About Us

• Brett Ginsburg, PhD

  Director
  ginsburg@uthscsa.edu

  Dr. Ginsburg is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. He has established his expertise in pharmacology and analytic biochemical quantification of biological samples over the past 20+ years. His research is truly translational, including publications on pharmacology and pharmacological interactions between endogenous and exogenous chemicals using sophisticated preclinical behavioral and analytical procedures. Dr. Ginsburg has experience obtaining and managing large-scale research projects from both the NIH and Department of Defense. Dr. Ginsburg’s expertise in pharmacology has been internationally recognized with regular national and international speaking invitations on the subject. In addition to his pharmacological expertise, Dr. Ginsburg has been involved in bioanalytic assay development and applications for over 20 years. This experience includes development of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) procedures to detect endogenous and exogenous compounds with electrochemical (EC), ultraviolet (UV), and flame ionization (FID) detection, as well as mass spectrometry (MS). Dr. Ginsburg’s publication list can be found here: MyNCBI.

• Nathalie Hill-Kapturczak, PhD

  Associate Director
  HillKapturcz@uthscsa.edu

  Dr. Hill-Kapturczak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health at San Antonio. She has a broad background in chemistry and molecular biology and completed postdoctoral training in clinical psychiatric research. As the Associate Director of the BPAL, she is expert in alcohol biomarkers and has experience in the measurement and interpretation of PEth since 2013. Dr. Hill-Kapturczak manages ethanol biomarker projects. BPAL can measure phosphatidylethanol (PEth), ethyl-glucuronide (EtG), and gamma-glutamylase (GGT) as indicators of recent alcohol use.

• Marisa Lopez-Cruzan, PhD

  Associate Director
  LOPEZCRUZAN@uthscsa.edu

  Dr. Lopez-Cruzan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. She manages aging-related projects for the BPAL. We maintain projects in support of the National Institue of Aging Interventions Testing Program, San Antonio Nathan Shock Center, the San Antonio Claude D. Pepper Center, and other projects for independent investigators. Marisa joined the BPAL in 2016.

Jesse Sanchez, BS, MS

Research Area Specialist – Lead
SanchezJJ@uthscsa.edu

Jesus J. Sanchez is the Lab Manager of BPAL. He has been working at BPAL since 2002. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS degree in Genetics in 1996. His primary work focuses on the development of LCMS methods for a wide range of pharmacotherapeutic research drugs, alcohol biomarkers, and novel compounds.

• David Galindo, MBA

  Research Associate – Senior
  GalindoD@uthscsa.edu

  David Galindo is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health at San Antonio. David holds a BA in Psychology, with an emphasis on neuroscience, and an MBA with a focus on Health Care/Life Sciences Management.  He previously worked for the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research at the University of Texas at Austin and has been with BPAL since 2009.  

• Meredith Fountain, MS

  Research Area Specialist – Intermediate
  MurrellM@uthscsa.edu

  Meredith Fountain is a Research Area Specialist at UT Health San Antonio. Meredith holds a master of science degree in clinical laboratory science with a specialization in toxicology. She has worked for the BPAL since 2014.

• Evan Javors, BS

  Research Area Specialist – Associate
  javorse@uthscsa.edu

  Evan Javors is a Research Area Specialist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. He graduated from Texas A&M University – San Antonio with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry in Fall 2024. He has been with BPAL since Spring 2025.

• Haidyn Stark, PhD

  Postdoctoral Fellow
  starkh@uthscsa.edu

  Haidyn Stark is a recent graduate of the Neuroscience Program of the Integrated Biomedical Science Program (IBMS) at UT Health San Antonio. Haidyn earned her B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology with a minor in Leadership Studies from Christopher Newport University in 2020. She graduated with honors and was a member of several honors societies, including Psi Chi, Nu Rho Psi, and Alpha Chi – a national honors society.

Michelle Devesa, BS

Research Assistant
devesa@uthscsa.edu

Michelle Devesa is a Research Assistant in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. She graduated from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology in summer 2023. has been with BPAL since 2024