Indrani holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Sri Ramachandra University in India. Presently, she is pursuing a Master's in Toxicology at the University of Georgia, where she is a Research Assistant in Dr. Shaolin Liu's lab. She joined Dr. Liu's lab in Spring 2024. Her research focuses on the impact of cadmium toxicity on the olfactory bulb in Alzheimer's disease. This project aims to understand the mechanisms through which cadmium exposure contributes to the progression of Alzheimer's disease, particularly in the olfactory bulb. The goal is to understand the toxicity pathways of cadmium  which could provide insights into potential therapeutic interventions.

​

Email: indranidevi.dhanasekaran@uga.edu 

Meigeng received his Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Analysis from Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, China, and Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy at Peking Union Medical College. He joined the lab as a postdoctoral researcher to study functional operation of the olfactory and related systems using electrophysiological, optogenetic, chemogenetic, fiber photometry, immunohistochemical, and behavioral techniques. The overall goal of his projects is to investigate the mechanisms underlying olfactory dysfunction in neurological diseases.

​

Email: meigeng.hu@uga.edu

Syed obtained his Ph.D. with a major in molecular biology in 2021 from the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Japan. Following his doctoral studies, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher and an assistant professor of Physiology at the same university. Driven by a deep interest in neuroscience, he joined Liu's lab in October, 2023. Syed's work aims to uncover fundamental mechanisms underlying olfactory processing and its alterations in neurological disorders, contributing to the broader objectives of the lab in exploring neural circuit functions and their implications in sensory perception and neurodegenerative diseases.

​

Email: syed.islam@uga.edu 

Alex graduated from Emory University in the spring of 2023, with a degree in Biology and a minor in Computer Science. He has experience in data analysis and psychology research from his time at the Waldman Lab at Emory University. He joins Liu's lab in September, 2024. In addition to assisting others to achieve their goals, he will independently contribute to behavioral phenotyping and biochemical or molecular characterizing signal processing in neurodegenerative pathogenesis at the cellular and subcellular levels. 

​Email: alex.kershaw@uga.edu

Yingzhen received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Lanzhou University. She joined the Liu lab as a Lab Manager in 2024.

Email：ykong@uga.edu

Marie received her B.S. in Psychology, with an emphasis in Neuroscience at the University of Houston- Clear Lake in 2022. In 2023, she joined the Neuroscience program at the University of Georgia (UGA) through the Integrated Life Sciences program. After completing three lab rotations, Marie joined the Shaolin Liu Lab in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Under the mentorship of Dr. Liu, she studies tau pathological progression patterns, noradrenergic degeneration, projection pathways from the locus coeruleus to the olfactory bulb, and neuronal and circuit susceptibility affecting olfaction in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Email: Marie.Lacour@uga.edu

Yaping had a Bachelor degree in Philosophy from Anhui University in China. She gained significant research experience in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, and confocal imaging at UGA before joining our lab, where she currently plays a leading role in carrying out the immunohistochemical work, neuronal and circuit reconstruction in addition to her dedication to animal care and colony maintenance.

​

Email: yaping@uga.edu 

Jesse received his DVM at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, completed a Small Animal Rotating Internship at Virginia-Maryland's College of Veterinary Medicine, and completed a Veterinary Anatomic Pathology Residency at the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine. Jesse joined Drs Tai Guo's and Shaolin Liu's lab in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology to study the pathomechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, primarily Alzheimer's disease. 

Email: jesse.riker@uga.edu

Cosar received his M.Sc. in Medical Faculty, Department of Biophysics in 2014 at Mersin University, Turkey, and earned his Ph.D. in Medical Faculty, Department of Biophysics, in 2022 at Mersin University, Turkey, under the supervision of Prof. Nurten Erdal.

Cosar joined the Liu lab at the Center for Neurological Disease Research, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology to study the Mechanisms underlying olfactory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease and Neurobiological bases of olfactory processing using in vivo electrophysiological, optogenetic, and behavioral techniques. The overall goal of his projects is to identify the relationship between olfactory dysfunction processing and Alzheimer's disease. Based on the outcomes obtained, a novel approach to improving AD diagnosis in APOE4-carrying populations may be determined.

Email: cosar.uzun@uga.edu

Dan received her M.Sc. in Pharmacognosy in 2015 from Jilin Agricultural University, China, and her Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy from Peking Union Medical College. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the lab, she specializes in neurophysiology including in vitro electrophysiology in addition to leveraging optogenetic, immunohistochemical, and behavioral techniques to answering fundamental questions. Her research is dedicated to investigating the mechanisms underlying olfactory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease and the olfactory deficits induced by traumatic brain injury. Dr. Zhao's overall goal is to elucidate the neurobiological foundations of olfactory processing.

​

Email: dan.zhao1@uga.edu