Brief Biography: 
Dina grew up in West Windsor, New Jersey. Fascinated by the nervous system since she was a young child (where she could be found experimenting with planaria memory in her bedroom, much to her parents’ dismay), she studied neuroscience at the University of Vermont. There, she joined Dr. Coutinho-Budd’s lab and stayed on to work as a laboratory technician after graduation, spearheading a screen to identify glial genes involved in Alzheimer’s disease pathology. In addition to her love of research, she has always been passionate about veterinary medicine, solidifying this passion while working as a veterinary assistant throughout college. She is excited to train in the combined degree program where she can combine her two passions in order to help dissect the cellular and molecular mechanisms of development and disease in animals and humans. Outside of research and medicine, she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, and herping. 
 
Education:
B.S. Neuroscience, University of Vermont, 2020, summa cum laude

Rodney Parsons Award Recipient for outstanding achievement in scholarship, leadership, and research in the field of neuroscience, 2020
 

Research Interests:
Dina is interested in cellular and molecular biology in the context of neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. She is interested in characterizing what happens in health, to better understand what happens in disease processes.