Steven Pike

PhD Candidate, jointly mentored by Dr. Lucas Salas and Dr. Francesca Gilli.

I am currently a doctoral candidate in the Integrative Neuroscience program at Dartmouth. I graduated summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with minors in Mathematics and Psychology. While at UB, I did wet lab research looking at the functional effects of point mutations in the MSH3 protein and how this affects DNA repair pathways in the context of cancer initiation. Since coming to Dartmouth, I have pivoted to my passions in neuroscience. My current work is in studying neuroinflammation utilizing next-generation sequencing approaches to study the neuro-epigenetics in multiple sclerosis. In particular, I am interested in studying the epidemiological link between viral infections and multiple sclerosis. In the wet lab with Dr. Gilli, I utilize murine models of MS to study the disease and collect biospecimens for sequencing studies. In the dry lab with Dr. Salas, I analyze these large data sets with advanced bioinformatic and biostatistical approaches. Outside of the lab, I enjoy skiing and hanging out with my cat Phil!