List of Current Students
*MSTP Student
Entry Year
Name
Lab
Dept
Research
2007
Laila Alibiglou
Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement
I have investigated the muscle and reflex changes in stroke and spinal cord injury during past
two years. Currently, I’m interested to study the role of CNS plasticity in learning of new patterns
and to examine the adaptability of the CNS to new sensory inputs. My current research focuses
on understanding the control mechanisms underlying bilateral movements in persons with post-
stroke hemiplegia and finding an effective intervention that can help to adjust and modify the
inappropriate paretic muscle phasing and timing observed in these patients.
2003
Teresa Aman
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
I use a combination of electrophysiological and molecular techniques to study specialized Na channel kinetics that allow cerebellar neurons to fire at high frequencies.
2006
Angela Anderegg
Department of Neurology
Mechanisms involved with neurodevelopment (such as stem cell proliferation, differentiation, and neuronal migration), as they might apply in developing regenerative therapeutics for neuronal disease and injury.
2007
Charles Anderson
Department of Physiology
My area of interest is signal processing in the brain with a focus on sensory systems. I am
especially fascinated by the flow of information through these systems with a focus on the
feedback involved and the parallel computations performed in the process.
2005
Deanna Arble
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
My research examines the associations between metabolic problems (like genetic or diet-induced obesity) and sleep
2006
Alaina Baker
Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center
I study Alzheimer's Disease pathophysiology, particularly the role of β-amyloid accumulation in basal forebrain cholinergic cell death.
2003
Marwan Baliki
Department of Physiology
The goal of my work is to study and differentiate between the affective and sensory components of pain using fMRI and psychophysics.
2007
Alexis Baria
Rotating
I am interested in motor systems, perception, and sensory-motor integration. More specifically I
am interested in how sensory information is encoded in the nervous system, and how this
information affects motor decisions.
2006
Michael Beaumont
Biomedical Engineering Department
Understanding the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms of neural repair/regeneration, toward the end of employing engineered material systems to facilitate and manipulate such mechanisms.
2005
Genna Bebko
Department of Psychology
I am interested in researching developmental changes in cognitive and neural systems associated with the acquisition of cognitive and emotional control.
2006
Mark Benton
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
I am studying how Ca-dependent facilitation (CDF) and inactivation (CDI) of Ca Channels effects neurotransmitter release, specifically in neurons with high tonic firing rates, such as cerebellar Purkinje neurons.
2002
Sonia Bhangoo
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry
I study mechanisms of several types of peripheral neuropathy.
2004
Christopher Bissonnette
Department of Neurology
My research involves making cholinergic neurons from human embryonic stem cells.
2008
Katherine Blizinsky
I’m interested in examining emotional capacities. In particular, I would like to study the experience of traumatic stress, its consequences on the nervous system and behavior, and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence resiliency. In addition, I am interested in investigating cross-cultural differences in human emotional response and the mechanisms giving rise to those differences.
2003
Sarah Blythe
Department of Physiology
I study the cellular mechanisms underlying burst firing in dopamine neurons.
2008
Allison Bond
I am interested in the mechanisms of neural plasticity at the cellular level in response to learning and experience, as well as how this change persists over time. I am particularly curious about the role of the neural environment, including the surrounding neurons and non-neuronal brain cells, in a neuron's capacity for plasticity.
2007
Nicholas Bowman
Rotating
I am interested in the neural mechanisms involved in judgment and decision making from an
individual and collective perspective. In particular I aim to focus on trying to understand why
individuals and collectives make poor choices, while considering how we define good choices.
2007
Donna Bridge
Rotating
I am interested in basic processes underlying human memory. Particularly, I aim to conduct
multi-disciplinary research that investigates social, cultural, and biological factors that influence
learning and memory processes.
2000
Ethan Buhr
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
My research focuses on circadian rhythms in mice. Circadian rhythms in mice are controlled by small paired nuclei in the dorsal hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN. The SCN synchronizes the molecular clocks of peripheral tissues such as the pituitary, lung, and liver through an unknown mechanism. My research focuses on elucidating ways in which these molecular rhythms achive whole-body synchrony.
2005
Michael Cahill
Department of Physiology
I am currently examining the effects of the protein kalirin on dendritic spine morphology. Kalirin is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) protein that induces GDP to GTP exchange amongst Rho family GTPases, particularly Rac1 and RhoA GTPases.
2004
Donald Cantrell*
My research interests are twofold: (1) to elucidate the contributions of different components of the retinal circuitry to spatiotemporal vision, and (2) to better understand the fundamental aspects of neuro-electric interfaces to the visual system, specifically to the retina and the optic nerve.
2007
Jorge Cantu
Pediatrics Department
I am interested in studying damage to the central nervous system. I would also like to get more
experience with in vivo transgenic models and microscopy.
2004
Justin Catches
Department of Physiology
My research focuses on the role of calcium in synaptic plasticity at the mossy fiber-CA3 synapse in the hippocampus.
2007
Andrew Chang
Rotating
I am interested in studying circadian rhythms and the genetic basis behind them. Also, I would be interested in studying the neuropharmacology of neurodegenerative diseases.
2002
Anil Cherian
Department of Physiology
Decoding electrical activity in the motor cortex to produce movement.
2004
John Cieslak*
Department of Microbiology-Immunology
I am studying the structure-function relationship of potassium ion channels, specifically the mechanism of both voltage-dependent gating and ligand-dependent gating.
