The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Category: researchassociates

Xù Tian

April 19, 2026

Xù is a research associate in the lab who specializes in plasmid and viral vector production. His current work focuses on the production of HEK293 cell lines with various abilities to seed and aggregate tau.

Giulia Fragola

September 14, 2014
After graduating with a M.S. in Molecular Biology from Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca in Milan I joined the European School of Molecular Medicine where I obtained my Ph.D degree. For my graduate work, I studied the role of Polycomb proteins in transcription factor-induced somatic reprogramming under the supervision of Dr. Stefano Casola and Dr. Giuseppe Testa. I then moved to Dr. Zylka’s lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study the role of Topoisomerase 1 in the maintenance of genomic stability in the central nervous system. More recently I joined Dr. Cohen’s research group where I am extending my interest on the role of DNA damage in neurodegeneration. Outside the lab, I spend my time with my husband, mostly running behind our lovely little daughter, but when I have a chance, I love to go out for a beer, hike, climb or visit new places.

Miles Bryan

August 27, 2014

Miles graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a B.S. in Marine Biology. Soon after, he worked as a research technician in the lab of Dr. Nancy Andrews at Duke University where he focused on characterizing in vivo models of iron dyshomeostasis. For his graduate work, Miles joined the lab of Dr. Aaron Bowman at Vanderbilt University where he investigated the role of manganese homeostasis on neuroprotective pathways (autophagy, IGF/AKT signaling) in Huntington’s disease. After his PhD, he joined the lab of Dr. Cohen at UNC in 2020 where he is investigating key pathological mechanisms of tau in Alzheimer’s disease and how to target these therapeutically. I love cruising to warm locales with my wife, hanging with our three cats, fishing, gardening, gaming, and a good IPA.