Team
Sophia is a Rowland Fellow and Principal Investigator at the Rowland Institute at Harvard University. She received her B.A. in Chemistry and Biology from Cornell University, where she conducted research at the chemistry-biology interface and developed a love for interdisciplinary problem-solving for human health. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 2025 as a Bio-X Graduate Fellow. Sophia’s doctoral research uncovered fundamental new roles of glycans (complex sugar molecules) in the brain vasculature, demonstrating how they regulate blood–brain barrier function and can be leveraged to improve brain health. This work forms the foundation of her laboratory’s efforts to decode glycans in the brain and open new avenues for treating brain aging and disease. Beyond the lab, Sophia is passionate about running, casual biohacking, being in nature, and learning new things.
Sophia M. Shi, Principal Investigator
Tamara received her B.S. in Neuroscience & Physiology, as well as her M.S. in Biological Sciences at University of California San Diego, where she conducted research under Dr. Richard Daneman on how neuronal activity regulates endothelial circadian clock genes, which in turn, regulate blood-brain barrier properties. She earned her Ph.D. in Dr. Marius Wernig’s lab at Stanford University as a Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow, where she combined techniques of chemical proximity labeling, mass spectrometry proteomics, high content imaging and analysis, and genetics to discover molecules that regulate microglial tiling. As a postdoc in the Shi lab, Tamara is excited to dive back into blood-brain barrier biology, but through the lens of how glycosylation changes at the blood-brain barrier affect Alzheimer’s Disease progression. Beyond the lab, Tamara enjoys nature documentaries, lifting weights, playing board games, and sewing.
Tamara Chan, Postdoctoral Fellow
Ikshu Pandey, Post-baccalaureate Researcher
Ikshu earned a B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering and a B.S. in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University in 2024. Her undergraduate thesis focused on studying dysfunctions in the blood-brain barrier due to Alzheimer's Disease mutations. After graduation, she spent one year in Switzerland as a Fulbright Research fellow and expanded her research on brain barriers to study disease-induced dysregulations from a neuroinflammatory perspective. As a post-baccalaureate researcher in the Shi Lab, she is excited to integrate these experiences to characterize the role that glycans play at these fluid-brain interfaces. Ikshu is particularly interested in studying the choroid plexus and assessing changes to glycosylation in Alzheimer's Disease or other neurodegenerative conditions.
Hanah Youn, Undergraduate Student
Hanah is studying Neuroscience and Comparative Literature at Harvard College, where she also competes on the Varsity Sailing Team. As a summer researcher in the Thomas Südhof Lab at Stanford University, her work focused on the molecular logic of synapse formation to better understand how disruptions in synaptic connectivity contribute to neurodegeneration. In the Shi Lab, she is interested in harnessing glycans at the blood–brain interface to facilitate the delivery of therapeutics into the brain, with the goal of improving treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative disorders. Her commitment to this work stems from her volunteer experience at an Alzheimer’s clinic in Spain, where she witnessed the urgent need for more effective therapies. Outside the lab, she enjoys boxing, writing comedy, and trying new things.
Onovughakpor Otitigbe, Post-baccalaureate Researcher
Coming soon :)