Lab Members
Ellen studied Biochemistry at SUNY Stony Brook and received her MD from SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine. As a medical student, she worked in the laboratory of Gail Mandel of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Ellen did her residency in Psychiatry and fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she worked in the laboratories of Deanna Benson and Joseph Buxbaum. She then completed a research fellowship in Childhood-Onset Neuropsychiatric Disorders at the Yale Child Study Center and received her PhD in Investigative Medicine from Yale University in the laboratories of Matthew State and Antonio Giraldez. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Yale Child Study Center and the Yale Department of Neuroscience.
Shavanie Prashad, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Email: shavanie.prashad@yale.edu
Shavanie earned her B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the City College of New York, then spent a year conducting neuroscience research as an NIH PREP Scholar. She went on to complete her Ph.D. in the Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry program at Yale University. Her thesis focused on how neural circuits transition between behavioral states in C. elegans. Now a postdoc, Shavanie studies how mutations in high-confidence autism risk genes affect brain circuitry and gene expression in live zebrafish. Outside the lab, she enjoys dancing, reading, and watching TV shows.
Sureni Sumathipala, PhD
Post-Doctoral Associate
Email: sureni.sumathipala@yale.edu
Sureni was born and raised in Sri Lanka, where she received her BSc in Zoology. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Miami under the mentorship of Dr. Julia Dallman, where she used larval zebrafish models to study how mutations in Shank3 and Syngap1 affect nervous system development and behavior. She joined Dr. Kurt Marsden's lab as a postdoctoral researcher, continuing her work with larval zebrafish to investigate a rare form of genetic epilepsy known as Cyfip2-related epilepsy. In her new role in the Hoffman lab, she will be using in vivo and transcriptomic-based approaches to identify converging pathways in neurodevelopmental disorders, with a particular emphasis on autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Kasturi Roy, PhD
Research Associate/Lab Manager
Email: kasturi.roy@yale.edu
Kasturi is a molecular and cell biologist passionate about uncovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive human disease. Her research has spanned diverse biological systems, beginning with investigations into protein trafficking in Alzheimer's disease cell models and the role of primary cilia in cell signaling and function. She later used zebrafish models to study the mechanisms underlying aneurysm formation in polycystic kidney disease. Her research experience also includes drug screening to identify and evaluate potential therapeutic compounds. In her current role, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the laboratory while pursuing research on how autism-associated genes influence neurodevelopment. She is particularly interested in understanding disease mechanisms and translating fundamental biological discoveries into meaningful therapeutic advances. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her family, getting lost in a good book, and listening to music.
Netanya Dennis
PhD Student
Email: netanya.dennis@yale.edu
Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Netanya attended North Carolina Central University where she double majored in the Department of Chemistry-Biochemistry and Psychology before graduating in 2023. There she did research under Dr. Fei Yan with the Partnership for Research and Education in Material Science (PREM), where she studied 2D Te nanosheets for detecting nonenzymatic electrochemical detection of hydrogen peroxide. She also participated in NC-LSAMP and was a Ronal E. McNair Scholars for students in research from minoritized backgrounds. In her last year, she participated in the Bridge to Neuroscience PhD (BPNP) Endure program at Michigan State University and investigated potential pharmaceuticals in mediating feeding behaviors in normal weight and obese mice while working under Dr. Gina Leinninger. She joined Yale Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program in August 2023 and is co-mentored by Dr. Matthew Girgenti in the Yale Department of Psychiatry. Netanya is currently studying the effect of stress on inflammation and genetic changes that occur following stress and PTSD. Outside of the lab, Netanya enjoys reading, trying new foods, knitting and traveling.
Jillian Petrocelli
PhD Student
Email: jillian.petrocelli@yale.edu
Jillian received her B.S. in Biological Sciences and B.S. in Psychological Sciences from the University of Connecticut in 2021. She then worked for three years as a research assistant in Dr. Michael Greenberg’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School, where she used human and chimpanzee iPSC-derived neurons to study evolutionary changes in activity-dependent transcriptional programs, and investigated how these changes may have contributed to key aspects of human brain development. She joined the Yale Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program in August 2024 and is currently investigating the functional roles of high-risk genes associated with schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. When she’s not in the lab, Jillian enjoys game nights and hanging out with friends, getting lost in a fantasy novel, and finding new music to obsess over.