People

Meet the inaugural 8 IMPRINT scholars and the experts who guide them

Leadership

Gail Gannon

Gail Gannon

Director, Neurotech Collider Lab

Gail Christine Gannon is the Director of the Neurotech Collider Lab and a faculty member at the UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology. She is also the CEO of Ensanté Tech for Good Advisors, where she mentors health tech and social impact startups, guiding them from early-stage development to successful scaling and acquisition. At UC Berkeley, she leads courses that equip students with entrepreneurial and technological skills, including the Challenge Lab "Designing Tech Solutions for Youth Mental Health," which has helped students advance careers in health tech, graduate programs, and medical school. Beyond Berkeley, Gail mentors and lectures for UCSF Lean Launch, Stanford SPARK, and Harvard HealthLab, and frequently delivers workshops on entrepreneurship at international business schools. Through her work, she fosters innovation at the intersection of technology, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, helping both students and startups turn ideas into real-world impact.

Director, Neurotech Collider Lab

Susan Jenkins, PhD

Managing Director, Bakar Labs Campus Programs

Susan Jenkins is managing director of the BioEnginuity Hub, and oversees Campus Programs at BBH. With extensive experience in academic research, management of interdisciplinary research institutes, and involvement with entrepreneurship programs, she’s involved with strategic planning and administration for BBH.

Managing Director,

Bakar Labs Campus Programs

Milo Harmon Maurer

Program Coordinator, Neurotech Collider Lab

Milo supports the development and execution of interdisciplinary research and innovation programs for the Bakar Labs Campus Program's Neurotech Collider Lab, including those funded by NIA REDI and the Dana Foundation. He plays a key role in organizing and managing projects at the intersection of neuroscience, technology, and entrepreneurship, fostering collaboration between students, faculty, and industry partners.

Milo studied at UC Berkeley, where he majored in Molecular and Cell Biology (Neurobiology emphasis) with a minor in Music. His research background includes work at the Center for Human Sleep Science, led by Dr. Matthew Walker, where he explores the connections between sleep, cognition, and aging. In his spare time, he enjoys walking with his dog, singing, and playing guitar.

Program Coordinator,

Neurotech Collider Lab

Cohort 1 Scholars

Darius Yohannan

Graduate Student and Trainee, UCSD

Darius Jordan Yohannan is a Ph.D. candidate in Medicinal Organic Chemistry at UCSD, holding both a B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry. His research focuses on the development of inhibitors for RNA-binding proteins involved in tau pathophysiology, a key driver of neurodegenerative diseases. To complement his chemical expertise, Darius has completed specialized NIH training in pharmacology and chemical biology, as well as a course in neuroscience and brain tumors at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He also holds a MicroMBA from the Rady School of Management, bridging his scientific research with strategic application.

Darius has been recognized for his academic and teaching contributions with an NIH T32 Training Grant in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and an Excellence in Teaching Award. He serves in several leadership roles within the UCSD Chemistry Department, including Vice-Chair of the Graduate Student Council. His work is dedicated to advancing the field of tauopathies by developing affordable, disease-modifying therapeutics that can address critical unmet needs in Alzheimer’s disease treatment.

Graduate Student and Trainee, UCSD

Vanessa Huaco

Graduate Student, UC Berkeley/UCSF

Vanessa Huaco is a graduate of the Master of Translational Medicine program at UC Berkeley and UCSF, and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA. Her work sits at the intersection of engineering and medicine, specializing in medical device innovation, rapid prototyping, and material science. Her technical achievements include the development of "FaceShift," a non-invasive, 3D-printed device for correcting infant ear deformities, as well as published research in ACS Polymers Au on organic-inorganic composites and MedCrave on osteoarthritis physiology.

Vanessa has been awarded multiple fellowships, including the Graduate Opportunity Program Master’s Fellowship and the MTM Merit Fellowship. She has also presented her research on polyelectrolyte complexes at the APS March Meeting. Through the IMPRINT Scholars program, she applies her engineering background to the neurotechnology space, focusing on the design and development of diagnostic tools and accessible interventions for neurodegenerative conditions.

Graduate Student, UC Berkeley/UCSF

Sowmya Gunasekaran

Postdoc, UCSF

Sowmya Gunasekaran is a Postdoctoral Scholar at UCSF and a translational neuroscientist with over a decade of experience in molecular, cellular, and systems neuroscience. Currently, she leads research on alcohol addiction, investigating how brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) regulates brain circuit dynamics and compulsive behaviors. Her doctoral work was pivotal in identifying miRNAs that target NMDAR subunits and BDNF, proteins critical to the pathology of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and schizophrenia. She has further honed her expertise in neurodegeneration through advanced training, including the CAJAL "Ageing Cognition" course.

Her academic excellence has been recognized through multiple awards, including the Stanley Foundation Award from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and a Senior Research Fellowship from the Indian Council of Medical Research. Sowmya’s current research aims to profile sex-specific miRNAs in biofluids to identify early biomarkers for ADRD. By leveraging her background in precision medicine and biomarker discovery, she seeks to develop targeted therapeutic interventions that enhance cognitive health and patient outcomes.

