Research Team

Maria Neginskaya, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Maria received her Ph.D. in biophysics and neuroscience from the Southern Federal University (Russia). The main area of her research interest is in the field of mitochondrial pathophysiology. She is interested in investigating the roles played by mitochondrial ion channels in stress-induced cell death. Her experimental approach focuses on using a combination of electrophysiology and imaging to study the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in clinically relevant disease animal models. Maria is a recipient of the Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association and a winner of the Young Bioenergeticist Award from the Biophysical Society.

Yaw Akosah, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Yaw obtained his M.S. in Molecular Biology from the Kazan Federal University, Russia in 2012. He worked as a lecturer of Pathophysiology at Valley View University, Ghana until 2017. He also worked concurrently as a Research Associate while pursuing a doctorate degree in Biological Science at the Kazan Federal University. His Ph.D dissertation focused on deciphering the molecular mechanisms of Avr-R gene interactions during tracheomycotic infections. Yaw joined Dr. Pavlov’s lab in January 2022 and currently investigates the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and the role of inorganic PolyP in its induction.