STUDENT PROFILES

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Todd Ahern

[tahern@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : BA in Neuroscience & Biology, Oberlin College
- Advisor: Larry Young
- Research Interests : I am interested in the genetics and neural circuitry underlying complex social behaviors. In particular, my focus will be the genetics regulating corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor expression and how this expression contributes to pair-bond formation and maintenance.
- Website
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Amy Anderson

[akande2@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated: 2006
- Degree/School : Neuroscience, College of William and Mary
- Advisor: Clint Kilts
- Research Interest : My three main areas of interest are 1) exploring cognition with fMRI 2) brain development in children and 3) familial transmission of affective disorders. My thesis research in Dr. Clint Kilts' lab allows me to combine these three areas in a unique collaboration with the Women's Mental Health Center at Emory. Generally, I am interested in social cognition and reward processing in the brain and how these processes change as the brain matures. I am also interested in the functional and anatomical brain changes that occur with the onset of depression and anxiety disorders.
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Santiago Archila

[santiago.archila@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech
- Advisor: Astrid Prinz
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Rayna Bauzo

[rbauzo@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science, Florida State University
- Advisor: Leonard Howell
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James Bogenpohl

[jbogenp@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : BA, Biology, Washington University
- Advisor: Yoland Smith
- Research Interest : Examining new pharmacological treatments for Parkinson's Disease involving metabotropic glutamate receptors and A2A adenosine receptors.
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Jill Bordelon

[jbordel@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Psychology, Louisiana State University
- Advisor: Chris Muly
- Research Interest : I am interested in how localization of specific components of different dopamine signal transduction cascades is affected by neuroleptics, psychotomimetic drugs, and behavioral states. I use immunoelectron microscopy to study localization within neuronal compartments. Some components of interest are the dopamine receptors, protein phosphatase-1 isoforms, spinophilin and neurabin.
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Terrell Brotherton

[tbrothe@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated: 2006
- Degree/School: Biology, Duke University
- Advisor: Jonathan Glass
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Catie Capello

[ccapell@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated: 2007
- Degree/School : Animal Sciences, University of New Hampshire
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Amanda Caster

[acaster@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : B.S Physical Chemistry, B.S. Biomedical Science, Antioch University
- Advisor: Rick Kahn
- Research Interest : We work on the role of Arf (ADP ribosylation factor) dependent adaptors within the context of Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, we study how changes in membrane traffic affect production of neurotoxic beta-amyloid.
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Milos Cekic

[mcekic@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2003
- Degree/School : B.A. in Anthropology, Harvard University, M.A. in Anthropology, New York University
- Advisor: Donald Stein
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Li-Ting Chien

- Year Matriculated : 2003
- Degree/School : B.S. in Medical Technology, National Taiwan University
- Advisor: Criss Hartzell
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Debra Cooper

[dcoope8@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Psychology, Duke University
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Brittany Copp

[bcopp@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Neuroscience, Tulane University
- Advisor: Mar Sanchez
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Sarah Cork

[scork@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biological Anthropology, Duke University
- Advisor: Erwin Van Meir
- Research Interest : My general interests are in developmental neurobiology and
neuro-oncology. I am characterizing the ability of novel brain-specific
angiogenesis inhibitors to impede the progression of glioblastoma
multiforme, one of the most common and deadly forms of brain cancer. I
am also investigating the potential role of these proteins in brain
development, as the development of the CNS is closely linked with the
cardiovascular system.
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Albert Davis

[adavis2@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : B.S., Biology, Emory University
- Advisor: Allan Levey, M.D., Ph.D.
- Research Interest : I am interested in the molecular basis of Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, I am studying how muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes affect the processing of Amyloid Precursor Protein.
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Sara Dodson

[sedodso@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience, Stetson University
- Advisor: Jim Lah and Allan Levey
- Research Interest : The general goal of my research is to explore the involvement
of the ApoE receptor, LR11, in the pathogenesis of Alzheimers disease (AD).
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Zoe Donaldson