Postdoc, UCSF

Stephanie Miller

Stephanie Regina Miller

Staff Scientist, Staff Scientist

Stephanie Regina Miller is a Staff Scientist at the Gladstone Institute, specializing in computational and systems neuroscience. With a Ph.D. in Biophysics, she utilizes machine learning and advanced behavioral analysis to detect early, subtle biomarkers in preclinical Alzheimer's models. Her research has culminated in the development of a robust AI/ML-driven behavioral analysis platform, recently published in Cell Reports, which offers a novel method for tracking disease progression and treatment response with high precision.

Stephanie’s work is supported by an NIH/NIA REDI K01 career development grant, which has facilitated her transition to a Staff Scientist role. She currently coordinates over a dozen collaborations across major research institutions, including UCSF, Berkeley, and Stanford, to expand the application of her behavioral phenotyping technology. Her primary focus is on translating these computational tools into scalable solutions that can empower researchers and clinicians to make informed, data-driven therapeutic decisions.

Staff Scientist, Staff Scientist

Thomas Walmsley

Graduate Student, UCSD

Thomas Dylan Walmsley is a Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. His research investigates the epigenetic mechanisms underlying early-stage Alzheimer's disease, with a focus on identifying modifying proteins that contribute to the erosion of the epigenetic landscape and subsequent cellular dysfunction. By targeting these specific proteins, Thomas aims to develop novel strategies to reprogram cells, effectively preventing or reversing the symptoms of neurodegeneration.

Dedicated to advancing the field of epigenetic-based therapies, Thomas combines his research with a strong record of academic and leadership achievements. He was selected as a Summer Research Scholar at Washington and Lee University and has presented his work at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Additionally, he has served as the Chapter Vice President of the Brain Exercise Initiative, demonstrating his commitment to bridging scientific innovation with community impact in the field of brain health.

Graduate Student, UCSD

Raúl Castillo Astorga, MD

Raul S Castillo Astorga, MD

Graduate Student, UCD
CEO & Founder @ Candel Medical

Raul S Castillo Astorga is a Medical Doctor from Chile and a PhD candidate at the University of California, Davis. His research primarily focuses on neurology and neuromodulation, exploring clinical applications of neurostimulation therapies such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), alternating current stimulation (tACS), and temporal interference stimulation. Raul combines his medical reasoning with technical expertise in programming and circuit design to advance the development of non-invasive medical devices for neurorehabilitation.

As the Founder and CEO of Candel, a startup dedicated to making neuromodulation techniques more accessible and affordable, Raul has successfully raised over $300,000 in grants and is currently conducting clinical trials in Chile. His work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the "Best Health Startup" at the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition and a "Startup Chile Build and Ignite Grant." Through his dual roles in academia and entrepreneurship, Raul aims to deliver evidence-based, innovative solutions that improve the quality of life for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Graduate Student, UCD
CEO & Founder @ Candel Medical

Iyla Rossi

Graduate Student, UC Berkeley

Iyla Rossi is a graduate student in the Translational Neuroengineering & Precision Diagnostics program at UC Berkeley and UCSF. She holds a B.S. in Computational and Neural Systems, as well as Business, Economics, and Management from Caltech. Her interdisciplinary research integrates neuroscience, engineering, and machine learning to develop advanced diagnostic tools. Her projects include co-developing a wearable ultrasound-based neuroimaging system for non-invasive brain monitoring at Caltech and creating an AI-powered phenotyping pipeline for gene-editing research at UC Berkeley.

Currently, Iyla is focused on applying microfluidics and single-cell proteomics to tackle real-world diagnostic challenges. As an NIH T32 Predoctoral Fellow in Cell and Gene Therapy and a UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Fellow, she combines her technical expertise in quantitative imaging and biological signal processing with a strong translational mindset. Through the IMPRINT Scholars program, she aims to leverage her background in systems thinking to advance early diagnosis technologies for neurodegenerative diseases.

Graduate Student, UC Berkeley

Katherine Foray

Graduate Student, UCD

Katherine Foray is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Group at the University of California, Davis, with a designated emphasis in Neuroengineering. Prior to her doctoral studies, she served as a research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health, where she developed a strong foundation in patient-centric research. Her current work investigates the specific mechanisms underlying motor learning impairments, such as adaptation, in patients with Parkinson's Disease Dementia (PDD). Katherine utilizes a multimethod approach that integrates computational frameworks, behavioral data, and clinical assessments to deepen the understanding of these deficits.

Dedicated to bridging the gap between research and patient care, Katherine actively collaborates with clinicians and the Parkinson's community to drive her scientific inquiry. She has implemented initiatives such as participant newsletters to increase engagement and has been an invited speaker at the Davis Parkinson's Support Group. Through her research, she aims to develop targeted treatments and diagnostic methods that address the tangible, everyday challenges faced by patients, ultimately enhancing their agency and quality of life.

Graduate Student, UCD