Team Members
Sattar Khoshkhoo, MD
Principal Investigator
Sattar Khoshkhoo is an epileptologist-scientist and the founding director of the epilepsy genetics program at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Sattar obtained his Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Biomedical Research from UCLA where his journey in system's neuroscience started in the labs of Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau and Dr. Alcino Silva. In Medical School at UCSF, he initially worked with Dr. Edward Chang to study the mechanisms of language perception in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy undergoing electrocorticography. Later on he joined the laboratory of Dr. Vikaas Sohal to examine the role of inhibitory neurons in seizure initiation, propagation, and termination using optogenetics and in vivo calcium imaging in a new model for on-demand seizure induction that he developed.
In residency, Sattar continued his work on animal models of epilepsy in the lab of Dr. Robert Hunt at UCI. Later on he joined the laboratory of Dr. Chris Walsh at Boston Children's Hospital as a postdoc to investigate the contribution of brain somatic variation to non-lesional focal epilepsies using human surgical tissue. During his postdoc Sattar made the important discovery that hippocampal somatic variants in Ras-MAPK genes are a causal agent for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, which is basis for his independent research program. Sattar is a recipient of the NINDS K08 Career Development Award, the Doris Duke Medical Foundation Physician-Scientist Fellowship, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Awards for Medical Scientists.
Outside of the lab, Sattar enjoys spending time with his family, camping, hiking, and grilling. Sattar is deeply interested in children's education and jointly with his wife they organize music groups for small children and participate in junior youth empowerment activities.
Staff
Ashton Tillett
Research Assistant
Ashton graduated with a BS in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. His research interests involve using iPSC-derived models of genetic neurologic diseases to evaluate their molecular mechanisms. Outside of the lab, he enjoys hospice volunteering, trying out new restaurants with friends, and hiking.
Emily Lapinskas
Research Assistant
Emily graduated with a BS in Biochemistry & Molecular biology and Psychology from UMass Amherst. Emily focuses on clinical/ translational research and she is interested in understanding the mechanisms of neurological diseases, particularly focal epilepsy. Emily is a plant enthusiast and in her free time she grows house and garden plants.
Yong Shin
Bioinformatician
Yong obtained both his BA in Computer Science and MStat specializing in Bioinformatics, Statistical Genetics, and Biostatistics from Rice University. He is interested in understanding the genetic mechanisms of focal neurological diseases.
Students
Ignacio Mesina, MD
Graduate Researcher
Ignacio is a physician from Mexico who is currently pursuing a master's degree in Clinical Investigation at Harvard. In the lab he contributes to clinical research efforts that interface with epilepsy surgery. In his spare time he delves into the role of artificial intelligence in brain research, actively exploring how novel technologies can enhance the delivery of clinical care.
Rosita Ramirez
Undergraduate Researcher
Rosita is an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts-Boston majoring in Biochemistry. She first joined the lab as part of the Harvard/MIT Equitable Access to Research Training (HEART) program and decided to pursue her senior thesis on genetic mechanisms of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.
Fhasal Alam
Undergraduate Researcher
Fhasal is an undergraduate student at Harvard University, pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience. His interests lie in pediatrics and neurobiology. In the lab, Fhasal seeks to elucidate the signaling pathways behind genetic neurodevelopmental disorders.