Doctoral Graduate Students

Clarissa Aguilar 2021

Clarissa Aguilar

Pronouns: she/her

Advisor: Mariana Pereira

Azaria Anderson

Advisor: Mariana Pereira

Michael Bahiru

B.S. Psychology/Neuroscience and French Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2018

Advisor: Eric L. Bittman
Liz  Beech

Liz Beech

B.S. Biology, University of Kansas, 2012

Research interests: The function, development, and evolution of neural circuits underlying cognition
Advisor: Gerald B. Downes

Anusha Bharadwaj

Research interests: Aging, Alzheimer's disease. Interested in exploring the biological underpinnings of sex differences in the onset and neuropathological manifestation of Alzheimer's disease.
Advisor: Agnes Lacreuse, Elena Vazey
Annabelle Flores Bonilla

Annabelle Flores Bonilla

B.S. Biology, Pontifical Catholic Univ of Puerto Rico, 2019

Research interests: Neuronal maladaptive reward and stress mechanisms implicated in addiction. Interested in sex differences, glial cell interactions, and development of brain structures involved in decision-making processes.  
Advisor: Heather N. Richardson
Nick Bourdon  2024

Nick Bourdon

B.A. Neuroscience, Smith College, 2019

Research interests: Neuroendocrinology
Advisor: Joseph Bergan

Sarah Brookman

Research interests: Schizophrenia and substance use disorders
Advisor: Karine Fénelon, Heather N. Richardson
photo of jennifer christensen

Jennifer Christensen

Research interests: Neuroendocrinology of social behavior
Advisor: Kirby Deater-Deckard
Felipe Cini

Felipe Cini

B.S. Biology, Federal University of Parana, Brazil,
2016

M.S. Psychobiology, Federal University of Rio
Grande do Norte, Brazil, 2020

Healey Lab

Research interests: Song learning, neuroendocrinology
Advisor: Luke Remage–Healey

Kaitlin Copelas

Advisor: Mariana Pereira
Erika  Correll

Erika Correll

B.A. Neuroscience, Smith College, 2016

Research interests: Inhibitory mechanisms and serotonergic neurotransmission involved in sensorimotor gating; sensorimotor gating in the context of psychiatric illness and substance use disorders
Advisor: Karine Fénelon
Hannah Cournoyer

Hannah Cournoyer

B.S. Neuroscience, Bay Path University, 2020

Research interests: Sex differences and sex hormones in the brain  
Advisor: Agnes Lacreuse
Natasha M. de la Rosa-Rivera

Natasha M. de la Rosa-Rivera

Pronouns: she/her
B.S. Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences, University of Houston, 2015

Research interests: Visual attention and perception in humans
Advisor: Luke Remage–Healey
Cassandra Delvey

Cassandra Delvey

Pronouns: she/her

Advisor: Rebecca Spencer
Sarah Dickinson

Sarah Dickinson

Pronouns: she/her

Advisor: Joseph Bergan

Melise Edwards

B.S. Biology and French, Appalachian State, 2013
Babbit Lab

Research interests: Investigating sex differences in age-related cognitive decline and the role of estrogens in synaptic homeostasis.
Advisor: Courtney C. Babbitt
Brennan Falcy

Brennan Falcy

B.S. Neuroscience, UCLA, 2018

Research interests: I study metabolism at the organismal and cellular level, and specifically how it is affected by circadian rhythms and endocannabinoid signaling
Advisor: Ilia Karatsoreos

Yue Hu

Advisor: Youngbin Kwak

Wanyun Huang

B.S. Medicine (MD Equivalent), Zhejiang University, China, June 2017

Research interests: Neurological/psychiatric disorders
Advisor: Karine Fénelon
Hyejoo Kang

Hyejoo Kang

Advisor: Luke Remage–Healey
Julia LaValley

Julia LaValley

Pronouns: she/her

B.A. Psychological Science, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2016

B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2016

Research interests: Neural regeneration and motor control in animals with muscular hydrostats
Advisor: Josef Trapani
Miriam Munoz

Miriam Munoz

Pronouns: she/her/ella
B.A. Psychology and Spanish, San Diego State University, 2014.

Research interests: The neural mechanism in hearing and perceptual adaptation to a talker with a speech disorder
Advisor: Jennifer E. Mack

Kathryn Nippert

B.S. Biochemistry and psychological sciences, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2021

M.S. Neuroscience, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2022

Advisor: Elena Vazey, David E. Moorman
Eunsol Noh 2021

Eunsol Noh

Pronouns: she/her
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 2016
M.S. Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, 2021
Spencer (SomNeuroLab) Lab

Research interests: Neural signal analysis
Advisor: Rebecca Spencer

Kate Otter

Pronouns: sher/her
B.S. Zoology with a minor in Mathematical Biology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, 2018

Katz Lab

Research interests: Predator-prey interactions and risky decision-making
Advisor: Paul S. Katz

Narciso Pavon

Advisor: ChangHui Pak, Yubing Sun

Greg L. Pearson

B.A. Exercise Science, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
M.S. Biology, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

Karatsoreos Lab Website

Research interests: Using the circadian clock as a tool to understand neuroimmune responses to pathogens.
Advisor: Ilia Karatsoreos
photo of phoenix quinlan

Phoenix Quinlan

B.S. Neuroscience, The Ohio State University 2017
Katz Lab

Research interests: Invertebrate neuroethology
Advisor: Paul S. Katz

Shrishti Ramaiah

B.A. Psychology, minor in Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Research interests: Decision making, specifically addiction models of decision making in rodents. My work so far has focused on targeted drug manipulations to theoretically based cortical subregions to understand the neurobiological and behavioral underpinnings of risky decision making.
Advisor: David E. Moorman, Elena Vazey
photo of ramiro eduardo rea reyes

Ramiro Eduardo Rea Reyes

B.S. Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, México, 2010-2014
Kwak Lab

Research interests: Decision making, heuristic use development
Advisor: Youngbin Kwak

Patricia Reis

Advisor: Ilia Karatsoreos
R. Madison Riffe

R. Madison Riffe

Pronouns: she/her

Advisor: Gerald B. Downes

Emily Robinson

Research interests: I study maternal behavior via the cellular activity in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus.
Advisor: Mariana Pereira
Ellen Rodberg

Ellen Rodberg

Pronouns: she/her
Vazey Lab

Advisor: Elena Vazey

Katrina Rodheim

Advisor: Rebecca Spencer
Rebecca Sebastian

Rebecca Sebastian

B.S. Biomedical Sciences, Arizona State University, 2017

M.S., Biology, Arizona State University, 2019
Pak Lab

Research interests: Neurodevelopment, specifically the biochemical and cellular mechanisms that govern the functions of a developing cerebral cortex that contribute to the understanding of neuropsychiatric diseases
Advisor: ChangHui Pak

Catarina Teves

Advisor: Elena Vazey
Francesca Walsh

Francesca Walsh

B.S. Economics, Neurobiology, Economic Decision-Making, and Social Systems, UMass Amherst, May 2018
M.S. Neuroscience and Behavior, UMass Amherst, Sept. 2019
Lab Website

Research interests: Neural mechanisms underpinning monetary choices and the role of risk and social pressure in economic decision-making
Advisor: Youngbin Kwak
Jennifer Wang

Jennifer Jiexin Wang

B.S. Biology, minor in Chemistry, Brandeis University, 2015
Karatsoreos Lab

Research interests: Desynchronization of circadian rhythms and molecular mechanisms contributing to our circadian clocks  
Advisor: Ilia Karatsoreos
Jonathan Woodson

Jonathan Woodson

Advisor: Joseph Bergan