The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) team is dedicated to ending ALS. Our researchers are the core of our organization and the invisible force pushing relentlessly for better treatment options. Get to know the faces behind the science!

Meet Val

If you've been on a tour of ALS TDI, you've probably met Val Tassinari, since she sits at the very first bench as you walk into the lab.

Val came to ALS TDI as an intern in 2010 and has been with the science team ever since. You can often find her validating gene expression endpoints and gene copy number analyses, or trying to referee the daily battles that break out between her two cats.

Meet Yiding

Yiding Yan is a molecular biologist who has been working to end ALS with ALS TDI since 2015.

As part of our translational research team, she spends her time in the lab subcloning genes for her team to use in experiments. In her free time, Yiding enjoys practicing meditation and yoga.

Meet Amit

Amit joined ALS TDI in 2022 as part of the Cell Biology team. He currently works with whole genome sequencing data collected from patient fibroblasts through the ARC program to build a bioinformatics analysis pipeline which can characterize repeat expansions and telomere length estimates to generate leads that can help identify effective therapeutic targets. Throughout his life, he has had personal and professional connections to neurodegenerative diseases which drove him to pursue this type of research. Amit was an international student from India, having studied in China for 10 years before receiving a bachelor's in biomedical science from RIT. In his free time, he enjoys tinkering, 3D printing, riding electric skateboards, and playing badminton.

Meet Josh B

Meet Josh B! Originally from Minnesota, Josh came to the Boston area to pursue his Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience from Boston University. He joined ALS TDI in 2019 as an intern and is now an Associate Scientist II, working primarily with the ALS Research Collaborative (ARC) team. Josh is responsible for interpreting patient data and processing and analyzing remote blood draws, among many other tasks. But Josh's talents don't stop at the lab bench. Beyond his professional life, he's a budding author, diligently crafting his own novel manuscript. He is also teaching himself how to bake, using his coworkers as taste testers for new recipes. When he's not immersed in writing or baking, he enjoys spending time with his cat, Shadow.

Meet TJ

Meet TJ! TJ joined ALS TDI in 2023 and works on the Cell Biology Team as a Scientist II. Originally from Buffalo, NY, he received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. from the University at Buffalo in Biological Sciences. Before that, he received his B.Sc. in Biology and Neuroscience from Canisius University. TJ moved to Boston to pursue a collaborative postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health. He has experience in disease modeling of iPSC-derived neurons, focusing on mechanisms underlying defective organelle trafficking in Huntington's and Parkinson's disease models. In his free time, TJ enjoys fishing, reading, writing, and anything outdoors. He also loves to travel with some of his recent journeys being Japan and Iceland!

Meet Therese

Therese joined ALS TDI in March 2015. Currently, Therese works on genome editing to create cellular models for ALS to help elucidate disease pathways. She also assists in high-throughput screening of iPSCs using our robotics system.

Therese is from Niagara Falls, NY (Go Bills!), and graduated from RIT with a BS in Biology. Outside of work, Therese is kept busy with her two German Shepherds as well as her two very sassy cats.

Meet Carlos

Meet Carlos! Carlos is a Senior Animal Care Technician here at ALS TDI and has been with the organization since 2005. Carlos is primarily responsible for taking care of the animals in the lab. That means monitoring their health, keeping track of the studies, and monitoring their reactions to drugs. Carlos is deeply passionate about working at ALS TDI because it's something he has always wanted to do. Being in a job where he knows he is making a significant impact fulfills a lifelong aspiration of his. The knowledge that he is contributing to a remarkable cause is profoundly motivating and inspiring to him. Beyond his commitment to ALS TDI, Carlos playfully acknowledges that his six boys and two girls keep him quite busy but are nonetheless an endless joy.

Meet Anushka

Meet Anushka! Anushka has been with ALS TDI since 2022 as a Scientist on the Cell Biology team. She is nothing shy of a rockstar, with a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences and Genetics from King's College London, a Master's from Imperial College in Novel Therapies, and most recently, a PhD in Neuroscience and Gene Therapy from The University of Sheffield. At ALS TDI, she primarily does cell work, which includes analyzing cell models in the ALS disease and studying the disease characteristics. In Anushka's free time, she has taken up biking thanks to the immense biking culture here at ALS TDI. She is also an Indian classical trained dancer and an avid explorer. Her coworkers like to tease her about the perpetually packed bags under her desk on Friday afternoons - no one knows where she is off to next!

Meet Cindy

Cindy is a Senior Associate Scientist here at ALS TDI. Cindy designs and develops assay systems. That means she invents ways to measure biological changes caused by ALS and also changes caused by potential treatments for ALS. Nearly every project and every treatment we study at ALS TDI needs its customized assay systems. Fernando says, "I sort of feel like - if you can think of it, Cindy will figure out a way to measure it." Along with being a super important member of the in vivo team, she is an incredible baker and brings in homemade treats for the team almost every Monday.

Meet Josh

Meet Josh, Research Associate III at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). Josh joined ALS TDI in 2004 and is part of our in vivo team. On any day, 365 days a year, you will find him or Andy in the lab as they run assays in our animal models of ALS, even on holidays or during global pandemics.

Meet Joe

One of the four Gills in the lab. When not in classes at Emmanuel College, Joe spends his time helping out around the lab and working on projects within the ALS Research Collaborative. He is also a master of board games and will swiftly defeat anyone who attempts to prove otherwise.

Meet Kaly

Kaly could have had a career as a cake decorator, but we're glad she chose to join ALS TDI's in vivo team instead. Kaly is in charge of new model development at ALS TDI. She also works with our discovery biology team, using tissue from C9orf72 models to find drug targets for future therapeutic compounds. When we're lucky, Kaly still practices her baking skills and brings a cake in to share. Within minutes, even the crumbs will disappear, but hey, you have to have brain food when working in the lab!

Meet Andy

Andy has been working to end ALS with ALS TDI since 2002 and tests potential treatments in models of ALS.

If you come to the lab you might see Andy and/or someone from his team, Josh, Ken, Carlos and Matt, because they are in the lab all 365 days of the year!

Meet Anna

Anna is one of 4 Gills in the lab – both of her parents are part of the science team and her brother helps out too when he isn't studying. She started coming to the lab during school vacations to help load the dishwasher and began culturing cells for the team while in college studying biology. Now, as an Associate Scientist, she designs cell-based assays of her own to test drug toxicity in C9orf72 cells.

Meet Beth

Beth Levine has been with ALS TDI since July 2007. She's a cell biologist working on in vitro models of ALS.

When she's not in the lab, she spends half the year preparing for the Tri-State Trek, and the other half of the year recovering from it

Meet Alan

Alan found ALS TDI after he toured the lab in high school as part of his AP Biology class. In college, he applied with our science team for an internship and took on the important task of lab freezer organization. Six years later, Alan now splits his time conducting C9orf72 experiments, analyzing accelerometer data, and enhancing our ALS Research Collaborative. Alan is quite possibly the pun-iest person in the lab, so if you see him on a lab tour, feel free to ask him if the freezers are running. You know, just to break the ice...


Meet Ken

Meet Ken, Director of Lab Operations at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). In 2001, Ken joined ALS TDI after his best friend, Stephen Heywood, was diagnosed with ALS at age 29. Over the years, Ken has been essential to our science programs, ensuring that everything in the lab runs as smoothly as possible. Whether it's ordering lab supplies, making sure our lab is up to code, going in at midnight when a freezer alarm goes off to protect samples, or snowshoeing in during the 2015 snowstorm season, Ken does it all.