STUDENT PROFILES
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Teresa Madsen
[tmadsen@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Neuroscience, Grinnell College
- Advisor: Donald Rainnie
- Research Interest: I am investigating the neural substrates of affect and emotional learning, particularly focusing on the role of synchrony and cross-talk between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). My method of choice is multi-electrode recording and stimulation in freely moving rats.
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Kimberly Maguschak
[kmagusc@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2003
- Degree/School : BS in Psychology, University of Scranton
- Advisor:
Kerry Ressler
Research Interest :
Kim's work is focused on the molecular mechanisms of
memory and synaptic plasticity, specifically the role of beta-catenin
regulation of synapse formation and stability in mouse models of fear
learning.
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Amy Mahan
[amahan@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Biology and Psychology, Trinity University (TX)
- Advisor: Kerry Ressler
- Research Interest :
My research examines changes in
presynaptic structure that may occur with fear conditioning and the
molecular mechanisms that underlie such changes.
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Christopher Makinson
[cmakins@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Biology, Wake Forest
- Advisor : Andrew Escayg
- Research Interest : I am
interested in the role of sodium channel mutations in epilepsy, particularly
Nav1.6-dependent seizure resistance. Our lab utilizes several
techniques such as Cre-Lox systems and EEG to investigate the contribution
of voltage-gated sodium channels to the etiology of epilepsy.
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Daniel Manvich
[dmanvic@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biopsychology, Tufts University
- Advisor: Leonard Howell
- Research Interest: I am interested in the neurobiological mechanisms underlying addiction and substance abuse. I am currently using behavioral pharmacology
techniques and in vivo microdialysis to better understand how
contextual cues associated with cocaine use are capable of inducing
drug-seeking behavior and relapse.
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Laura Mariani
[lemaria@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BS in Neuroscience and Biology and MS in Neuroscience, Brandeis University
- Advisor : Tamara Caspary
- Research Interest : My
research focuses on a ciliary protein called Arl13b. Mutations in Arl13b
have been linked to neural tube closure defects and abnormal motor neuron
and oligodendrocyte specification. Through in vitro and in vivo studies, I
hope to help elucidate the role played by cilia-dependent cell signaling
pathways in the developing nervous system.
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Abraham Mathai
[abraham.mathai@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BS in Engineering (Electronics &
Telecommunication, University of Pune; MS in Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Advisor : Yoland Smith
- Research Interest : I am
interested in the synaptic microcircuitry of glutamatergic inputs to the
sub-thalamic nucleus.
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Lisa Matragrano
[lmatrag@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Biology and Marine Science, University of Miami
- Advisor: Donna Maney
- Research Interest: I am interested in the effects of food additives and common environmental pollutants on learning and brain development. I am currently studying the effects of monosodium glutamate on song learning in the zebra finch.
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Jessica McClung
[jmcclun@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : BS Psychology, California Polytechnic State University
- Advisor: Leonard Howell
- Research Interest : I am interested in the neuropharmacology of
drugs of abuse. Specifically, my research involves the use of operant
conditioning and PET neuroimaging techniques to study the effects of
monoamine transporter inhibitors on cocaine self-administration and
drug-induced reinstatement.
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Callie McGrath
[clmcgra@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BS in Biopsychology, Boston College
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Jeanne McKeon
[jmckeon@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Neuroscience, Smith College
- Advisor: Lian Li
- Research Interest: Molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease, with a focus on the role of environmental toxicants and oxidative damage to proteins in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis.
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Joe Mertz
[jmertz@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2009
- Degree/School :
BS in Biology, Cornell University
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Rebecca
(Becky) Meyer
[rcmeyer@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Biology, Creighton University
- Advisor: Randy Hall
- Research Interest: I am interested in the modulation of G
protein-coupled receptors. Specifically, I'm studying how receptor
interactions alter dopamine and adenosine signaling and the effect this has
on the development and progression of Parkinson's disease.
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Vasiliki Michopoulos
[vmichop@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Neuroscience, University of VA
- Advisor: Mark Wilson
- Research Interest :
I am interested in the mechanisms by which psychosocial stress dysregulates
physiology, reproduction, and affective and feeding behavior.
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Ryan Mohamad
[omohama@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BS in Biology, American University of Beirut
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Meera Modi
[mmodi@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biology/Philosophy, SUNY-Binghamton
- Advisor: Larry Young
- Research Interest : Currently, I am working to develop social
bonding in the prairie vole as a predictive model for the development of
drugs directed at enhancing social cognition in individuals with autism.
Through in vivo studies, I am looking at the effects of positive glutamate
receptor modulators on the propensity to form pair bonds and the interactive
effects of these drugs with oxytocin. Complementarily, I am also looking at
the mechanisms underlying regulation of the oxytocin system in bond
formation to identify optimal strategies for enhancing social behavior.
