Welcome to the lab!
Dr. Farah Lubin – Email: flubin@uab.edu, neurotree
Dr. Lubin is a Distinguished and Triton Endowed Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She earned her BS, summa cum laude, in Biology/Chemistry from Alabama State University, and her PhD in Cell/Molecular Biology from SUNY Binghamton University in New York and completed two postdoctoral fellowships at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Lubin is focused on studying the epigenetic basis for transcription programs in the healthy and diseased brain. She and others have observed that neurons have “hijacked” epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation, posttranslational histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs to coordinate gene transcription changes in mature, non-dividing neurons during memory formation. Her work has provided insights into epigenetic mechanisms that participate in the regulation of gene expression during memory encoding, allocation, storage and recall in hopes of unraveling the causes of cognitive deficits and to develop treatment options. Her research gives insight not only into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying long-term memory in the healthy brain, but also insights into the fundamental mechanisms that might be deranged in cognitive disorders.
Graduate Students
Akash Nagarajan, MS joined the lab in January 2024.
Akash is currently investigating the splice variants of the long noncoding RNA Neat1 in the context of aging and memory dysfunction in the hippocampus. His project involves CRISPR-based gene inactivation and overexpression to study the effects of differential Neat1 transcripts in vivo and explore the transcriptional and epigenetic profile in a cell type-specific manner, focusing on the astrocytes.
Ashley Thompson, BS, MLS joined the lab in April 2025.
Ashley is investigating the role of epigenetic mechanisms such as long non-coding RNAs in oligodendrocytes in models of aging. She is utilizing both in vitro and in vivo techniques to understand the role of long non-coding RNAs in memory formation and in memory disorders concomitant with aging.
Caroline Andrews, MS joined the lab in April 2025.
Caroline is currently investigating the role of the long noncoding RNA Neat1 and its two splice variants in the context of Alzheimer’s Disease in the hippocampus. Her project focuses on the role of estradiol signaling in the regulation of Neat1 in hippocampal astrocytes. Her work utilizes both in vivo and in vitro models to determine how loss of this regulation with age contributes to AD pathology.
Noor Yousuf, MS joined the lab in March 2026
Noor is currently investigating the role of long non-coding RNA Neat1 in hippocampal astrocytes in Alzheimer’s Disease. Her project examines a potential interplay between Neat1 and the protein alpha-synuclein. She is focusing on how these two molecules affect astrocytic calcium signaling and subsequent changes in memory formation.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Maria Jones-Muhammad, Ph.D. joined the lab in July 2023
She received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and her BS in Chemistry from Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS. Her research focuses on investigating how in utero exposure to THC and CBD affects the susceptibility of male and female offspring to seizures, particularly focused on epigenetic changes that occur during neurodevelopment.
Rudhab Bahabry, MD, Ph.D. joined the lab as a graduate student in March 2020 and will be continuing her postdoctoral work starting in August 2024.
Rudhab is investigating the implications of active DNA demethylation on seizures and the role of O-GlcNAc signaling in DNA hydroxymethylation changes in TLE.
Lab Researcher
Madeleine Falgout, MS joined the lab in May 2023.
Lab Manager
Jennifer “Jenny” Nelson-Brantley joined the Lubin Lab in September 2023.
Jenny is a transplant from Kansas City and brings with her over 20 years of research experience. She enjoys a good barbeque and The Kansas City Chiefs. When not in the lab, she can be found hanging out with her friends and family.
Undergraduate Students
Muringo Irungu (summer/fall/spring)
Mahan Liaqat (fall/spring)
Allyson Pinkston-King
Carys Joan Evans
Abby Morrow (summer/fall) – Samford University Undergraduate Neuroscience Student, UAB Blazer Brain Program 2026
James Nguyen (summer) – Auburn University Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Student