[zdonald@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2003
- Degree/School : B.S. in Biology, UCLA
- Advisor: Larry Young
- Research Interest : I am interested in the interplay between genes, hormones, and complex behaviors. My thesis work involves using targeted transgenic mice to better understand the effects of microsatellite DNA on gene regulation. We have are replacing the mouse vasopressin receptor 1a gene and its regulatory elements with a homologous locus from the monogamous prairie or promiscuous montane vole. These mice will help us understand the role of sequence differences on gene regulation and distribution and the link between gene distribution in the brain and differences in social behavior.
- Website
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Charity Duran

[cduran@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Molecular Biology and Musical Peformance, Meredith College (NC)
- Advisor: Andrew Jenkins
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Stacey Dutton

[sbdutto@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biology, University of Maryland
- Advisor: Andrew Escayg
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David Ehrlich

[dehrli2@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Neuroscience, Brown University
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Alisha Epps

[sepps@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Psychology, University of South Carolina
- Advisor: David Weinshenker
- Research Interest : I am interested in the co-morbidity of depression and epilepsy. My research utilizes several lines of rats that have been selectively bred
for susceptibility or resistance to a depression-like phenotype on the
forced swim test. These rat lines are also differentially susceptible
to seizures; I will use the kindling model of epileptogenesis to expand
our understanding of this difference. I am also analyzing the genetic
basis of this co-morbidity by QTL analysis and microarray to identify
candidate genes of interest.
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Sarah Ewing

[sbewing@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.A. in Psychology, University of New Hampshire
- Advisor: Leonard Howell
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Lindsey Fischer

[lrfisch@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, Emory University
- Advisor: Jonathan D. Glass, MD
- Research Interest : I am interested in the pathogenesis and treatment
of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease. My focus is on
axonal degeneration in the SOD1-G93A mouse model of familial ALS. I am trying to
better understand how mutant SOD1 causes axonal degeneration, and to determine
whether prevention of axonal degeneration can prevent motor neuron death in this
model.
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Sara Freeman

[smfreem@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Biology, University of Virginia
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Meriem Gaval

[mgaval@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biology/Psychology, Florida State University
- Advisor: David Weinshenker
- Research Interests : My main research interest is the neurobiology of drug addiction, with emphasis on cocaine pharmacotherapies. Recently, a drug called
disulfiram has been shown to decrease cocaine intake in addicts, but
the mechanisms of how it is doing so are not well-understood.
Disulfiram is an inhibitor of the enzyme DBH, the enzyme that converts
dopamine to norepinephrine. I am currently using DBH WT and KO mice to
test whether pharmacological and genetic DBH inhibition can result in
hyperdopaminergic signaling and whether this is underlying aversive
responses to cocaine.
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Sara Giordano

[saragior@bellsouth.net]
- Year Matriculated : 2001
- Degree/School : B.S. in Mathematics/Physics, Gettysburg College
- Advisor: Richard Segal
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Anna Goldshmidt

[agoldsh@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Neuroscience, Allegheny College
- Advisor : Stephen Traynelis
- Research Interests : My research focuses on the function and regulation of microglia and astrocytes, especially in the context of neuroinflammation during CNS disease or trauma. Specifically, I am investigating the regulation of microglial motility, as well as astrocytic calcium release and proliferation, by G-protein-coupled protease-activated receptors.
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Kalynda Gonzales

[kkgonza@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston
- Advisor: T. Wichmann/Y. Smith
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Yair Gozal

[ymgozal@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : Biology, Chemistry, and History, Case Western Reserve University
- Advisor : Allan Levey
- Research Interests : I am primarily interested in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, I am using proteomic and biochemical approaches to study frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a common cause of dementia in the US.
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Lucy Guillory

[lcguill@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Psychology, University of Georgia
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Nicola Hanson

[nhanson@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, Emory University
- Advisor: Charles Nemeroff
- Research Interest : The effects of manipulation of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system on various aspects of hippocampal neuroplasticity, including cell proliferation / neurogenesis, cell death / atrophy, and expression of neurotrophic factors and their receptors.
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Erin Hecht

