Under the umbrella of the Cardinal Family Emergency Relief Fund made possible through the generosity of the Cardinal Family Fund, the Trainee program safeguards critical progress against Alzheimer’s disease by helping researchers in training sustain momentum and preserve promising data despite recent changes in federal funding priorities.

PROTECTING TRAINEES WHEN IT MATTERS MOST

Scientific breakthroughs depend on continuity, yet trainees are often the first to feel the impact of sudden funding shifts. They are drivers of day-to-day discovery and the foundation of future progress; without intervention, promising work and talent risk being lost at pivotal stages.

This program meets that moment. By bridging critical gaps, it allows graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to finish key experiments, safeguard irreplaceable data, and stay focused on discovery rather than uncertainty.

MEET THE 2025 COHORT OF TRAINEES

Lina Anderhalten
Lina C. Anderhalten, MD, PhD
Advisor: Daniel S. Reich, MD, PhD
National Institutes of Health
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Helena Barr
Helena Barr
Advisor: Beth Stevens, PhD
Harvard Medical School | Boston Children’s Hospital
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Isabella DiBerardino
Isabella DiBerardino
Advisor: Cheryl Wellington, PhD
University of British Columbia, Canada
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Melissa Cooper
Melissa Cooper, PhD
Advisor: Shane A. Liddelow, PhD
New York University
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Aisan Farhadi Gharehgheshlaghi
Aisan Farhadi Gharehgheshlaghi, PhD
Advisor: Gilbert Gallardo, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
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Niklas Hagemann
Niklas Hagemann, PhD
Advisor: Christoph Lange, PhD
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
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Achint Kaur
Achint Kaur
Advisor: Robert Vassar, PhD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
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Christian Lagares Linares
Christian Lagares Linares
Advisor: Maria Lehtinen, PhD
Harvard Medical School | Boston Children’s Hospital
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Hyo Lee
Hyo Lee, PhD
Advisor: Alison M. Goate, DPhil
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
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Nicole Lummis
Nicole Lummis, PhD
Advisor: Richard Daneman, PhD
University of California, San Diego
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James McGregor
James McGregor, PhD
Advisor: Keith Hengen, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis
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Sarah Naguib
Sarah Naguib, PhD
Advisor: Li Gan, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine
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Wynnie Nguyen
Wynnie Nguyen
Advisor: Michael A. Bonaguidi, PhD
University of Southern California
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Jarin Tusnim
Jarin Tusnim, PhD
Advisor: Xianhua Piao, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
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Joseph Zambelas
Joseph Zambelas
Advisor: Stephen T.C. Wong, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine
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