Neuroscience Graduate Students
(For additional information about each, click on the card)

Melina Acosta
Email: melina.acosta@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Wendy Saltzman
Degree Program: Ph.D.
Research Focus
I am interested in the role of catecholamines in modulating the expression of parental behavior

Will Agnew Svoboda
Email: will.agnewsvoboda@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Martin Riccomagno
Degree Program: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Camila Alvarez
Email: camila.alvarez@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Sushmitha Arumugam
Email: sarum004@ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Michael Adams
Degree Program: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Neuroendocrine signalling in Drosophila Melanogaster.

Angela Avitua
Email: angela.avitua@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Byron Ford
Degree Program: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Repair and regeneration following traumatic brain injury; Neuregulin-1

Tyler Bailey
Email: tyler.bailey@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Edward Korzus
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Development of the neocortex, Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Alexander Bilas
Email: alexander.bilas@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Todd Fiacco
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Crisylle Blanton
Email: crisylle.blanton@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Kathleen Conner
Email: kathleen.conner@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Kelly Huffman
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Katilynne Croom
Email: katilynne.croom@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Khaleel Abdulrazak
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Paula Da Silva Frost
Email: paula.dasilvafrost@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Monica Carson
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
My interest in research include how peripheral inflammatory responses can influence the central nervous system, particularly in the gut-brain axis and how viral infections cause brain pathologies.

Payton DePalma
Email: payton.depalma@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Anand Ray
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
The neural mechanisms of olfactory attraction and aversion in insects

Manali Dey
Email: manali.dey@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Anupama Dahanukar
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Jordan Donohue
Email: jordan.donohue@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Garret Anderson
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Latrophilins, a class of molecules known as synaptic cell adhesion molecules were recently shown to physically connect pre- and post-synaptic membranes controlling excitatory synaptic development in hippocampal neurons,.
Where alternatively spliced Latrophilins cause inhibitory synaptogenesis. Latrophilin 2 was shown to control synaptogenesis in the hippocampus arising from the main input to the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex and Latrophilin-3 controls the other main input arising from CA3. In the lab we use a variety of techniques ranging from viral mediated gene deletion, circuit tracing, single neuron reconstructions and RNA analysis using cutting edge quantitative single molecule In-situ hybridization. The goal is to ascertain data ranging from mRNA expression to protein to circuit assembly and behavioral analysis of circuit mediated learning. Using these highly precise methodologies we seek to better understand the molecules that control how the brain is wired and how their misfunction might be involved in pathology.

Zoe Figueroa
Email: zoe.figueroa@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Emma Wilson
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Indira Harahap-Carrillo
Email: indira.harahapcarillo@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Marcus Kaul
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Brian Hitchin
Email: brain.hitchin@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Lucas Hodge
Email: lucas.hodge@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Anjum Hussain
Email: anjum.hussain@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Mawaheb Kassir
Email: mawaheb.kassir@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Khaleel Abdulrazak
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Foucs

Alexander King
Email: alexander.king@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Garret Anderson
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Jamiela Kokash
Email: jamiela.kokash@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Khaleel Abdulrazak
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Effects of noise induced hearing loss in the auditory cortex

Elena Kozlova
Email: elena.kozlova@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Margarita Curras-Collazo
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Yuqi Ma
Email: yuqi.ma@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Anand Ray
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Krista Marrero
Email: krista.marrero@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Edward Zagha
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Kamryn Mattingly
Email: kmatt014@ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Aaron Seitz
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
I am interested in studying executive function and inhibitory control in humans using fMRI.

Jim McBurney-Lin
Email: jim.mcburneylin@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Hongdian Yang
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Neuromodulation in sensory perception.

Vaibhav Menon
Email: vaibhav.menon@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Anupama Dahanukar
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Neuronal circuitry guiding gustatory behavior in Drosophila and its intersection with metabolic control

Seung Moon
Email: seung.moon@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Rachel Wu
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Quynh Anh Nguyen
Email: quynhanh.nguyen@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Neural activation following olfactory-mediated defensive behaviors

Susan Nguyen
Email: susan.nguyen004@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Viji Santhakumar
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Neural-Immune signaling following brain injury
David Nikom
Email: david.nikom@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Haneal Pae
Email: haneal.pae@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Jun Cho
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Noorhan Rahmatullah
Email: noorhan.rahmatullah@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Anu Goel
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Sandhya Sriram
Email: sandhya.sriram@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

John Speigel III
Email: jspei003@ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Edward Korzus
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
The role of sub-regional specialization and connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex in the acquisition and expression of contextual fear memory

Xin Tao
Email: xin.tao@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Khaleel Abdulrazak
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
My current research focuses on Fragile X Syndrome. In human, FXS patients represent hypersensitivity to sound, and this characteristics is measured by audiogenic seizures in animal models. My goal is to see if Fmr1 knock-out mice (a mouse model of FXS) will display sound hypersensitivity as human beings by designing a new behavior paradigm (less drastic than audiogenic seizures). And if that's the case, I'll further pursue the behind mechanisms.

Teresa Ubina
Email: teresa.ubina@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Martin Riccomagno
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Molecular mechanisms of pruning

Tyler Vahedi-Hunter
Email: tyler.vahedihunter@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Martin Riccomagno
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Victoria Wagner
Email: victoria.wagner@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Iryna Ethell
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Wenny Wong
Email: wenny.wong@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Martin Riccomagno
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Courtney Wood
Email: courtney.wood@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Nicholas DiPatrizio
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
The endocannabinoid system, vagus nerve signaling, gut-brain axis

Gohar Zavradyan
Email: gohar.zavradyan@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Zhaoran Zhang
Email: zhaoran.zhang@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Dr. Edward Zagha
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus
Understanding the neuronal mechanism underlying animal's behavior, such as paying attention and making decisions.

Shan Zhong
Email: shan.zhong@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Brandon L. Oliver
Email: brandon.oliver@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Courtney A. Scaramella
Email: courtney.scaramella@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Thomas A. Shoff
Email: thomas.shoff@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Andrew P. Villa
Email: andrew.villa@email.ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.
Research Focus

Trevor E. Zimmerman-Thompson
Email: tzimm002@ucr.edu
Major Professor: Rotating
Degree: Ph.D.