Penn FTD Center Summer Interns and Trainees

The Penn FTD Center hosted a group of summer interns and trainees between May – August 2025. Some individuals participated in the Summer Training in Aging Research (STAR) program while others shadowed Penn FTD Center Co-Directors and Postdoctoral Fellows to gain experience working in an academic research lab. The summer interns and trainees shared their backgrounds and reflected on their experiences with the Penn FTD Center. Read below to learn more about the interns and trainees and how they plan to utilize this opportunity in the future.

Razil Fernandes

As a participant of the STAR program, Razil Fernandes was a mentee of Research Assistant Professor Katheryn Cousins, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow Sheina Emrani, PhD. “The project I am working on focuses on sex differences in Alzheimer's disease, as women represent around two-thirds of all cases (Alzheimer's Association),” Razil explained. “I am using R Studio and available literature to understand why women are more affected and analyze the variables at play.” Razil is currently an incoming sophomore at Vanderbilt University with a major in Neuroscience. Razil first explored the world of research in high school by designing a research project on treating Alzheimer's disease using hydrogels, a type of water-soluble polymer, in 3D drug delivery systems. “I am drawn to the brain due to personal experiences with a loved one being affected by dementia and the many unanswered questions in the field of neuroscience.” Razil is interested in further developing computational analysis skills and expanding her knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases. “I have enjoyed taking advantage of opportunities to hear from professionals and their work during meetings and formal lectures.”

Ailey Gee

Under the supervision of Penn FTD Center Co-Director Lauren Massimo, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow Rory Boyle, PhD, Ailey studied the relationship between air pollutant exposure and disease progression in individuals with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). “I’m excited to build my coding skills and gain a deeper understanding of clinical research. I’m particularly interested in how environmental exposure, like air pollutants, and social factors such as the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) contribute to dementia.”  Ailey is a rising junior at Pitzer College majoring in Human Biology with a focus on cross-cultural health and healing. “I hope to explore different research approaches, including epidemiology, geospatial analysis, and epigenetics!”

Sydney Lancaster

Sydney shadowed at the Penn FTD Center as a rising junior at Lower Merion High School. While shadowing Penn FTD Center Co-Director Corey McMillan, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow Nadia Dehghani, PhD, Sydney was able to learn from her first lab experience at the Penn FTD Center! “Currently, I am working on identifying genetic variants that are linked to Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),” Sydney explained. “This involves examining factors such as in-silico predictions and frequency in population databases.” With this experience, Sydney is hoping to learn more about genetics and its role in neurodegenerative diseases.

Nelson Mercado

As a STAR program participant, Nelson Mercado worked on a project under the mentorship of Neuropsychologist & Assistant Professor Emma Rhodes, PhD that explores the connection between dental health and Alzheimer’s Disease. “It’s a great opportunity to connect my passion for dentistry with an interest in neurodegenerative conditions,” Nelson stated. “I’m looking forward to observing how healthcare teams collaborate in the care of individuals with cognitive decline and gaining insight into how oral health fits into the broader scope of overall health.” Nelson recently graduated from Saint Joseph’s University with a degree in Biomedical Sciences. This fall, he’ll be starting a master’s program in Biomedical Sciences at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). “I’m excited to learn as much as I can during my time here, whether through clinical observations, research discussions, or watching how interdisciplinary care comes together. I hope this experience helps me grow as both a future dentist and a healthcare professional who values compassionate, collaborative care.”

Sevinch Rakhmonova

Sevinch joined the Penn FTD Center as a current rising junior at Drexel University majoring in Public Health and Biology. “Over the past years in undergrad, I’ve been working in various research settings from bioinformatics to wet lab and I enjoy working with patients the most in my endeavors,” Sevinch stated. “I’ve worked hard to reach to provide a strong clinical impact in both the patient and scientific community, thus pursuing this in the Penn BiND lab has allowed me to lead projects that can get to this goal.” Sevinch studied under the supervision of Penn FTD Center Co-Director Corey McMillan, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow Nadia Dehghani, PhD. Over the course of the summer, Sevinch studied how C9orf72 penetrance data inform individual risk profiles for ALS-FTD clinical trials and refining different workflows in R. “I hope to deepen my expertise in statistical risk modeling using R and learn best practices for translating genetic findings into patient centered trial designs. I’m eager to see how a multidisciplinary team such as within BiND integrates research discoveries with clinical care; I’m excited to continue working in the lab for longer than my summer internship.”

Hugo Zamarron

Hugo participated in the STAR program, studying under Penn FTD Center Co-Director David Irwin, MD and Assistant Professor Daniel Ohm, PhD. Hugo explained his shadowing experience at the Penn FTD Center. “I began by shadowing in the wet lab and then moved on to annotating approximately 300 slides of brain tissue using QuPath. My main and final project will involve the annotation and analysis of atypical Alzheimer’s disease and FTD. I am also shadowing cognitive neurologists in the clinic, including Dr. [Allison] Snyder and Dr. Irwin.” Hugo recently completed his first year of medical school at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. Alongside medical school, he is pursuing a master’s in biomedical informatics at the UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics. “Through this opportunity, I hope to understand how the extensive resources at Penn come together to create such a comprehensive neuroscience research environment—particularly in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, where they have some of the largest participant cohorts and data repositories.”