Carol Mason, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Carol Mason received her B.S. from Chatham College and Ph.D. in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Mason is Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology, Neuroscience, and Ophthalmology, and a member of the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University. She is co-director of the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, director of the Vision Sciences Training Program, and Chair of Interschool Planning. Dr. Mason is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Institute of Medicine, and she was President of the Society for Neuroscience from 2013-2014.
Jane Dodd, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Jane Dodd is the Vice Chair of the Department of Physiology & Cellular Biophysics and co-director of the Physiology Graduate Program at Columbia University.
paige helmer, Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL research scientist
Paige received her PhD from Columbia University studying motor proteins in brain development. She is currently studying the communication between the retina and adjacent pigmented cells in retinal development.
Felix Fiederling, Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL research scientist
Felix received his PhD from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2017. His previous work focused on axon guidance and mechanisms of growth cone adaptation and response to gradients. He is currently studying trans-synaptic connectivity between the periphery to dorsal spinal cord and commissural neuron targets.
Nefeli Slavi, PH.D.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Nefeli received her PhD from the SUNY College of Optometry in 2018. Her previous work focused on the role of gap junction channels in the process of abnormal retinal angiogenesis. She is currently studying the role of pigment in cell fate specification
Melissa Lee
POSTDOCTORAL research scientist
Melissa is a current postdoc in the Mason-Dodd lab. Previously, she was a graduate student in the Doctoral Program for Neurobiology and Behavior, co-mentored by Carol Mason and Mimi Shirasu-Hiza. She studies synapse growth and refinement in fragile X syndrome using the retinogeniculate system.
Michael Liapin
RESEARCH STAFF Associate
Michael is a current Research Staff Associate at the Mason-Dodd Lab. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Neuroscience from Princeton University, after studying aggression with the Falkner Lab. He is currently set to assist the postdoctoral researchers with their projects and plans on pursuing graduate studies in Neuroscience later on.
Mitali sharma
Manager of special Projects & Executive assistant
Mitali Sharma graduated in 2022 with a Master’s Degree in HR Management from William Paterson University, after working in the private sector for most of her career. She is Executive Assistant to Carol Mason, overseeing the financial and personnel management of the Mason-Dodd Lab. She is supporting Carol who is Chair of Interschool planning, in junior faculty development and inter-campus activities.