People
Jorge Gomez Deza
Principal investigator
I was born in sunny Spain and moved to London for my undergrad and PhD, where I studied ALS using iPSCs and postmortem tissue. I then moved to NIH to do my postdoc studying the mechanisms of axon degeneration and cell death in human neurons.
In my free time I love to swim, play squash and boardgames. I also speak several languages which I try to use as much as I can while traveling
Ariel Zhang
Postdoctoral Fellow
I grew up in northwest China and moved to California during high school. After four sunny years in California, I moved to the East Coast, because winter has always been my favorite season. I fell in love with Philly, moved to the city, and completed my PhD. My PhD work focused on understanding the relationship between stress and neuroinflammation, and how stress affects the reactivity of microglia and astrocytes in a sex and region-specific manner.
Outside of the lab, I enjoy taking long walks with my dogs and growing my vegetable garden in my tiny backyard. I also love going to stand-up comedy shows and Phillies games.
Mariella Brueck
Undergraduate Student
I grew up in South Florida and attended FAU High School, where I dual enrolled at Florida Atlantic University and earned 90 college credits. After graduating high school early, I moved to Philly to study Healthcare Risk Management at Temple University, with a minor in Chemistry.
Outside of school, I’m a member of Temple’s gymnastics team. I enjoy spending time outdoors—whether it’s hiking, going to the beach, or taking long walks—and I like solving puzzles in my free time.
Former Lab members:
MD Sami — 2025
Peter Hayashi — 2025