Dr. Brisa Palikuqi is an Assistant Professor at the Yale Stem Cell Center and the Department of Comparative Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. Originally from Albania, she earned her Ph.D. at Weill Cornell Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Shahin Rafii, where she developed a platform for vascularizing organoids and tissue explants in vitro. In 2020, she joined UCSF as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ophir Klein’s lab, focusing on the role of blood and lymphatic paracrine factors in intestinal regeneration and disease.

In her independent lab at Yale, Brisa investigates the complexity of endothelial cell paracrine signaling in tissue repair, using both in vivo and in vitro models to uncover mechanisms that can be leveraged to drive regeneration on demand for precision medicine.

She is the recipient of a K01 Career Development Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), as well as prior honors including the NIH F32 Kirschstein Fellowship, the Program in Breakthrough Biomedical Research Postdoctoral Grant, the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Fellowship, and several travel and poster awards.

Brisa’s mentorship philosophy centers on providing personalized guidance that supports each mentee’s unique goals and development as both scientists and individuals. She is deeply committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive environment where all lab members feel empowered to grow, contribute, and thrive. She believes that strong mentorship is foundational to both scientific discovery and personal growth.

Outside the lab, Brisa enjoys yoga, exploring neighborhoods and cities, and spending time with her cat.

Naveena joined the Palikuqi Lab as is a Postgraduate Associate in March 2025, following the completion of her Master’s in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of New Haven. She is currently working with single-cell data from the human intestine, focusing on the role of endothelial cells in intestinal regeneration. Before joining the Palikuqi Lab, she contributed to mosquito genomics research, where she gained hands-on experience in genomic data analysis. Separately, through her thesis for a Post Graduate Diploma in Bioinformatics, she developed skills in molecular modeling and docking studies. Outside the lab, Naveena enjoys cooking, exploring new places, hiking, and attending live concerts.

Ana is a Yale Undergraduate.

Hector is a Yale College undergraduate majoring in Biomedical Engineering and a First-Year Fellowship recipient researcher in the Brisa Palikuqi Lab at the Yale Stem Cell Center. Born in El Salvador and raised in California, at a young age he became interested in the sciences due to his mother’s previous healthcare experience. In 2023, Hector was a Samuels Family LA-HIP biomedical research intern partly funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge (CIRM SPARK). In the Palikuqi lab, Hector is investigating how endothelial cells, contribute to intestinal regeneration by supporting stem cell function and recruiting immune cells after chemotherapy-induced injury. In his free time Hector enjoys learning new baking and cooking recipes from TikTok. He enjoys playing a variety of video games in his downtime and is a very heavy critic when it comes to music and movies (even has ratings and comments). Hector also volunteers at Haven Free Clinic and is really passionate about becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon in the future. 

Odree is a Yale College undergraduate majoring in Biomedical Engineering and an undergraduate researcher in the Brisa Palikuqi Lab at the Yale Stem Cell Center. Her research, supported by the Yale College First-Year Summer Research Fellowship, focuses on the role of endothelial cell dysfunction in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), combining transcriptomics, vascularized organoid models, and microfluidic systems to investigate mechanisms of inflammation and tissue repair. She is particularly interested in developing physiologically relevant models that can advance therapeutic strategies for chronic inflammatory diseases and hopes to pursue a career in translational medicine and biomedical innovation.