MEET THE TEAM
If you’ve ever watched a salamander regenerate it’s tail and wonder why can’t humans regenerate a limb, you’d fit right in with our lab. Some mammals are better at regenerating injured tissues than others, and some tissues (bone and muscle) are better at regenerating after injury than other tissues (skin). We study how regeneration occurs naturally in these tissues and animals that are good at regenerating, and we use this information to develop new therapies that can promote regeneration in tissues that are prone to scar formation.
We are hiring! Contact me for more information
Tierra Strange
My name is Tierra Strange. I am currently the Research Associate in the lab. I am original from Baltimore, MD, moved to New Orleans in 2020. I recently graduated from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with my MPH in Maternal and Child Health. Prior to that, I obtained my Master of Biomedical Sciences from Midwestern University-Glendale Campus. I am primarily interested in combining both research and public health to address health disparities especially among the Black mother and child community. Outside of research, I enjoy reading, writing, and exploring new opportunities.
Ashlee Williams
My interests are in wound healing and regeneration. My work focuses on finding new treatments to reduce scar-formation and promote regeneration after traumatic injury. I specifically look at the role of neuropeptides in pushing a wound healing path toward scar formation or toward regeneraiton.
Andrew Longanecker
I am a current medical student at LSUHSC interested in diverse specialties within Orthopaedic Surgery from Peds to hand. I am interesting in developing biological therapies to treat osteoarthritis and other joint injuries. My current work is centered around testing new growth factors to promote chondrogenesis in cells derived from patients with osteoarthritis. I also have an interest in changing clinical practices based on current literature to improve patient outcomes.
Anita Zahari
Anita is a senior at Ben Franklin high school who is interested in wound healing, regeneration, and genetic markers of disease. Her work developing new methods to create PDGF- expressing macrophages won first place during the LSUHSC summer internship program. Anita is interested in pursuing an MD, PhD in the coming years.
Alumni
Nicholas LeBlanc
Zohaib Lakhani
John Valentino, MD
John was recently accepted to a Dermatology residency at the Medical University of South Carolina! We look forward to seeing where your work takes you!
Lauren Saunee, MD
Lauren was recently accepted to the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency at LSUHSC!