Lab Members


PI: Marcello DiStasio: I am a neuropathologist and Assistant Professor of Pathology and Ophthalmology at the Yale School of Medicine, and I am the co-director of the Yale Legacy Tissue Donation Program. My background is in biomedical engineering and neuroscience, particularly the development and application of signal processing and image analysis algorithms and techniques for biology. I did my clinical training at Harvard Medical school in Anatomic Pathology (Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center) and Neuropathology (Brigham and Women’s / Boston Childrens Hospital). Building from my PhD work at SUNY Downstate/NYU-Polytech recording in-vivo electrophysiologic data from awake behaving animals to for neural prostheses, I have developed an interest in furthering our understanding of human neurobiology by applying new algorithms to digital images, particularly in histology, along with physiologic and genomic data. The goals of my current research are to use these tools to explore the interactions between the immune and central nervous system in disease processes such as neurodegeneration, cancer, and autoimmunity, and the investigation of novel tissue biomarkers in neurologic disease.


Sagar Bhatta - Post-graduate Research Associate: Sagar completed his bachelor’s degree in medical Biochemistry in Nepal and performed diagnostic tests for cardiac patients in Sahid Gangalal National Heart Center as an intern, and later performed molecular screenings at Decode Genomics and Research Center. During his master’s in Cellular and Molecular Biology at University of New Haven (UNH), he interned at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station where he screened Ixodes scapularis ticks for pathogens causing Lime disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis and investigated host-feeding patterns in blood-engorged mosquitoes to characterize vector-host-pathogen interactions. He also worked in Dr. Kolc’s lab at UNH on a project screening endomyocardial biopsy samples from patients with myocardial infarction and dilated cardiomyopathy for enteroviruses investigating viral persistence in the heart. He has a keen interest in photography, cinematography and painting.


Alayna Grzybowski - Post-graduate Research Associate: Alayna completed her bachelor’s degree in Biology at Vassar College. During her time at Vassar, she conducted an independent research project that investigated the function of LGR receptors in coral reproductive behavior. Additionally, she assessed a combination drug therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma that targeted polyamine metabolism as part of a mentored research project. She also worked in Dr. Guzzo’s lab at UConn Health, where she examined the role of Dot1L and H3K79me2 in bone and cartilage development, specifically in growth plate dynamics and osteogenic differentiation. Outside of the lab, she volunteers with Sacred Heart University’s Project Limulus to collect data on horseshoe crabs in the Long Island Sound, and enjoys hobbies like painting, sewing, jewelry-making, and hiking.