About
From 2014-2018, I attended the University of California, Irvine to earn my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biological Sciences through the UCI School of Biological Sciences with a minor in Comparative Literature from the UCI School of Humanities. I actually began my interest in neuroscience through a Comparative Literature course called “Mad Men Crazy Women” taught by Dr. Annette Schlichter, where we used theory and examples from literary narratives to provide a social critique highlighting the history of psychiatry, mental health, social medicine. Through this course, I garnered a better appreciation for biology within the brain, especially in research topics that intersect race, gender, and class. This interest continues to inform my current mindset that personal identity and scientific identity are inseparable and more intertwined than traditional (Western) ideals of a “pure, unbiased, and neutral” concept of science.
Stepping down from my soapbox…I worked as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Howard Federoff’s lab under the supervision of Dr. Sudhakar Subramaniam, where we studied Parkinson’s Disease—a neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor deficits. I mainly contributed to a project investigating the efficacy of a small molecule drug that may protect against neurotoxic (MPTP) degeneration of dopamine neurons in mice.
Upon graduating, I joined the MODEL-AD consortium at UCI, which is led by Dr. Frank LaFerla and Dr. Andrea Tenner. I primarily worked under Dr. Kim Green and Dr. Grant MacGregor to help develop and characterize newly generated animal models of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). For three years, my work focused on histological staining, imaging (confocal microscopy), and quantification analysis of pathological markers of AD. During this time, I became interested in glia, neuroinflammation, and its contribution to disease and dysfunction in the brain.
Recently, I transitioned as a graduate student in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, where I entered through the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. I completed rotations with the following labs:
- Dr. Kim Green (investigating microglial contributions to AD pathology in mice)
- Dr. Elizabeth Head (investigating oligodendrocyte and white matter deficiencies in brain tissue from patients with Down syndrome)
- Dr. Tom Lane (investigating differences in infection of JHMV in a mouse model of Down syndrome)
I have chosen to stay with the Lane Lab for my PhD to further pursue my interests within the intersection of neurobiology, immunology, and viral infection. I’m currently seeking out potential topics to study for my thesis and will provide an update as soon as I settle on a direction!
Outside work, I spend my time listening to audiobooks & podcasts; reading about science & society; being with my partner, friends, & family; enjoying orchestral music; traveling & exploring the outdoors; tending to houseplants; and advocating for wholesome (and equitable) vibes within the culture of science.
If you want to discuss further about transitioning into biomedical research, graduate school, health inequities, science outreach, science education, or science in general…feel free to reach out to me via e-mail! You can also interact with me through Twitter if you choose!
Publications*: (For an up-to-date list, please visit my Google Scholar page.)
JAVONILLO D.I., Tran K.M., Phan J, Hingco E, da Cunha C, Kramár E.A., Forner S, Kawauchi S, Milinkeviciute G, Gomez-Arboledas A, Matheos D.P., Rezaie N, Alcantara J.A., Banh C.E., Huynh M, Neumann J, Mortazavi A, Wood M.A., MacGregor G.R., Tenner A.J., Green K.N., LaFerla F.M. (2022) Systematic phenotyping and characterization of the 3xTg-AD mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 15:785276. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.785276
Forner S., Kawauchi S., Balderrama-Gutierrez G., Kramár E.A., Phan J., JAVONILLO D.I., Tran K.M., Hingco E., Cunha C.d., Alcantara J.M., Baglietto-Vargas D., Neumann J., Wood M., MacGregor G.R., Mortazavi A., Tenner A.J., LaFerla F.M., Green K.N. (2021) Systematic Phenotyping and Characterization of the 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Scientific Data 8:270. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-01054-y
Trujillo-Estrada L., Vanderklish P.W., Nguyen M.M.T., Kuang R.R., Nguyen C., Hyunh E., Cunha C.d., JAVONILLO D.I., Forner S., Martini A.C., Sarraf S.T., Vincent S.F., Baglietto-Vargas D., LaFerla F.M. (2021) SPG302 reverses synaptic and cognitive deficits without altering amyloid or tau pathology in a transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease. Neurotherapeutics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-021-01143-1
Baglietto-Vargas D., Forner S., Cai L., Martini A.C., Trujillo-Estrada L., Swarup V., Nguyen M.M.T., Huynh K.D., JAVONILLO D.I., Tran K.M., Phan J., Jian S., Kramár E.A., Nuñez-Diaz C., Balderrama-Gutierrez G., Garcia F., Childs J., Rodriguiz-Ortiz C.J., Garcia-Leon J.A., Kitazawa M., Shahnawaz M., Matheos D.P., Ma X., Cunha C.d., Walls K.C., Ager R.R., Soto C., Guittierrez A., Morena-Gonzalez I., Mortazavi A., Tenner A.J., MacGregor G., Wood M.A., Green K.N., LaFerla F.M., (2021) A humanized Aβ knock-in mouse strain: a platform model to study late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Nature Communications 12:2421. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22624-z
Martini A.C., Gomez-Arboledas A., Forner S., Rodriguez-Ortiz C.J., McQuade A., Danhash E., Phan J., JAVONILLO D., Ha J., Tram M., Truijillo-Estrada L., Cunha C.d., Ager R.R., Davila J.C., Kitazawa M., Blurton-Jones M., Gutierrez A., Baglietto-Vargas D., Medeiros R., LaFerla F.M. 2019. Amyloid-beta impairs TOM1-mediated IL-1R1 signaling. PNAS. 116(42): 21198-21206. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1914088116
*Last update: April 2022
Contact:
Email: djavonil@uci.edu