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Ashley Kalinski, Ph.D
 

Principal Investigator

Ashley received her B.A in Biology and Japanese Studies from Adrian College in 2010 and her Ph.D in Biological Sciences from Drexel University in 2015. Her thesis work focused on molecular mechanisms of axonal regeneration under the supervision of Jeffery L. Twiss, M.D., Ph.D. She did a 5 year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan with Roman Giger, Ph.D. There she focused on neuroinflammation in models of traumatic injury. She started her lab in the Department of Biology at Ball State University in August of 2020. 

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I thoroughly enjoy a good cup of coffee and I am currently sampling coffee from roasters all around the world. In my spare time I enjoy spending time at the lake with my family.

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Sam Walsh
 

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Sam is a Senior at Ball State University from Berne, IN. He is majoring in physics and is now delving into biology. After graduating, his goal is to obtain a PhD in medical physics or something similar. He hopes to research cancer or neurodegenerative diseases. Sam is studying how Sarm1 regulates microglia and spinal cord remodeling after injury. 

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He is a coffee connoisseur and loves lifting weights and riding his motorcycle. 

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Lora Estera
 

Master's Research Student

Lora is a Masters in Biology student starting this Spring 2021. She finished her BS in Medical Technology in the Philippines. Moving permanently in the US, she has worked in hospitals as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist. She is pivoting towards a career in research and to work in industry after her program as she aims to complete a Certificate in Biotechnology as well. Lora is classifying the inflammatory state in aging mice after peripheral nerve injury.  

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In her free time, she enjoys yoga and listening to podcasts.

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Emily Desai
 

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Emily is a Junior at Ball State University from Greenwood, Indiana. She is double majoring in Pre-medical Preparation as well as Biology and minoring in Chemistry. Upon completing undergraduate studies, she plans to attend medical school and enter the medical field as a surgeon. Emily is examining the Hippo signaling pathway after peripheral nerve injury. 

 

She is on the women's tennis team at Ball State University and enjoys spending time with her friends and family in her free time. 

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Madison Mathew
 
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Madison is a Junior Biology student at Ball State University with plans of becoming an optometrist. Maddie is characterizing how loss of DLK and SARM1 impacts regeneration and inflammation in the peripheral and central nervous system. 

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Outside of school, work, and lab, she likes to spend time with her family, go to Bible study, and go to the gym. 

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Julianna Bennett
 
Post-Bac Research Assistant

Julianna is a registered nurse who is back at Ball State University to take the courses she needs to attend Medical School. She is currently working on understanding how macrophages impact sensory neuron growth. She has developed a co-culture system to look at axon dynamics in vitro

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Mallory Cross
 
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Mallory is a sophomore Biology student at Ball State University. She is working on ex vivo sciatic nerve injury assays to determine if DLK is locally translated in axons in response to injury or degeneration. 

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