Doctoral Graduate Students
Clarissa Aguilar
Pronounts: She / Her
Rotation Advisors: Mariana Pereira (Fall); Stephanie Padilla (Spring)
Research Interests:
Michael Bahiru
B.S., Psychology/Neuroscience and French Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2018
Advisor: Eric Bittman
Research Interests:
Wayne Barnaby
Pronouns: He / Him
B.S. degree in Biology from Westfield State College, May 2017
Advisor: Gerald B. Downes
Downes Lab
Research Interests: The structure and function of synaptic and extrasynaptic receptors that regulate motor function and locomotion. Currently targeting GABA receptor subunits with CRISPR gene editing in order to characterize their role in various forms of epilepsy.
Liz Beech
BS in Biology, University of Kansas, '12
Advisor: Sarah Pallas
Pallas Lab
Research Interests: The function, development, and evolution of neural circuits underlying cognition
Annabelle Flores Bonilla
BS in 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.
Natalie Bourdon
B.A. Neuroscience, Smith College, 2019
Rotations: Stephanie Padilla ;
Research Interests: Neuroendocrinology
Jennifer Christensen
Research Interests: Neuroendocrinology of social behavior
Felipe Cini
Research Interests: Song learning, neuroendocrinology
B.S. Biology, Federal University of Parana, Brazil,
2016; M.S. Psychobiology, Federal University of Rio
Grande do Norte, Brazil, 2020
Advisor: Luke Remage-Healey
Healey Lab
Research Interests: Song learning, neuroendocrinology
Erika Correll
B.A. in Neuroscience, Smith College, 2016
Advisor: Karine Fenelon
Research Interests: Inhibitory mechanisms and serotonergic neurotransmission involved in sensorimotor gating; sensorimotor gating in the context of psychiatric illness and substance use disorders
Hannah Cournoyer
B.S. Neuroscience, Bay Path University, 2020
Research Interests: Sex differences and sex hormones in the brain
Emma Dauster
Pronouns: She / Her
B.S., Biology, Case Western Reserve University, May 2017
Advisor: Elena Vazey
Vazey Lab
Research Interests: Sex differences in neural circuits regulating attention, specifically through norepinephrine release from the locus coeruleus.
Natasha M. de la Rosa-Rivera
Pronouns: She / Her
B.S., Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences, University of Houston, 2015
Advisor: Rosie Cowell
Research Interests: Visual attention and perception in humans
Joseph Dwyer
B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Umass Amherst 2017 and B.S., Psychological and Brain Sciences, Umass Amherst 2017
Advisor: Joseph Bergan
Bergan Lab
Research Interests: Revealing the brain circuitry that controls social behavior
Melise Edwards
B.S. in Biology and French, Appalachian State, 2013
Advisor: Agnes Lacreuse; Courtney Babbitt
Research Interests: Investigating sex differences in age-related cognitive decline and the role of estrogens in synaptic homeostasis.
Adaeze Egwuatu
B.S. Psychology, University of Florida, December 2011
Advisor: Jennifer McDermott
McDermott Lab
Research Interests: The neural mechanisms underlying self-regulation in typical and atypical populations throughout development
Brennan Falcy
B.S. in Neuroscience, UCLA, 2018
Research Interests: How astrocytes affect and are affected by pathophysiological states including circadian disruption and inflammation
Wanyun Huang
B.S. Medicine (MD Equivalent), Zhejiang University, China, June 2017
Advisor: Karine Fenelon
Research Interests: Neurological/psychiatric disorders
Kyle Kainec
BS, Neuroscience, The Ohio State University 2017
Advisor: Rebecca Spencer
Spencer Lab
Research Interests: I am currently using fMRI and EEG to investigate the effects of sleep on procedural memory consolidation, and how this process changes across normal healthy aging
Chase Khedmatgozar
Rotation Advisors: Joseph Bergan (Fall); Amanda Woerman (Spring)
Research Interests:
Julia LaValley
Pronouns: She / Her
Bachelor of Arts in Psychological Science (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2016) and Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2016)
Advisor: Paul Katz
Research Interests: Neural regeneration and motor control in animals with muscular hydrostats
Catherine McEachern
B.S. Psychology, University of Massachusetts Amherst '19
Advisor: Amanda Woerman
Woerman Lab
Research Interests:
Miriam Munoz
Pronouns: She / Her / Ella
B.A. in Psychology and Spanish, San DIego State University, 2014.
Advisor: Jennifer Mack
Research Interests: The neural mechanism in hearing and perceptual adaptation to a talker with a speech disorder
Eunsol Noh
Pronouns: She / Her
B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 2016
M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, 2021
Research Interests: Neural signal analysis
Kate Otter
Pronouns: She / Her
B.S. in Zoology with a minor in Mathematical Biology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, 2018
Advisor: Paul Katz
Research Interests: Predator-prey interactions and risky decision-making
Greg L. Pearson
Advisor: Ilia Karatsoreos
Karatsoreos Lab Website
B.A. Exercise Science, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
M.S. Biology, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Research Interests: Using the circadian clock as a tool to understand neuroimmune responses to pathogens.
Phoenix Quinlan
B.S., Neuroscience, The Ohio State University 2017
Advisor: Paul S. Katz
Katz Lab
Research Interests: Invertebrate neuroethology
Ramiro Eduardo Rea Reyes
B.S., Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, México, 2010-2014
Advisor: Youngbin Kwak
Kwak Lab
Research Interests: Decision making, heuristic use development
Sumire Dorothy Sato
B.S. Human Physiology, Boston University, May 2012
D.P.T., Physical Therapy, Emory University School of Medicine, May 2016
Advisor: Julia T. Choi
Choi Lab
Research Interests: Motor learning, motor control
Rebecca Sebastian
B.S., Biomedical Sciences (2017) and M.S., Biology (2019) - Arizona State University
Advisor: ChangHui Pak
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
Andrea Silva-Gotay
Pronouns: She / Her
B.S. Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras, 2014
Advisor: Heather N. Richardson
Richardson Lab
Research Interests: I am interested in adolescent brain development and how drugs of abuse, especially alcohol, can interfere with the normal course of myelination during this period.
Benjamin Slay
B.S. Clinical Research, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2018
Advisor: Elena Vazey
Research Interests: How endogenous and exogenous psychoactive chemicals modulate the nervous system on molecular and behavior levels
Francesca Walsh
B.S. in Economics, Neurobiology, Economic Decision-Making, and Social Systems, UMass Amherst, May 2018
M.S. Neuroscience and Behavior, UMass Amherst, Sept. 2019
Advisor: Youngbin Kwak
Lab Website
Research Interests: Neural mechanisms underpinning monetary choices and the role of risk and social pressure in economic decision-making
Jennifer Jiexin Wang
B.S. in Biology, minor in Chemistry, Brandeis University, 2015
Advisor: Ilia Karatsoreos
Karatsoreos Lab
Research Interests: Desynchronization of circadian rhythms and molecular mechanisms contributing to our circadian clocks
Sarah Winokur
B.A., Neuroscience, Smith College, 2015
Advisor: Mariana Pereira
Research Interests: Neurobiological mechanisms underlying social behaviors, with a particular focus on maternal behavior and postpartum depression
