Ishmail Abdus-Saboor

Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Assistant Professor of Biology

Ishmail received his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012, followed by postdoctoral fellowships in Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medicine and University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Abdus-Saboor uses an interdisciplinary strategy combining genetics, behavior, electrophysiology, neuronal imaging, and computation, to uncover neural circuit mechanisms for the sensory encoding of touch and pain. Ishmail is a recipient of the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, NIH Mitchell Max Award for Pain Research, Burroughs Wellcome Fund PDEP Fellowship, and Rita Allen Foundation Scholar in Pain Award.

The Abdus-Saboor lab was established in 2018 in the Biology Department at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2021, the lab will move to the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. |  curriculum vitae

Anissa Jhumka, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow (2021- )
B.S., Aix-Marseille University, France
Ph.D., Aix-Marseille University, France

Justin Burdge

Biology PhD student (2019 – present)
T32 Genetics Training Grant
B.S., University of Pennsylvania
juburdge [at] sas.upenn.edu

Erin (Evonne) Jean

Immunology PhD student (2020 – present)
*co-mentored with Debroski Herbert at Penn
NSF GRFP Fellow
B.S., Hampton University
jeanerin [at] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Leah Middleton

Neuroscience PhD Student (2018 – present)
NRSA F31 Fellowship (NINDS)
B.A., Mount Holyoke College
leahjmid [at] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Melanie Schaffler

Neuroscience PhD Student (2018 – present)
B.A., Wesleyan University
schmel [at] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Ryan Schwark

Neuroscience PhD student (2020 – present)
B.S., Elizabethtown College
rschwark [at] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

William Foster

Technician (2018 – present)
B.A., Haverford College
wbf [at] sas.upenn.edu

Isabella Succi

Technician (2020 – present)
B.S., St. Joseph’s University
isucci [at] sas.upenn.edu

Justin Arnold

Undergraduate Researcher (2019 – present)
justinar [at] sas.upenn.edu

Lucie Pham

Undergraduate Researcher (2019 – present)
phamluc [at] sas.upenn.edu

Heather Rossi, Ph.D.

Research Associate, 2018 – 2021
Current: Research Associate @UPenn

Jessica Jones

Technician, 2018 – 2020
Current: PhD student @ UWashington

Samuel Kaufmann

Undergraduate Researcher, 2019 – 2020