CDPA Leadership
Executive Board
Sravya Kovvali, Ph.D.
President
University of Albany, SUNY
Dr. Sravya Kovvali is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ken Halvorsen’s lab at the University at Albany, SUNY, where she works on developing DNA-based biosensing tools. She earned her PhD at The Ohio State University studying Salmonella protein biochemistry and high-throughput drug discovery and then spent a year at the U.S. FDA developing biofilm models for medical devices.
Outside the lab, Sravya is an enthusiastic reader with a book-buying habit that far outpaces her reading speed. She also loves hiking, playing board games, and attempting to cuddle her two cats.
Manuel Brace, M.D.
Communications Specialist
Albany Medical College
Dr. Manuel Brace is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Matthaiou’s Lab at the Department of Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College. His research focuses on fungal infections and innovative therapeutic strategies, with a particular emphasis on Aspergillus species. He earned his M.D. from Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, in 2024 and immediately pursued a career in research to advance understanding of host-pathogen interactions.
Outside the lab, Manuel enjoys theatre, graphic design, cooking, travelling and new coffee experiences.
Rabia Ashraf, Ph.D.
Secretary and Treasurer
Albany Medical College
Dr. Rabia Ashraf is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Regenerative Cancer Cell Biology at Albany Medical College, where she investigates how the mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex regulates calcium homeostasis using Caenorhabditis elegans genetics and molecular biology.
She earned her Ph.D. from Victoria University, Australia, studying the immune-modulatory effects of probiotic bacteria, and has over two decades of combined research and teaching experience across microbiology, immunology, and cell biology. Her long-term goal is to lead an independent research program that bridges microbial and mitochondrial biology to develop innovative, translational approaches for preventing and treating diseases, ultimately contributing to global health improvement.
Outside the lab, Rabia enjoys reading, cooking, gardening, and spending time with her family.
Catherine A Hamman, Ph.D.
Events Coordinator
Neural Stem Cell Institute
Dr. Catherine Hamann earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, where she developed synthetic developmental biology tools to model early human neural patterning. Her graduate work focused on engineering synthetic Notch (synNotch)–directed spatial expression of key morphogens in 2D and 3D stem cell–derived systems, establishing new approaches for programming multicellular organization in vitro.
In August of 2025, Dr. Hamann joined the Neural Stem Cell Institute as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Sally Temple. She applies patient-derived models to study frontotemporal dementia using brain organoid and assembloid systems. Her research aims to uncover how tau mutations disrupt neuronal maturation, synaptic function, and proteoform diversity, with the long-term goal of advancing human-relevant platforms for therapeutic discovery in tauopathies.
Outside of the lab, Catherine enjoys traveling and spending quality time with her cat, Maggie.
Sol Torruella, Ph.D.
Communications Specialist
Neural stem cell Institute
Dr. Sol Torruella-Gonzalez obtained her PharmD from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and worked as a pharmacist before deciding to pursue a career in biomedical research. In 2022, she received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She began her studies in spinal cord injury (SCI) repair using the frog, Xenopus laevis, under the guidance of Dr. Juan Larrain. Her thesis work characterized the expression of the Cornifelin protein during metamorphosis and in response to SCI. Sol joined Dr. Hill’s laboratory at the NSCI in May 2022 as a postdoctoral associate. Her work seeks to test a pharmacological treatment to promote recovery after spinal cord injury, beginning with rodent preclinical SCI models. Sol’s long-term goal is to develop therapeutic strategies that improve tissue regeneration and promote recovery in SCI patients.
Outside of the lab, Sol enjoys reading, writing, hiking, and dancing.
Twitter: @SolTorruella
Institutional Representatives
Varun Bavda, Ph.D.
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health
Dr. Varun Bavda is a Postdoctoral Research Affiliate at the Paczkowski laboratory. He earned his M.Sc. in Biotechnology from ARIBAS, S.P. University, Gujarat, India in 2014. Later, he joined the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal, India and received his Ph.D. in Life Sciences in 2021 with Dr. Vikas Jain. During his Ph.D., he mainly studied the role of lytic cassette proteins of bacteriophage infecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He moved to Albany, NY in 2022 and joined the Paczkowski lab to expand his interest and experience in quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using his skills as microbiologist and molecular biologist, Varun further wants to understand the ecosystem of P. aeruginosa and M. abscessus co-infection in the cystic fibrosis patient’s lungs environment.
Outside the lab, Varun likes to do gardening, cooking and enjoy CDPA outings around the Albany.
Twitter: @varunr68
Sol Torruella, Ph.D.
Neural Stem Cell Institute
Dr. Sol Torruella-Gonzalez obtained her PharmD from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and worked as a pharmacist before deciding to pursue a career in biomedical research. In 2022, she received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She began her studies in spinal cord injury (SCI) repair using the frog, Xenopus laevis, under the guidance of Dr. Juan Larrain. Her thesis work characterized the expression of the Cornifelin protein during metamorphosis and in response to SCI. Sol joined Dr. Hill’s laboratory at the NSCI in May 2022 as a postdoctoral associate. Her work seeks to test a pharmacological treatment to promote recovery after spinal cord injury, beginning with rodent preclinical SCI models. Sol’s long-term goal is to develop therapeutic strategies that improve tissue regeneration and promote recovery in SCI patients.
Outside of the lab: Sol enjoys reading, writing, and knowing new places in Albany and its surroundings.
Twitter: @SolTorruella
Salima Lalani, Ph.D.
Albany Medical College
Dr. Lalani is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Michael DiPersio where she is also working with a Neurologist, Dr. Allen Gerber. She is researching the role of enteroviruses in the etiology of Type 1 diabetes in a physician-scientist collaborative project, as well as studying how specific integrins work in cancers and wound healing. Dr. Lalani secured her Ph.D. in virology and antiviral therapeutics from Sunway University, Malaysia, with a focus on functional insights in the host and virus-targeted antiviral agents against Enterovirus-A71.
Outside the Lab:
Dr. Lalani loves reading and enjoys teasing her child (playfully) in every way possible!
Twitter: @LalaniSalima1
Role currently open!
Rennselaer Polytechnical Institute
The Institutional Representative for RPI is responsible for keeping the postdoctoral scholars at RPI up-to-date with CDPA happenings.
This position is currently open for election. If you are a postdoctoral researcher at RPI and interested in serving as your institutional representative, contact us!
Role currently open!
University of Albany, SUNY
The Institutional Representative for University of Albany is responsible for keeping the postdoctoral scholars at SUNY up-to-date with CDPA happenings.
This position is currently open for election. If you are a postdoctoral researcher at Suny and interested in serving as your institutional representative, contact us!
Director
Kate Tubbesing, Ph.D.
Neural Stem Cell Institute
Dr. Kate Tubbesing is currently a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Sally Temple at the Neural Stem Cell Institute (NSCI). Her current research focuses on endo-lysosomal pathway regulation in brain endothelial cells. Originally from Maryland, she lived in New Orleans prior to completing her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from SUNY Oneonta. She worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing quality control labs before joining Margarida Barroso’s lab at Albany Medical College. In 2020, Dr. Tubbesing defended her Ph.D. in Biomedical Research from Albany Medical College. She is passionate about bioimaging and the regulation of iron and endocytic processes in health and disease.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Tubbesing is an advocate for work-life balance and tries to follow her own advice. She loves raising her two children and several pets with her husband Max. She enjoys camping, hiking, kayaking, and local farmer’s markets.
Twitter: @katetubbesing