Francesca LiCausi, M.S.

Francesca is a predoctoral candidate in the Maryanovich lab. Francesca graduated from Stockton University in 2018 with a B.S in Biology and minor in neuroscience. Following graduation, she received a Post-baccalaureate Intermural Research Training Award from the National Institutes of Health. In 2018, Francesca joined the laboratory of Dr. Robert Colbert as a research trainee, where she examined how a disease risk variant of spondolyoarthritis influenced mesenchymal stem cell fate and osteogenic differentiation. In 2019, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Zu-hang Sheng and examined how intercellular communication between oligodendrocytes and neurons influenced axonal metabolism. Francesca entered the Ph.D. program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2020 and completed her Masters in Cell Biology in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Kitsis studying mitochondrial mediated cell death. After completing her masters, Francesca joined the Maryanovich lab in August of 2022, where she is investigating intercellular communication and ROS signaling in the hematopoietic niche, with a focus on mesenchymal stem cells.