206-884-1314
Andy.Shih@SeattleChildrens.org

What we do

Our research focuses on the small blood vessels that delivery oxygen and nutrients to all reaches of the brain. In the human brain, an estimated 400 miles of blood vessels delivers blood to 100 billion neurons. This immensely complex task can easily go awry during human disease. When we are young, genetic and environmental factors can compromise the normal development of brain vasculature. As we age, leakage and blockage of small vessels can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Our laboratory studies how blood vessels grow, degrade, and respond to injury from birth to senescence. We hope that our research will yield new ways to reduce to improve cerebrovascular function in brain diseases that affect both children and adults.

meet the team

We are brain imagers

Andy Shih
Andy Shih
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor
Stephanie Bonney, Ph.D.
Stephanie Bonney, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow | NIH K99/R00 Fellow
Perivascular cells in small vessel disease
Stefan Stamenkovic, Ph.D.
Stefan Stamenkovic, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow
Imaging of small vessel disease in white matter
Yuandong (Jenny) Li, Ph.D.
Yuandong (Jenny) Li, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow
Pericyte dysfunction and oxygen delivery
Cara Nielson
Cara Nielson
PhD Graduate Student
Mechanisms of pericyte remodeling
Nicolas Weitermann
Nicolas Weitermann
Research Technician
Microvascular structure and function in gray and white matter
Liam Sullivan
Liam Sullivan
Research Technician II
Mouse tools for pericyte imaging and manipulation
Taryn Tieu
Taryn Tieu
Research Technician
Microglial dynamics in the developing and adult brain
Maria Sosa
Maria Sosa
Research Associate I
Perivascular cell types in small vessel disease
Anne-Jolene (AJ) Cruz
Anne-Jolene (AJ) Cruz
Research Technician
Construction of brain capillary networks during postnatal development

Lab Updates

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Seattle Children’s Summer Scholars

This Summer we had two wonderful interns, Marisa Petersen and Shelda Salomon, join our lab. They were mentored by Stephanie Bonney and Jenny Li, and rocked their...

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Post-doctoral fellow Stephanie Bonney receives K99/R00 award!

Congratulations to Stephanie Bonney for obtaining an NIH K99/R00 award! Her project entitled “Exploring brain perivascular fibroblasts in health and cerebral...

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Public 3-D EM resources to study cerebrovasculature

A new collaborative paper explains how public volume electron microscopy data sets can be used to study cerebrovascular structure in unprecedented detail.  

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