Alexandra Weiss, a research scientist in the Brown Lab since 2009, uses mouse models to study potential therapies for ALS. Alexandra graduated from Boston University with a B.S. degree. She worked as an emergency and critical care nurse at Angell Animal Medical Center before transitioning to research. Her research career began at Tufts Medical Center in the Center for Translational Cardiovascular Research, where she used large animal models to test treatments for cardiovascular diseases. After next working in  the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute as a micro-surgeon in the Mouse Physiology Core, she transitioned to neurology and the use of mouse models to investigate ALS therapies. We were fortunate to recruit Alex; it can safely be said that no one anywhere has more expertise in studying mouse models of ALS (e.g., C9orf72, SOD1, profilin, others). 

Ozgun Uyan, a research associate with Brown Lab since 2013, investigates higher-order organization of DNA folding and DNA-associated chromatin in ALS patients harboring the ALS-causing C9orf72 mutation. He studies how chromatin structure and gene expression differ in stem cell-derived motor neurons from ALS patients and controls. In parallel, he has also pursued projects that address aspects of suppression of ALS-causing genes. In 2009, Ozgun graduated with a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the Izmir Institute of Technology in Izmir, Turkey. He then earned his graduate degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Boğaziçi University in Istanbul (2012) where he focused on genetics of Turkish ALS patients.

Kelvin Acquah immigrated from Ghana in 2017 for college in the United States. He earned a BS degree in Biology at Worcester State University in 2021. He joined the Brown lab as a Research Associate in 2023 where is heavily involved in maintaining colonies of ALS mice, providing a substantial service for the mouse treatment studies. After two years in the lab, Kelvin aspires to continue on to medical school.