Charbel Baaklini

Biography

I’m originally from Lebanon and completed my PhD in Jason Plemel’s lab. I’m now a postdoctoral fellow in Voon Wee Yong’s lab. One of my earliest sparks for science came from a *Bones* episode where bullet trajectory was reconstructed from skeletal remains. Outside the lab, I enjoy long walks through the city, cooking new dishes, exploring new restaurants, watching crime shows, and a deep love of coffee, often paired with uninterrupted thinking time.

Publications

1. Zia S, Traetta ME, Baaklini CS, Hammond BP, John RK, Souter KM, Meijns N, Afun LKA, Panda S, González Ibáñez F, Burr MK, Dhupia E, Rathod AM, Faria AO, Zaveri D, Challa S, Hahn E, Manesh SB, Lee KV, Ho MFS, Friedman TN, Maguire AD, Pang A, Farkas O, Szulc B, Tenorio L, Vyas D, La Caprara OR, Tetzlaff W, Sinha S, Duncan GJ, Voronova A, Kerr BJ, Tremblay ME, Biernaskie J, Schenk G, and Plemel JR. Age-impaired remyelination is associated with dysregulated microglial transitions. Nature Communications. 16:9951. 2025.
2. Baaklini CS, Ho MFS, Lange T, Hammond BP, Panda SP, Zirngibl M, Zia S, Himmelsbach K, Rana H, Phillips B, Antoszko D, Ibanga J, Lopez M, Lee KV, Keough MB, Caprariello AV, Kerr BJ, and Plemel JR. Microglia promote remyelination independent of their role in clearing myelin debris. Cell Reports. 42(12):113574. 2023.
3. Tokarska N, Tottenham I, Baaklini C, and Gawryluk JR. How does the brain age in individuals with multiple sclerosis? A systematic review. Frontiers in Neurology. 14:1207626. 2023.
4. Zia S, Hammond BP, Zirngibl M, Sizov A, Baaklini CS, Panda SP, Ho MFS, Lee KV, Mainali A, Burr MK, Williams S, Caprariello AV, Power C, Simmen T, Kerr BJ, and Plemel JR. Single-cell microglial transcriptomics during demyelination defines a microglial state required for lytic carcass clearance. Molecular Neurodegeneration. 17:82. 2022.
5. Plemel JR, Stratton JA, Michaels NJ, Rawji KS, Zhang E, Sinha S, Baaklini CS, Dong Y, Ho M, Thorburn K, Friedman TN, Jawad S, Silva C, Caprariello AV, Hoghooghi V, Yue J, Jaffer A, Lee K, Kerr BJ, Midha R, Stys PK, Biernaskie J, and Yong VW. Microglia response following acute demyelination is heterogeneous and limits infiltrating macrophage dispersion. Science Advances. 6(3):eaay6324. 2020.
6. Baaklini CS, Rawji KS, Duncan GJ, Ho MFS, and Plemel JR. Central nervous system remyelination: roles of glia and innate immune cells. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. 12:225. 2019.