Students In Lab

Graduate Students

Neuroscience Graduate Student Association (NGSA)

Student Associations consist of hardworking and talented students dedicated to organizing and providing the community with fundamental services and opportunities.

Click HERE to learn more about the Neuroscience Graduate Student Association and meet the executive board.

Neuroscience Graduate Students

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

Sushmitha

Sushmita Arumugam Amogh

Email: sarum004@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Ysabel Giraldo

Degree Program: Ph.D.

Research Focus

My research explores how hypergravity alters the neural circuits that control locomotion and activity rhythms in Drosophila melanogaster. By studying how the brain responds to energy-demanding conditions like increased gravity, I aim to uncover how the nervous system senses and adapts to extreme environments.

Levi-Briana Shinn

Trisha Basu

Email: tbasu001@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Edward Zagha

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Developmental processes underlying neuropsychiatric disorders

Caroline Becronis

Caroline Becronis

Email: cbecr001@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Glial Cells, Epilepsy, Autism, TBI

Isha Bhakta

Email: ibhak002@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Cellular neuroscience, neurodegeneration

Alexander Bilas

Email: alexander.bilas@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Todd Fiacco

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Crisylle Blanton

Crisylle Blanton

Email: crisylle.blanton@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Garret Anderson

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Circuit development, synapse choice

Kaira Carstens

Kaira Carstens

Email: kaira.carstens@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Hongdian Yang

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Locus coeruleus modulation of cognitive flexibility.

Christopher Creighton1

Christopher Creighton

Email: christopher.creighton@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Anupama Dahanukar

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

The gustatory system of Drosophila melanogaster

Jeffrey Delgado

Email: jeffrey.delgado@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Natalie Zlebnik

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Endocannabinoid and dopamine signaling; neurobiological mechanisms of drug-seeking and relapse.

Carissa Erices

Carissa Erices

Email: ceric006@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Glial Cells, Neurodegenerative Diseases and Glial Cells

Merrin Foltz

Merrin Foltz

Email: mfolt001@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Insect Behavior, Sensory Systems

Rose Garcia

Email: rgarc332@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Substances of abuse, THC, Effects of Environmental Toxins on Biochemical pathways and their downstream effects on behavior through the lens of Development.

Benjamin Gregory

Benjamin Gregory

Email: bgreg014@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Sensory Adaptations of Invertebrates

Ellie Hodge

Email: ellie.hodge@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Katherine Stavropoulos

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Autism, Motivation and Reward

Carrie Jonak

Email: carrie.randle@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Devin Binder

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Identifying the cellular, molecular, and electrophysiological mechanisms that contribute to the development of posttraumatic epilepsy following traumatic brain injury.

Sarah Kabbara

Sarah Kabbara

Email: sarah.kabbara@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Edward Zagha

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Neural Mechanisms of Sensory Selection

YuqiMa

Yuqi Ma

Email: yuqi.ma@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Anand Ray

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Carly McCurry

Carly McCurry

Email: cmccu011@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Shahab Vahdat

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Neurological injury and repair, inflammation, neuroprotection

Jazlynn Meza

Jazlynn Meza

Email: jmeza056@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Todd Fiaco

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Microglia and Neurodegeneration

William Mol

William Mol

Email: william.mol@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Anubhuti Goel

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Circuit basis of sensory processing and sensory processing differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Tammy Nguyen

Tammy Nguyen

Email: tnguy851@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Drug Addiction and Identifying novel therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Brandon Oliver

Brandon L. Oliver

Email: brandon.oliver@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Natalie Zlebnik

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Endocannabinoids, dopamine, learning, and decision-making

David Parker

Email: david.parker1@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Gene Brewer

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Computational Neuroscience, attention to memory, prospective memory

Daniel Peixoto

Daniel Peixoto

Email: daniel.peixoto@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Ian Ballard

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Aging, Dopamine, Decision-Making, Cognitive Resilience

Jackeline Peraza

Jackeline Peraza

Email: jpera065@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Neuroinflammation and Neuroimmunology; β-Actin G342D as a Cause of NK Cell Deficiency Impairing Lytic Synapse Termination

Payton DePalma Pic

Payton Rao

Email: payton.rao@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Martin Riccomagno

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

I study the cellular mechanisms underlying cortical lamination.

Rhiannon Rivas

Email: rhiannon.rivas@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Todd Fiaco

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Andrea Rocha

Andrea Rocha

Email: andrea.rocha@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Molecular mechanisms underlying predator threat detection in the accessory olfactory system, chemosensory neuroscience

Luiza Rocha

Luiza Rocha

Email: larau013@urc.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Edward Zagha

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Learning and Memory

Sarah Sharif

Sarah Sharif

Email: sarah.sharif@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Seema Tiwari-Woodruff

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Neurodegenerative disease, visual system dysfunction

Levi-Briana Shinn

Email: levibriana.shinn@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Argishti Stepanian

Email: argishti.stepanian@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Rotating

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Alexandra Tejada

Alexandra Tejada

Email: alexandra.tejada@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Edward Zagha

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Sensorimotor transformation

Ritika Thapa

Ritika Thapa

Email: ritika.thapa@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Iryna Ethell

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Fragile X Syndrome; ASD

Shireen Turner

Email: sturn032@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Martin Riccomagno

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Neuroimmunology and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Mina Toufani

Mina Toufani

Email: mtouf001@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Xiaoping P. Hu

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Computational Neuroscience

Ashley Valdez

Ashley Valdez

Email: ashley.valdez@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Djurdjica Coss

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

My research focuses on how astrocytes respond to metabolic stress and how these changes may drive brain inflammation and disease.

Ian Warren

Ian Warren

Email: ian.warren@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Wendy Saltzman

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Perineuronal nets and neuroplasticity in California mice parental behavior, a biparental mouse model

Jiamin Yan

JiaMin Yan

Email: jiamin.yan@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Andre Obenaus

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Pediatric traumatic brain injury and Caveolin-1

Chia-Wei Yeh

Chia Wei Yeh

Email: cyeh036@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Viji Santhakumar

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Neurophysiology, Psychiatry, Epilepsy, Circuits, Dentate gyrus

Octavio Zaragoza Rodriguez

Octavio Zaragoza Rodriguez

Email: octavio.zaragozarodriguez@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Nicholas DiPatrizio

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

My interest lies in the effects of Δ9-THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, on incretin release and its role in enhancing food reward.

Gohar Zavradyan

Gohar Zavradyan

Email: gohar.zavradyan@email.ucr.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Ilana J. Bennett

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Neuroimaging, Alzheimer's disease, Neuroinflammation

Cori Zuvia

Cori Zuvia

Email: czuvi001@ucr.edu

Major Professor: Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka

Degree: Ph.D.

Research Focus

Drug Addiction and Neural Disease