Skip to Main Content
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Smith Lab

Team

Wanli Smith

Wanli Smith, Principal Investigator

Wanli W. Smith is a neuroscientist and pharmacologist at Johns Hopkins University and Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She joined Johns Hopkins as a faculty member and an independent investigator in 2006. Currently, she is a professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, and the Director of the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry. Through her career, Dr. Smith has made great contributions to understanding of molecular pathways in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), obesity and other related diseases with consistent grant fundings from NIH, industries and various private foundations since 2006. She is a founder and a leader of the Global Association for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases. She has made noteworthy accomplishments in the education of biomedical students and postdoctoral fellows through classroom teaching and mentoring in her laboratory. She has also dedicated herself to the academic community by serving on grant review panels, the editorial boards of scientific journals, and scientific organizations. 

 
Gabriela Mercado

Gabriela Mercado, Ph.D., Research Associate

Dr. Mercado is a molecular biologist with extensive experience in the pathogenesis and therapeutics of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related neurodegenerative disorders. Her research interest is focused on understanding the molecular interaction between environmental risk factors and genetic predisposition in neuroinflammation and PD development to provide novel prevention strategies and treatment options.

 
Yuli Wang

Yuli Wang, Visiting Ph.D. Student

Yuli is interested in investigating  natural products and traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of neurovegetative diseases with emphasis on Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer's disease. 

 
Hannah Fuehrer

Hannah Fuehrer, M.S., Research Specialist

Hannah’s research work focuses on using novel MRI and other neuroimaging methods to identify potential biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases including PD, AD, and dementia. Outside of lab, Hannah enjoys hiking and nature photography. 

 
Tanvikhaa Saravanan

Tanvikhaa Saravanan, M.S. Student

Tanvikhaa is interested in translational research in neurodegenerative diseases. She is currently investigating the molecular pathogenesis of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. She is an NCAA athlete (Tennis) and loves to bake and play board games in her free time. 

 
Nicole Brennick

Nicole Brennick, M.S., Student

Nicole is interested in investigating the neurobiology and molecular pathophysiological pathways of neurodegenerative diseases. She utilizes cell culture models to explore the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and protein-protein interactions. 

 
Jazlynn Meza

Jazlynn Meza, B.S., VTSI-funded PREP scholar

Jazlynn is interested in studying neurodegenerative diseases and related disorders. She is currently working on investigating the neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration underlying PD pathogenesis using in vitro and in vivo mouse models. In her free time, Jazlynn enjoys running and nature.