[ehecht@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Cognitive Science and Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego
- Advisor: Lisa Parr
- Research Interest : The neural correlates and evolution of social cognition including linking behavioral differences in emotion and action perception in macaques, chimpanzees, and humans to differences in functional activation and anatomical connectivity using positron emission tomography and diffusion tensor imaging.
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Eric Heuer

[eheuer@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : B.S. Neuroscience & Psychology, Allegheny College
- Advisor : Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Research Interest : My research focus is aimed at discerning the
functional relationships between the medial temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex
in learning and memory. I am currently employing behavioral assessment, PET imaging
and histological anatomy in neonatally lesioned non-human primates to address these
issues.
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Gillian Hue

[ghue@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2001
- Degree/School : B.S. in Psychology, Washington College
- Advisor: David Rye
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Lisa Imboden

[limbode@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University
- Advisor: Lian Li
- Research Interest : I am currently studying the early-onset dystonia
related protein torsinA. I have recently identified a novel
torsinA-interacting protein, printor. My research is focused on
characterizing this interaction and determining what role, if any, it
plays in the development of dystonia.
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Shareen Iqbal

[saiqbal@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : BA, Psychology, Indiana University
- Research Interest : Interested in interactions between the immune and nervous systems at the neuroendocrine and behavioral level.
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Lily Iskhakova

[liskhak@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Biology, Oglethorpe University
- Advisor : Yoland Smith
- Research Interest : I am interested in glutamatergic transmission in the basal ganglia. Currently I am studying general distribution and subcellular
localization of group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in
the striatum. The results obtained from my study will provide a map for
the localization of group III mGluRs in the striatum. Better
understanding of receptor localization coupled with the newly developed
agonists, antagonists and modulators may provide new pharmaco-therapies
for diseases involving dysfunction of glutamatergic transmission, such
as Parkinson's disease.
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Michael Jutras

[mjutras@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : BS, Neuroscience, Brown University
- Advisor: Elizabeth Buffalo
- Research Interest : I am generally interested in the neural mechanisms underlying complex behaviors such as learning and attention. My research is directed towards investigating the rhythmic activity of neural networks in the medial temporal lobe and how this activity correlates with memory formation.
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Elyse Katz

[erkatz@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2003
- Degree/School : B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, Emory University
- Advisor: Joe Cubells
- Research Interest : My research interests center around the molecular pathogenesis of neurologic and psychiatric disease
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Eileen Kessler

[ejkessl@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Psychology, Smith College
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Elizabeth Kirk

[eakirk@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Biology, College of William and Mary
- Advisor: Lian Li
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Michael Kelly

[ceallaig33@gmail.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : B.S. Neuroscience, University of Rochester
- Advisor: Ping Chen
- Research Interest : I am interested in the cellular mechanisms involved the development of the mammalian auditory sense organ, the organ of Corti. I am also interested in using this knowledge to test possible interventions to induce functional regeneration of auditory hair cells after acute deafening.
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Lisa Kreiner

[lahill@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S.in Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Advisor: Amy Lee
- Research Interests : I use electrophysiological recordings to characterize the role of Ca2+ buffering proteins and intracellular Ca2+ stores in the feedback regulation of Ca2+ channels. I am interested in the significance of these mechanisms in neurons
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Damon Lamb

[dlamb@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : BS Computer Engineering, University of Maryland; MS, University of Chicago
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James Lee

[jtlee@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : B.S. in Biology/Psychology, Rutgers University
- Advisor: Lian Li
- Research Interest :I study the molecular mechanisms of Parkinson's Disease (PD). It is of
interest to me how the genetic mutations linked to PD may be involved in
the pathogenesis of PD. We utilize molecular biology, biochemistry, and
cell culture as tools to address these issues.
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Andrea Liatis

[aliatis@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2003
- Degree/School : B.S. in Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Advisor : Andrew Miller
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Jun Liu

[phipsyche@yahoo.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : MS, Psychology, Georgia Institite of Technology
- Advisor: Anthony Chan
- Research Interest : Wide interests in studying psychiatric & neurological diseases.
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Megan Lyle

[malyle@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Psychology, Davidson College
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