Principal Investigator
Jeremy Kay, Ph. D.
Associate Professor of Neurobiology & Ophthalmology
Associate Professor in Cell Biology
jeremy.kay@duke.edu
Lab Manager
Ari Pendragon
Lab Research Analyst I
ariane.pereira@duke.edu
Lab manager and master of transgenic mouse lines.
Postdoctoral Scholars & Senior Research Associates
Ekta Dembla, Ph. D.
Senior Research Associate
ekta.dembla@duke.edu
A science enthusiast who is trying to understand the mechanisms of degeneration in a mouse model of Crumbs-related retinal disease.
Mayur Dembla, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
mayur.dembla@duke.edu
Mayur is interested in understanding how retinal directional selective circuit is formed. Directional selective circuit (DS circuit) involves formations of synapses between two primary retinal neurons Starburst amacrine cells(SAC) and ON-OFF directional selective ganglion cells (ooDSGC). DS circuit formation occurs at very precise period of synaptic development, with SAC leading in forming initial template of arbors bed in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) on to which ooDSGC forms synaptic contacts. He is interested in understanding how these layers are formed and what synaptic molecules are involved in constructing these layers. He is also curious and passionate about science, loves sports, music and fitness
Rashmi Dubey, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
rashmi.dubey@duke.edu
Rashmi Dubey is a Senior Research Associate in the Kay Lab with a hybrid wet-lab and computational biology background. She was originally trained in microbiology and biochemistry, completing her thesis on antibiotic resistance mechanisms in Streptomyces. During her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kentucky, she began exploring computational tools to bridge the gap between sequencing data and the understanding of articular cartilage growth and maturation, the development and progression of osteoarthritis, and the repair of articular lesions. Her interest in the complexity of biological aging eventually led her to vision science, where she has applied her computational skillset to investigate the genetics and epigenetics of retinal health and aging. Since joining the Kay Lab in 2024, her research has focused on understanding transcript diversity through long-read RNA sequencing. She studies how alternative isoforms are expressed and regulated during retinal development, with a particular focus on genes associated with inherited retinal diseases. Outside of research, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching movies, stand-up comedy, and Indian music.
Sarah Hadyniak, Ph. D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
sarah.hadyniak@duke.edu
Sarah is interested in how isoform differences impact cell fate in retinal bipolar cells using single cell, long-read sequencing and is supported by a fellowship from the Hartwell Foundation. Outside of lab, she’s likely hanging out with her dog Merlin.
Caitlin Paisley, Ph. D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
(previously a Ph.D. student in the lab)
caitlin.paisley@duke.edu
Retinal astrocytes, developmental cell death, and how microglia shape the developing retina.
Juan Valdez-Lopez, Ph. D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
juan.valdezlopez@duke.edu
Juan is interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying the astrocyte regulation of angiogenesis in the developing retina. He is working on developing screening methods to discover new astrocyte-expressed angiogenic genes.
Graduate Students
Alexandra Barker
Ph.D. Candidate (DSCB)
alex.barker@duke.edu
Alex graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a B.A in Neuroscience & Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. As an undergraduate student she worked in the lab of Dr. David Root studying how specific neurons are involved in behaviors associated with threat avoidance. After graduating, Alex went to work for Dr. Neil Aronin whose lab focuses on developing siRNA-based therapeutics for Huntington’s disease. While she came to appreciate the complexities of developing a therapeutic, Alex became motivated in understanding how mechanisms of central nervous system development could be used as a basis to understand neurodegenerative diseases. Alex is currently pursuing her PhD in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (DSCB) and joined the Kay lab in May 2025. Her main interest focus is on understanding how astrocytes serve as mediators of neuron-vasculature communication and to identify how astrocytes molecularly contribute to blood-retina-barrier establishment. When she’s not in the lab, Alex loves to knit, read, try new food (especially ice cream), go to concerts and spend time outside!
Tracy Lee
Ph.D. Candidate (Neuro)
tracy.lee@duke.edu
Tracy earned her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she first discovered her fascination with visual neuroscience. As an undergraduate student, she worked in Dr. Mrinalini Hoon’s lab exploring how early visual deprivation shapes retinal ganglion cell synaptic connections. After graduating, Tracy spent time as a postgraduate research associate in Dr. In-Jung Kim’s lab, where she investigated the retinal circuits and mechanisms that drive innate fear responses to looming visual threats. Tracy is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Neurobiology and joined the Kay Lab in May 2025. Her current focus is on understanding how CRB1, a cell surface protein, plays a role in the formation and maintenance of the outer limiting membrane (OLM) in the retina. Outside of the lab, Tracy loves to travel, bake desserts, try out new restaurants, or be out on the golf course (fun fact: she competed as a Division I student-athlete).
Research Technicians
Nicolas Zerda Afanador
Research Technician II
nicolas.zerda@duke.edu
Nico is an international student from Colombia and a research technician in the lab. He fell in love with developmental neurobiology during his undergraduate studies at UChicago—especially glia—and has been particularly starstruck (pun intended) by astrocytes ever since. Following this interest, he joined the Kay Lab, where he studies developing retinal astrocytes. His current projects focus on identifying how astrocytes change in the absence of microglia and testing the roles of vascularization and oxygenation in promoting astrocyte maturation. Outside the lab, he enjoys watching limited TV series, pursuing ecotourism, and attempting embroidery.
Undegraduate Students
Charlotte Reedy
Undergraduate Student Researcher
Charlotte is an undergraduate at Duke graduating in May 2026 with B.S. in Neuroscience, and has worked with the Kay lab since August 2023. She is pursuing Graduation with Distinction through her independent thesis project, where she is interested in characterizing the timeline and role of CRB1 in outer limiting membrane formation early in development. Beyond undergrad, she plans to take her passion for vision science to attend optometry school.
Markus Cheng
Undergraduate Student Researcher
Markus is an undergraduate researcher from Shanghai and is mentored by Dr. Sarah Hadyniak. He is a member of the Class of 2028 at Duke University, where he is double majoring in Biology and Statistics. In the lab, he focuses on investigating patterns of apoptosis in various bipolar cell subtypes during development. He hopes to use biology to help cure diseases and improve human health. This is why he joined the Kay Lab in 2024 and why he hopes to pursue a research career in the future. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing and watching sports, including squash, basketball, and running.
Previous Lab Members
- Elise Edgar, Research Technician.
- Adam M. Miltner, Postdoctoral Scholar.
- Cora Bright, Graduate Student.
- Sage Martineau, Research Technician.
- Cameron Prigge, Postdoctoral Scholar.
- Samantha Zarnick, Research Technician.
- Christopher Kozlowski, Graduate Student/Postdoctoral Scholar.
- Robin Perelli, Research Technician.
- Thomas Ray, Postdoctoral Scholar.
- Jinjing Wang, Graduate Student.
- Vanessa M. Puñal, Graduate Student.
- Federica Brecha, Research Technician.
- Megan Stogsdill, Lab Manager.
- Arsha Sharma, undergraduate student mentored by Cameron Prigge.
- Daniel Sul, undergraduate student mentored by Ekta Dembla.
- Denna Huang, undergraduate student mentored by Caitlin Paisley and Ekta Dembla.
- Monica Lee, undergraduate student mentored by Caitlin Paisley and Vanessa M. Puñal.
- Kelly Cochran , undergraduate student mentored by Thomas Ray.
- Skye Tracey, undergraduate student mentored by Jinjing Wang.
- Peter (?), undergraduate student mentored by Christopher Kozlowski
