Current Lab Members

 
 

Associate Professor

Katie Drerup, PhD

Biography and Research statement: I earned my B.S. and M.Sc. from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH (Go Falcons!). From there, I moved to Northwestern University for my dissertation work, which focused on defining the developmental function of DISC1, a schizophrenia susceptibility gene. In 2009, I started my postdoc work at Oregon Health & Science University in the lab of Alex Nechiporuk. In the Nechiporuk lab, I developed protocols to analyze intracellular transport in zebrafish sensory neurons and started our screen for regulators of retrograde axonal transport.

At the University of Wisconsin, my lab uses forward and reverse genetics, in vivo imaging, and protein interaction studies in zebrafish neurons and cultured human cells to study neuronal cell biology. Currently, we are focused on two key questions: 1) How do neurons maintain their mitochondrial populations, particularly at the synapse? and 2) How does the single Cytoplasmic dynein retrograde motor attach to and move various cargos in neurons with spatial and temporal precision.

Email address: drerup@wisc.edu

 

Postdoctoral Fellow

Brittany Salazar, PhD

Biography and Research statement: I earned my PhD in Cancer Biology from University of Michigan in 2024. My dissertation research in Dr. Ryoma Ohi’s lab focused on exploring force-balance in the mitotic spindle; specifically the mechanisms of Eg5-independent spindle assembly and the role of anti-parallel microtubule bundling in supporting kinesin-12-driven spindle assembly. My graduate work was conducted using cultured human cell lines, so in exploring my postdoc options I decided I wanted to return to a model organism system, having worked with zebrafish briefly as a technician before graduate school. In the Drerup lab, I am excited to delve into the regulation of microtubule-based transport, microtubule organization, and microtubule dynamics in axons.

 
 

Graduate Student (Genetics Training Program)

Angelica Lang

Biography and Research statement: I got my B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Kansas in May 2021. I first got started in research in high school, when I worked in the lab of Dr. Jeroen Roelofs at Kansas State University studying proteasome autophagy. In undergrad, I did research in the lab of Dr. Erik Lundquist studying the genetic mechanisms that regulate neuron migration in C. elegans. This helped spark my current interest in Neurogenetics. I am now pursuing my PhD through the Genetics Graduate Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the Drerup Lab, I will be studying how the transcriptome/proteome of the neuron is altered by retrograde transport of mitochondria.

 

Graduate Student (Neuroscience Training Program)

Serena Wisner

Biography and Research statement: I received my BS in biochemistry from the University of Washington in June 2018. While there, I worked in Dr. Jennifer Stone’s lab investigating the effectiveness of different CreER lines to study hair cell regeneration in the mouse vestibular system. Following that, I took a two year post-bac in the Drerup Lab at NICHD, characterizing one of the many mutants found in lab’s forward genetic screen. These two experiences got me interested in neuroscience and led to me pursuing my PhD in Neuroscience at UW-Madison. Now back in the Drerup Lab, I’m investigating mitochondria dynamics in neurons and how they change under different conditions.

 

Graduate Student (Neuroscience training program)

Brooke Weiler

Biography and Research statement: I received my B.S. in Biochemistry and B.S. in Psychology from the University of Missouri in May 2023. While completing this coursework, I studied osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) in the lab of Dr. Charlotte Phillips. When the pandemic hit and I was stranded at home, I had the opportunity to provide Applied Behavior Analysis therapy to children with autism. While these are vastly different experiences, they led to my desire to pursue questions related to the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal health and how disruption of these processes leads to disease. I am currently pursuing my PhD in Neuroscience here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 

Graduate Student (Neuroscience training program)

Roger Schultz

Biography and Research statement: I received my B.S. in neurobiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May of 2022. During my 4 years, I worked under Dr. Jessica Babal and explored pediatricians and the relationships between their work-life balance, the structural composition of the health care system, and how it tied to burnout. After I graduated, I spent 2 years working at a post-bac position in the Suminiski-Lake Lab. During my time here, I explored off-target effects of vagal stimulation in swine to generate locations that would result in the least amount of side-effects in patients undergoing baroreflex therapy. Additionally, I studied rats and their connectomes when afflicted with Parkinson’s to discern the brain regions explicitly effected and any structural changes that might occur due to pharmacological treatment, L-dopa. Originally, I had planned on becoming a medical doctor, but my experiences with developing and answering my own questions in neuroscience through diligent and rigorous techniques cultivated a passion I could not let go of. I am now continuing my academic journey in Katie Drerup’s lab studying mitochondrial biogenesis and its pathways with the hopes of becoming a professor. One day, I hope to inspire, inform, and make a positive impact. The way my mentors did to me.

 
 
 

Research Specialist

Chris Stein

Email address: crstein3@wisc.edu

 

Undergraduate researchers

Anita Venzke

Anna Khanov

 
 
 
 

Open positions

Graduate students

Apply to one of the many amazing graduate programs at the University of Wisconsin! Links to the right. Email Katie Drerup (drerup@wisc.edu) for more information on programs and direct admits.

 

Lab Alumni - Current positions

Wesley Schnapp (postBac 2016-2019) - Graduate student at the University of Arizona

Dane Kawano (postBac 2017-2019) - Graduate student at Stanford University

Jeremy Popowitz (Summer student 2019) - Currently a post-Bac in the Farrell lab at the NICHD

Serena Wisner (postBac 2018-2020) - Graduate student at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and back in the Drerup lab!

Kate Pinter (Technician 2017-2020) - Lab manager and senior technician in the Kindt lab at the NIDCD

Katie Klier (postBac 2019-2020) - Graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Amrita Mandal (Postdoc 2017-2020) - Postdoc in the Balla lab at the NICHD

Melissa Martin (undergraduate 2021) - Research Technician at PPD

Don Mai (undergraduate 2021-2023) - Clinical Research Fellow SPARCS program

Mady Chlebowski (research intern 2021-2023) - Graduate student at UNC

Candy Wong (Postdoc 2020-2025) - Exploring next steps