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Ariana Mullin
[ariana.mullin@gmail.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2009
- Degree/School :
BS in Neuroscience, Trinity College
- Currently doing lab rotations
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A. Kevin Murnane
[amurnan@rmy.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biology/Psychology, University of GA
- Advisor: Leonard Howell
- Research Interest : My overriding research interests lie in the
behavioral and neuropharmacology of drugs of abuse. In particular, I am
interested in integrating novel neuroimaging methodologies with established
behavioral techniques to enhance our understanding of the systems level
effects of these compounds. To this end, my dissertation project is focused
on developing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in fully
conscious rhesus macaques after systemic administration of psychomotor
stimulants such as cocaine and MDMA (“ecstasy”). The results of these
experiments will then be used to try to mechanistically explain the results
from established behavioral techniques such as self-administration and drug
discrimination.
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Karen Murray
[kmurra5@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BS in Neuroscience/Biochemistry, Lafayette College
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Advisor : Mike Owens
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Research Interest : I am studying the serotonin transporter and
effects via its allosteric site.
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Christina Nemeth
[clnemet@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BA in Neuroscience, Hamilton College
- Advisor : Gretchen Neigh
- Research Interest : My
research examines how changes to cerebral vasculature contributes to
affective disorders.
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Donald Noble
[djnoble@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2009
- Degree/School :
BS in Neuroscience, UCLA
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Yvonne Ogbonmwan
[yogbonm@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BS in Biology, Georgia State University
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Anlys Olivera
[aolive3@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Psychology, Florida State University
- Advisor: Andrew Miller
- Research Interest: The innate immune system shows a
bidirectional relationship with the brain which allows for the regulation
of immune and behavioral responses. I am interested in the mechanisms by
which an inflammatory response led by innate immune cells in the periphery
and the brain can alter behavioral responses, particularly depressive-like
behaviors. My research focuses on the signaling molecule nuclear
factor-kappa B (NF-kB) and the development of novel compounds that target
NF-kB. NF-kB plays a key role in the initiation, propagation, and
maintenance of an inflammatory response both in the periphery and the
brain. By targeting this inflammatory signaling molecule we aim to block
the behavioral alterations induced by an inflammatory stimulus.
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Kate O'Toole
[Otoole_k8@yahoo.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biology, Northern KY University
- Advisor: Andrew Jenkins
- Research Interest : The GABA(A) Receptor is a ligand gated ion channel that mediates inhibitory fast synaptic transmission in the Central Nervous System. My research investigates the mechanism for ion selectivity and permeation for this cloride conducting channel; through the techniques of site-directed mutagenesis and voltage clamp electrophysiology in HEK cells.
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Alexander Poplawsky
[ajp419@gmail.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Neuroscience/Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
- Advisor: Xiaoping Hu
- Research Interest :
Alex is currently working on his dissertation research to directly detect
neural magnetic fields using magnetic resonance technology. Conventional
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques measure the
secondary blood flow response to neural activity and are delayed by over a
second. By capturing the neural magnetic field directly, researchers will be
able to non-invasively study brain activation with a greater temporal and
spatial resolution that is impossible with other modalities. Toward this
aim, he is combining electrophysiology with magnetic resonance in both the
earthworm giant axon and rat hippocampal slice preparations to elucidate the
magnetic resonance signature of action and post-synaptic currents,
respectively. Alex is also a past PRISM fellow and a current participant of
the HHMI curriculum development fellowship, where he is creating a
neuro-imaging course for undergraduates.
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Elaine Pranski
[epransk@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Biology and Psychology, Washington College
- Advisor: Ranjita Betarbet
- Research Interest : The molecular mechanisms behind the pathology and pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, I am investigating a novel protein, RNF11, and the role it plays in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis.
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Cecilia
Prudente
[cecilianasciprud@gmail.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2009
- Degree/School : BA in Physical Therapy and MS in Rehabilitation
Sciences, Univ Fed de Minas Gerais (Brazil)
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Kathy Reding
[katherine.reding@gmail.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2009
- Degree/School :
BS in Neuroscience and MS in Evolutionary Psychology, College of William &
Mary
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Stefanie Ritter
[slritte@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2006
- Degree/School : Neuroscience, Furman University
- Advisor: Randy Hall
- Research Interest : I study how scaffolding proteins regulate the
signaling and traffic of metabotropic glutamate receptors in a cell
context-dependent fashion. These receptors are novel targets for the
treatment of schizophrenia and need to be better characterized in order to
develop drugs with reduced side effects. By understanding how metabotropic
glutamate receptors function in a more native cellular context, such as in
cortical astrocytes, I aim to better characterize their physiological
function.
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John Rolston
[jrolston@neuro.gatech.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School :
Computer Science, Columbia University
- Advisor:
Steve Potter and Robert Gross
- Research Interest : I’m
investigating the electrophysiology of
epilepsy, using chronically implanted multielectrode arrays.
Additionally, I’m developing a potential treatment for epilepsy using
continuous, closed-loop microstimulation.
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Steven Ryan
[sryan2@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Advisor: Donald Rainnie
- Research Interest : I am interested in the neural circuitry of the amygdala, specifically the interactions of interneuron subpopulations in conferring specific function on the local networks. I primarily perform patch clamp electrophysiology along with a smattering of molecular techniques.
