Venus Hagan
she/her/hers
Graduate Student
Education:
B.S Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
Research Interests:
Broadly, I am interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie neurodegenerative diseases. Previously, I have explored molecular pathways that regulate disease-associated microglia states and functions. In the Ramani Lab, I am excited to investigate the mechanisms underlying neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) and better understand how proteostasis operates in the nucleus.
Publications:
Regulators of Interferon-Responsive Microglia Uncovered by Genome-wide CRISPRi Screening. McQuade, A, Castillo, V, Hagan, V, Liang, W, Ta, T, Mishra, R, Teter, O, Gomes, L, Gonzalez, B, Teyssier, N, Leng, K, Kampmann, M. npj Dementia In Review (2026)
Transcriptional regulation of disease-relevant microglial activation programs. McQuade, A, Mishra, R, Hagan, V, Liang, W, Colias, P, Castillo, V, Gonzalez, B, Lubin, J, Haage, V, Marshe, V, Fujita, M, Ta, T, Gomes, L, Teter, O, Han, X, Robichaud, N, Chasins, S, Rexach, J, De Jager, P, Nunez, J, Kampmann, M. Neuron (2026)
CRISPRi-based screen of Autism Spectrum Disorder risk genes in microglia uncovers roles of ADNP in microglia endocytosis and synaptic pruning. Teter, O, McQuade, A, Hagan, V, Liang, W, Drager, N, Sattler, S, Holmes, B, Castillo, V, Papakis, V, Leng, K, Boggess, S, Nowakowski, T, Wells, J, Kampmann, M. Molecular Psychiatry (2025)
Honors and Awards:
- 2023 UCLA MCDB Highest Departmental Honors
- 2022 Best Poster Presentation Award, Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS)
- 2022 UCSF AMGEN Scholar
- 2021-2023 UCLA MARC U*STAR Trainee
- 2019-2023 UCLA-HHMI Pathways to Success Scholar
Other Interests:
Baking sweet treats, crocheting cute amigurumi, diving into a book, and perpetually listening to music