Lab Alumni

Sandra Chocron, PhDSandra Chocron PhD: Faculty

Dr. Chocron is an Instructor at UTHealth San Antonio. Originally from Madrid, Spain, she completed her PhD at UTHealth San Antonio and pursued postdoctoral training in the Pickering Lab from 2016 to 2019. Her research interests focus on mitochondrial function and metabolism. During her time in the Pickering Lab, she investigated the impacts of the proteasome system on Alzheimer’s disease and the role of the Thioredoxin system in aging and metabolism.

Chocron ES, Munkácsy E, Kim HS, Karpowicz P, Jiang N, Van Skike CE, DeRosa N, Banh AQ, Palavicini JP, Wityk P, Kalinowski L, Galvan V, Osmulski PA, Jankowska E, Gaczynska M, Pickering AM. Genetic and pharmacologic proteasome augmentation ameliorates Alzheimer’s-like pathology in mouse and fly APP overexpression models. Sci Adv. 2022 Jun 10;8(23):eabk2252. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abk2252. Epub 2022 Jun 8. PubMed PMID: 35675410; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9177073.

Chocron ES, Mdaki K, Jiang N, Cropper J, Pickering AM. Mitochondrial TrxR2 regulates metabolism and protects from metabolic disease through enhanced TCA and ETC function. Commun Biol. 2022 May 16;5(1):467. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03405-w. PubMed PMID: 35577894; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9110405.

Chocron ES, Munkácsy E, Pickering AM. Cause or casualty: The role of mitochondrial DNA in aging and age-associated disease. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2019 Feb 1;1865(2):285-297. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2018.09.035. Epub 2018 Nov 9. Review. PubMed PMID: 30419337; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6310633.

Erin Munkacsy, PhDErin Munkácsy, PhD: Scientific Writer

Dr. Munkácsy completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago, Illinois, and earned her PhD from UTHealth San Antonio. She conducted her postdoctoral training in the Pickering Lab from 2016 to 2019, focusing on the impacts of the proteasome system on brain aging. Dr. Munkácsy has a keen interest in the biology of aging, particularly in invertebrates.

Munkácsy E, Chocron ES, Quintanilla L, Gendron CM, Pletcher SD, Pickering AM. Neuronal-specific proteasome augmentation via Prosβ5 overexpression extends lifespan and reduces age-related cognitive decline. Aging Cell. 2019 Oct;18(5):e13005. doi: 10.1111/acel.13005. Epub 2019 Jul 23. PubMed PMID: 31334599; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6718538.

Munkácsy E, Pickering AM, Chapter 9 – Model organisms (invertebrates), In Handbooks of Aging, Handbook of the Biology of Aging (Ninth Edition), Academic Press, 2021, Pages 199-217, ISBN 9780128159620, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815962-0.00009-3.

Harper Sang Woo Kim, MD, PhDHarper Sangwoo Kim, MD, PhD: Resident

Dr. Kim is currently completing his medical residency at UCSF. Originally from South Korea, he completed his undergraduate degree at Brown University and received subsequent training at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Kim conducted the PhD portion of his MD-PhD dual degree in the Pickering Lab from 2017 to 2021. His research interests include the biology of aging, with a particular focus on the impacts of protein translation on the aging process.

Kim HS, Hardiman MM, Pickering AM. Protein translation rates are negatively correlated with lifespan in in-bred Drosophila strains. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2024 Dec 13;. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glae289. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 39670875.

Kim HS, Parker DJ, Hardiman MM, Munkácsy E, Jiang N, Rogers AN, Bai Y, Brent C, Mobley JA, Austad SN, Pickering AM. Early-adulthood spike in protein translation drives aging via juvenile hormone/germline signaling. Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 18;14(1):5021. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40618-x. PubMed PMID: 37596266; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10439225.

Kim HS, Pickering AM. Protein translation paradox: Implications in translational regulation of aging. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023;11:1129281. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1129281. eCollection 2023. Review. PubMed PMID: 36711035; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9880214.

Kim HS, Son J, Lee D, Tsai J, Wang D, Chocron ES, Jeong S, Kittrell P, Murchison CF, Kennedy RE, Tobon A, Jackson CE, Pickering AM. Gut- and oral-dysbiosis differentially impact spinal- and bulbar-onset ALS, predicting ALS severity and potentially determining the location of disease onset. BMC Neurol. 2022 Feb 21;22(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s12883-022-02586-5. PubMed PMID: 35189854; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8862222.

No Photo AvailableMehar Bano, MS

Dr. Bano, a Fulbright Scholar from Pakistan, completed her Master’s degree in the Pickering Lab from 2021 to 2023. She is passionate about researching Alzheimer’s disease, utilizing both Drosophila and organoid systems in her studies. Currently, she is applying to PhD programs to further her research.

Davidson K, Bano M, Parker D, Osmulski P, Gaczynska M, Pickering AM. β-Amyloid impairs Proteasome structure and function. Proteasome activation mitigates amyloid induced toxicity and cognitive deficits. bioRxiv. 2024 Oct 25;. doi: 10.1101/2024.10.23.619877. PubMed PMID: 39484574; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11526959.