann-Pick C disease.
SANTIAGO SOLE DOMENECH, PHD
Research Associate
Santiago Solé-Domènech received his Ph.D in Medical Science from Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) in 2012. Before that, he obtained his bachelor degree in Chemistry from Girona University in 2006 (Girona, Spain). Santiago joined the Maxfield lab as a postdoctoral associate in 2013. He is interested in the study of microglia endocytosis, lysosomal pH, and the role played by these processes in Alzheimer’s disease. In the Maxfield lab, Santiago uses intravital and confocal microscopy and various other digital analysis techniques to study lysosomal dynamics and pH, both in-vivo and in-vitro, in microglia. The main goal of Santiago's work is to develop therapies that enhance the degradative capacity of myeloid cells as alternative to amyloid-beta immunotherapy.
NINA PIPALIA, PHD
Research Fellow
Nina received her Ph.D. from Loyola University, Chicago. Her research in the Maxfield lab focuses neurodegenerative diseases like Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) and Alzheimer’s disease. She has expertise in high throughput/ high content screening (HTS/HCS) and assay development. She works on drug discovery and has conducted small molecule screen to identify drug candidate to treat NPC1 disease. Her findings on HDACi as a potential therapeutic agent has resulted in the small limited patient clinical trial at NIH. She has also conducted genome-wide RNAi screen to identify genes involved in cholesterol metabolism. She has and is collaborating on various different projects including stem cell research, Alzheimer’s disease, and Carbon nanotubes as a diagnostic tool for lipid metabolism-related diseases. Nina received her BS in Chemistry and MS in Organic Chemistry Major and Analytical Chemistry Minor from Mumbai University (India).
Additional Postdocs
Xiaoxue Zhang
Jonathan Ma
Noah Steinfeld
Research Technicians
Islam Elsaid
Raksha Narendra