Engie Mostafa

Originally from Cairo, Egypt, Engie received her Bachelor's degree in Molecular & Cell Biology with minors in Global Studies and Politics, Philosophy, and Law from the University of California, Berkeley. At UC Berkeley, she worked in the lab of Dr. Ksenia Krasileva investigating methods to reengineer pathogen recognition in plants to subvert their lack of an adaptive immune system. She then worked in the lab of Dr. Eva Harris identifying glycan-based compounds for antiviral properties against NS1-mediated flavivirus pathogenesis. After graduating, she worked as a Research Assistant in Dr. Jonathan Lipton's lab in the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston's Children's Hospital, investigating non-canonical functions of BMAL1, a core circadian clock protein, at synapses, primarily its role in the circadian organization of pre- and post-synaptic plasticity. Currently, she is interested in investigating crosstalk between the brain and the immune system in maintaining homeostatic functions, particularly the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying these processes. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, drawing, hiking, and collecting vinyl records.