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Adam Pines

Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry

BioAdam Pines, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Anish Mitra and Nolan Williams, PhD. Adam completed his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Adam’s work centers on neurodevelopment and the role of hierarchical brain function in mood disorder emergence and remission.

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5717
apines@stanford.edu

Chiara Pirillo

Postdoctoral Scholar, Hematology-Oncology

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5660
cpirillo@stanford.edu

Hadeesha Piyadasa

Postdoctoral Scholar, Pathology

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5324
piyadasa@stanford.edu

Julia Rachel Plank

Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry

BioI am a postdoctoral researcher in the BRain Imaging, Development, and GEnetics (BRIDGE) Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Currently my work focuses on the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for improving understanding of the neuropathophysiology underlying neuropsychiatric disorders with a genetic basis.

My PhD investigated the use of neuroimaging techniques (diffusion MRI, quantitative magnetization transfer, magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, electroencephalography) for detection of neuroinflammation in human participants.

My research interests are centered on the clinical applications of MRI for elucidation of pathology and improving diagnosis and treatment.

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5717
juliapl@stanford.edu

Natalia Plewa Juraszek

Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford Cancer Institute

BioDr. rer. nat. Natalia Plewa-Juraszek is a postdoc in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine in Prof. Sabine Heitzeneder and Prof. Crystal Mackall Labs. She is leading a collaborative project focused on designing cancer-specific T cell-based immunotherapies for pediatric solid tumors. Her 9 years hands-on experience, supported by 8 scholarships, including Fulbright, is dedicated to translating innovative technologies from the lab to patient care. Ownership mindset with strong communication and management skills. Critical thinker living the idea “Follow your heart but take your brain with you”. Outside of science, Natalia is a professional Bachata Sensual Instructor and International Dance Judge who transformed a dance business into a global brand, earning over 70 teaching invitations in 15+ countries worldwide.

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5458
nplewa@stanford.edu

Alexandra LaPat Polasko

Postdoctoral Scholar, Urology

BioDr. Alexandra Polasko is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Department of Urology in Dr. James Brooks's lab. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. from UCLA in Civil and Environmental Engineering in Dr. Shaily Mahendra's lab and bachelors from UC Berkeley. Before coming to Stanford, she was a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA in the School of Dentistry, Oral Biology Division under Dr. Hung Ton-That where she studied the role motility plays as a virulence factor in oral pathogens. Currently, Dr. Polasko's research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms that drive benign prostate hyperplasia, which is the abnormal growth of the prostate and affects nearly 80% of men over eighty and can result in impaired urine storage and voiding as well as renal failure. She is a co-inventor on two patents and received UCLA's prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award for Teaching Assistants (2021).