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Seyed Safavynia
[ssafavy@Learnlink.Emory.Edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School :
BS in Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Advisor: Lena Ting
Research Interest : I am interested in studying posture and
balance as a framework for understanding how the nervous system controls
movement. Specifically, I use computational algorithms to identify muscle
synergies, modules for movement that can be combined to produce a myriad of
muscular patterns necessary for the maintenance of balance.
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Kristen Sager
[klsager@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : BS in Biology, Ithaca College
- Advisor:
Allan Levey
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Nikki Sawyer
[nsawye2@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : BS in Biology with a Chemistry minor, Clayton
State University
- Advisor : Andrew Escayg
- Research Interest
: I am interested in how stress plays a roll in triggering epileptic
seizures. In particular, I want to examine the effect of sodium
channel mutations on the HPA axis, and how a dysregulated HPA axis can cause
stress to become a trigger for seizures.
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Nathan Schulteiss
[nschult@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2001
- Degree/School : BS in Biology/Psychology, Wake Forest University
- Advisor:
Dieter Jaeger
Research Interest : I am interested in how neurons process inputs
and how networks of neurons process information. Currently, I am doing
phase response analysis of a full morphological globus pallidus neuron
model. I hope to use a convergence of modeling and brain slice
electrophysiology to elucidate mechanisms of synchronization in neuronal
populations, with application to oscillations and synchronizations that
emerge in the basal ganglia with Parkinson's disease.
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Rebecca Seaman
Roffman
[rseaman@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Biology, Union College
- Advisor: Ronald Calabrese
- Research Interest: I am interested in how a small neural network can be constructed to produce stereotyped output. I use the leech heartbeat central pattern generator model system to explore the animal-to-animal variability that is present in the synaptic strengths throughout the network.
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Katy Shepard
[knshepa@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2008
- Degree/School : BA in Psychology, Ithaca College
- Advisor : Robert Liu
- Research Interest : I am
interested in using neuroethological methods to study the effects of sex
hormones on social behavior and animal communication.
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Jacob Shreckengost
[jshreck@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : BA Biology, University of Chicago
- Advisor: Shawn Hochman
- Research Interest: I am investigating presynaptic inhibition in the vertebrate spinal cord. Presynaptic inhibition is generally thought to be mediated through a trisynaptic pathway ending in GABA-A receptor activation at axoaxonic synapses onto primary afferents. Our results, however, suggest that a significant portion of presynaptic inhibition is actually mediated through direct negative feedback of primary afferents onto themselves, without the contribution of spinal interneurons. I am also investigating how these mechanisms are altered following spinal cord injury.
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Drew Solyst
[DrewSolyst@gmail.com]
- Year Matriculated : 2009
- Degree/School :
BS in Psychology, St. Mary's College of Maryland
- Currently doing lab rotations
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Rachael Stewart
[restewa@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2007
- Degree/School : Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Advisor: Don Stein
- Research Interest: I am interested in developing models of retinal and neuropathic injuries to determine what neuroprotective strategies might be most appropriate.
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Sharon Swanger
[sswange@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Behavioral Neuroscience, Lehigh University
- Advisor : Gary Bassell
- Research Interest :
I am interested in
the molecular mechanisms regulating dendritic protein synthesis and synaptic
plasticity.
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Ahmad Sylvester
[asylves@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2005
- Degree/School : Psychology, SUNY, Buffalo
- Advisor: Allan Levey
- Research Interest : My lab researches various neurodegenerative
disorders. We were the first to observe a relationship between LR11 protein
and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specifically, LR11 appears to negatively
regulate production of the amyloid beta peptide - thought to be the key
toxic agent in AD. My research is expanding upon this work by attempting to
determine whether a relationship exists between LR11 and other pathological
changes seen in AD.
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Meagan Ward Jenkins
[mward8@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : BA Neuroscience, Smith College
- Advisor : Steve Traynelis
- Research Interest : I'm
interested in studying ion channels.
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Kelly Watts
[kdwatts@learnlink.emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2003
- Degree/School : BS in Biology/Psychology, Birmingham Southern College
- Advisor : Mike Davis
- Research Interest :
Kelly is working on the role of
metabotropic glutamate receptors in extinction of fear in rats.
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Brandi Whatley
[bwhatle@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2002
- Degree/School : BS in Anthropology/Biology, Boston University
- Advisor: Lian Li
- Research Interest : I am interested in the role of ubiquitination in neurodegenerative disease. I am currently investigating new interactors of a novel E3 ligase that may play a role in Parkinson's disease.
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Terrence Wright
[terrence.m.wright@emory.edu]
- Year Matriculated : 2004
- Degree/School : MS in Biological Sciences, California State University, San Marcos
- Advisor: Ronald Calabrese
- Research Interest :
I am studying the contribution of motor neurons to the generation of
rhythmic motor patterns such as locomotion or breathing.
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