CHAVALI LAB
Meet the Team
Manideep Chavali
Principal Investigator
Manideep did his doctoral studies at Stony Brook University and graduated in 2016. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco in the lab of Dr. David Rowitch. As a postdoctoral fellow his research focused on understanding the interactions between the oligodendroglial precursors, an early progenitor of myelin forming cells of central nervous system, and the cerebral vasculature. His research was funded by fellowship awards from American Heart Association, Children’s Heart Foundation and an early career development award from the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and the NIH K99/R00 award.
Thaddeus Kunkel
Postdoctoral Fellow
Thad graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience in 2016 and from the University of Michigan with a PhD in Molecular and Pathology in 2023. At the University of Michigan, Thad worked under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Lieberman, studying oligodendrocyte dysfunction in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C, a rare lysosomal storage disease. He found that proper cholesterol homeostasis is necessary for epigenetic regulation of oligodendrocyte differentiation and function. Thad is interested in continuing to study how glial cells behave during development and the role these cells play in disease pathogenesis. Outside of the lab, Thad enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, cooking, baking, gardening, and eating new foods - preferably with his partner and cat by his side.
Isa Maxwell
Graduate Student
Isa received his B.A. in Biology from Lewis and Clark College in 2017, where he used Drosophila to study neuromuscular junction development. He joined the lab of Dr. Marc Freeman at OHSU after completing the Neuroscience PREP program, studying the role of astrocytes in neuronal circuit signaling. As a graduate student he studies the interplay of vasculature and oligodendrocyte precursor cells in the Chavali lab.
Iris Farnum
Research Assistant
Iris graduated from Eckerd College in 2023 with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and Spanish. At Eckerd, Iris worked in the lab of Dr. Denise Flaherty researching the molecular and cellular pathology of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. Iris spent a summer at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Genomic Medicine in the lab of Dr. James Gusella studying Huntington’s Disease. Her research interests include developmental biology and the cellular pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. Outside of the lab, Iris enjoys reading, swimming, and running.
Joshua Page
Research Assistant
Joshua Page is currently a Research Assistant II in the Chavali lab at OHSU. He graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and Biochemistry. He is interested in all areas of biology, but especially in the application of genetics to explore the biology of development, and of disease. Joshua enjoys working with animals, and learning new experimental techniques. His favorite parts of working as a biologist are the moments when he learns something new about how the natural world works. His hobbies include reading, backpacking, and hiking. He also likes writing software in his spare time.