Mike Piacentino | he/him/his | PI
michaelpiacentino (at) jhmi (dot) edu | Bluesky | Twitter
About Mike:
Mike is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. During his postdoctoral training with Dr. Marianne Bronner at the California Institute of Technology, Mike became fascinated by lipid metabolism, and the diverse effects membrane lipids have on cell biology in vivo.
Mike received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry from Boston University, where he studied skeletal patterning in the sea urchin embryo with Dr. Cynthia Bradham. This experience sparked his excitement for developmental biology, cell signaling, and mentoring.
As a mentor, Mike aims to build a sense of belonging amongst trainees from diverse backgrounds and experiences, practice clear and direct communication strategies, and help mentees identify their personal and professional goals and how to achieve them. Mike works to communicate clear expectations, engage in active listening, and adopt individualized training plans that leave each mentee with a sense of support and empowerment to ask ambitious questions and tackle challenging research projects.
Mike can’t wait to unlock the mysteries of the neural crest cell membrane. If you are interested in joining us or collaborating with our group, please reach out!
Outside of lab Mike enjoys going hikes, mastering new recipes in the kitchen, and crocheting (update: knitting is a blast, too)!
Mallorie Jenne | she/her/hers | BCMB PhD Student
Mallorie is a PhD student in the Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology program. She earned her BS in Chemistry and Biology from Harvey Mudd College. She previously worked in a research lab under Dr. Jae Hur studying the role of the gene CG5815 in lipid metabolism in fruit flies. She is excited to continue studying lipids in the Piacentino Lab. Outside of lab Mallorie enjoys running, hiking, and looking at plants.
Ilya Grabylnikov | he/him/his |Research Technologist
Ilya is a graduate of Towson University's MSFS program with an interest in forensic and developmental biology. As the first member of the rapidly budding Piacentino lab, he's thrilled to have the opportunity to help develop the lab from "the ground up" and is looking forward to breakthrough research in an engaging environment. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, swimming, and reading about forensic or dev bio.
Stephanie Peralta | she/her/hers | Research Specialist
Stephanie obtained her BS in Health Science at Mercy College, where she discovered a passion for being in a laboratory atmosphere. During her undergraduate years, she worked in Dr. Anthony Canger’s lab, and her research focused on paxillin and actin expression during neural crest cell migration in chick embryos and retinoic acid as a teratogen in chick CNS development. Stephanie obtained her MS in Biotechnology with a concentration in Biodefense at Johns Hopkins University. She is very excited to start working with chick embryos again and circle back to what made her initially fall in love with working in a laboratory. Outside of the lab, Stephanie enjoys cooking, hiking, reading, and watching sunsets.
Natalia Maiorana | she/her/hers |Undergraduate Researcher
Natalia is a current undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University studying Molecular and Cellular Biology and Public Health with a minor in Spanish for the Professions. She spent time researching in Dr. Megan Martik’s lab where she studied cardiac neural crest migration and developed a passion for neural crest research. She is very excited to continue studying the neural crest and develop her research skills in the Piacentino lab. When she isn’t studying, Natalia spends time listening to music, hiking, reading, cooking, taking pictures, and hanging out with friends.
Alex Pomper | he/him/his |Undergraduate Researcher
Alex is an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University studying Molecular Cellular Biology and History of Science and Technology with a minor in computer science. He’s excited to be joining the lab and learning about the neural crest and about lab techniques. In his spare time, Alex likes reading, watching movies, cooking, and playing on the Johns Hopkins squash team.
Lab Alumni
Megan Butler (BCMB Rotation)
Sydney Pettit (BCMB Rotation)
You | your pronouns | your position
We are looking for passionate graduate students, undergraduate students, and postdoctoral fellows to join our team! Please email us to inquire about a position!
If you are looking for an outstanding PhD program, check out BCMB @ Hopkins! We hope to host you for a rotation!