Lab News | Deppmann Lab

2026

Congratulations Dr. Stepanova and Dr. Shi!

Katya Stepanova and Jiachen Shi have successfully defended their PhD dissertations in Biology! Katya's research uncovered the role of Schwann cells in axon degeneration after nerve injury, and Jiachen's work revealed cell death programs that shape the brain from development to degeneration using single-cell and imaging mass cytometry. Both will remain in the lab through the spring as they prepare for their next chapters. Congratulations to our newest doctors!

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2024

Weight-Loss Drugs and Brain Reward Circuits — New Preprint

Godschall et al. publish a preprint revealing how next-generation weight-loss drugs (GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists) inhibit brain reward circuits, providing new mechanistic insight into how these drugs affect feeding behavior.

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2025

Mouse Brain Atlas Published in Nature Neuroscience

A comprehensive developing mouse brain atlas using single-cell mass cytometry (CyTOF) is published, providing an unprecedented high-dimensional view of brain cell diversity.

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2025

Extrinsic Apoptosis Paper in Cell Death & Differentiation

Shi et al. publish new findings on extrinsic apoptosis mechanisms, expanding our understanding of how cells execute programmed death through external signals.

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2025

Sarah Hunter-Chang Graduates with PhD

Sarah Hunter-Chang successfully defends her PhD dissertation in Neuroscience and pursues entrepreneurship, launching a biotech startup.

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2024

New NIH R01 Awarded: Long-Distance Regressive Signaling

The lab receives a new R01 grant (co-PI with Bruce Carter at Vanderbilt) totaling $2.6M for 2024–2029, investigating how long-distance regressive signaling sculpts the nervous system during development.

2024

Three New PhD Students Join the Lab

Mehrael Atkins, Cheng Yang, and Jingxuan Guo join the Deppmann Lab as new PhD students, bringing fresh perspectives to our research on neural circuits and metabolism.

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2024

Amy Van Deusen Graduates with PhD

Amy Van Deusen successfully defends her PhD dissertation in Neuroscience after seven years of research in the lab studying neural circuit development.

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2025

Microglial Signaling Dynamics Published in Glia

Kumar, Kahle, Keeler, Zunder, and Deppmann publish new methods for characterizing microglial signaling dynamics during inflammation using single-cell mass cytometry.

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2023

Lab Members Present at Society for Neuroscience

Multiple Deppmann Lab members present posters and talks at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting, showcasing work on axon degeneration, brain metabolism, and sensory neuroscience.

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