2004
Carlo Condello
Department of Neurology
Synaptic maintenance and neuropathology in the adult brain.
2006
Gregory Dam
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Cognitive and computational neuroscience. More specifically, I am interested in implicit learning and the role of subcortical structures in cognitive processes.
2003
Catherine Drerup
My thesis research involves characterizing the function of DISC1 (Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1), a schizophrenia susceptibility gene, in vivo using zebrafish neurodevelopment as a model.
2004
Dilyan Dryanovski
Department of Physiology
My research is in the migration and differentiation of adult neuronal stem cells.
2006
Lishu Duan
Department of Neurology
I am interested in Molecular neurosciences and neurobiology of disease, especially as they relate to neural development and plasticity.
2008
Sharon Dubois
I am interested in the underlying mechanisms of the neuroendocrine system. In particular, I would like to study the neuroendocrine control of the reproductive system or the effects of steroids on brain synapses.
2004
D'Anne Duncan
Department of Microbiology-Immunology
My project is focused on immune functions of microglia during central nervous system infections.
2007
Jeremy Eagles
Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement
My area of interest is motor function and control, especially in regards to injury rehabilitation and
in the treatment of neuromuscular diseases such as Parkinson's and ALS. After my schooling, I
hope to pursue a career designing intelligent neural prosthetics that all two-way feedback
between the device and the nervous system. I would like to research and build assistive devices
in addition to replacement limbs. Such an assistive device could be a stabilizing device for a
patient with Parkinson's disease.
2006
Faisal Fecto
Department of Neurology
Our lab is studying disorders of human neurodegeneration. The focus of our research is on the prototypic upper and lower motor neuron disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Main areas include studies in human genetics, as well as animal studies exploring the most basic mechanisms by which these diseases develop. (www.neurogenetics.northwestern.edu)
2007
Emma Flores
Rotating
I am interested in the neurobiology of neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases that affect
the Central Nervous System, specifically the cellular and molecular events that occur within the
body's immune system. I am also interested in the role stem cells can play within these disease
models.
2004
Luke Flores
Department of Physiology
Involvement of the Basal Ganglia in Trace Eyeblink Conditioning
2004
Grant Flowers
My research uses the zebrafish model to investigate the role of proteoglycans in vertebrate nervous system development.
2005
Shanti Frausto
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry
2006
Caroline Freitag
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry
I am working on a project examining the effects of chemokines on the migration and differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in the CNS in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
2008
Diane Friedman
I am interested in sleep and circadian rhythm problems, fundamental mechanisms and systems.
2008
Kyla Garibaldi
I have investigated the neuroplasticity of language recovery in aphasia during the past three years, utilizing imaging techniques as well as behavioral measures. My general area of interest is the neural representation of language. I am interested in the neural correlates of language and music encoding and perception, and the incorporation of these percepts into higher-level processing. I am also interested in the neurophysiology of second language acquisition.
2005
Kelly Glajch
Department of Physiology
Neurodegenerative Diseases in C. elegans
2004
Eric Gobel
Department of Psychology
I study the neural correlates and representations of human implicit sequence memory.
2005
Kevin Gobeske
Department of Neurology
Exploring developmental differences in neuron migration and survival in strains of 'smart' and 'dumb' mice.
2005
Brian Goico
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
I study the role of leucine rich acidic nuclear proteins in neural disease and development.
2007
Austin Graves
Rotating
I am interested in studying ion channels and transporters using biochemical and biophysical
approaches. I aim to use electrophysiology to probe the behavior of everything from single
channels to neural circuits.
2007
Yomayra Guzmán
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
As a researcher I am interested in studying the neuropharmacological basis of substance abuse
and affective disorders. In particular I would like to focus on how neurochemical interactions
contribute to the modulation of brain circuitry and behavior.
2001
Emma Hayes
Department of Neurology
I am studying activity-dependent phosphorylation of the transmembrane AMPA receptor regulating protein (TARP) stargazin, and what role this plays in forms of synaptic plasticity thought to underlie memory formation, such as LTP and LTD.
2007
Tristan Hedrick
Department of Physiology
My two major research projects have measured plastic neurological changes using the visual
system as a model. I have used behavioral testing, live surgeries, as well as in vivo
electrophysiology. I am still interested in this area. I would also like to do research in other areas,
in particular the study of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s. I prefer research
working with animal models, using surgeries and electrophysiology, although I have become
interested in behavioral testing protocols as well.
2008
Desmond Henderson
My research interests are diseases involved with vision and their molecular workings.
2007
Caroline Hookway
Rotating
I am interested in the link between molecular mechanisms and behavioral outputs, particularly in
the elucidation of the molecular events that underlie psychiatric disorders, the neurobiology of
sleep and circadian rhythms, and synapse formation.
2008
Rafiq Huda
Generally, I am interested in studying molecular substrates of learning and memory. In particular, I want to study the molecular pathways underlying synaptic and structural plasticity of neurons. In the past, I have used electrophysiological techniques to study the alpha-7 nAChRs and hair cells of the bullfrog vestibular system.
2007
Kyu Hwan Huh
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
I am largely interested in studying the role of hippocampal networks in the processes of
perception to memories, short term to long term memories, and recall. I am also interested in
more detailed aspects of how neural branching and regeneration/degeneration, expression of
several receptors or channels in hippocampal (CA1) pyramidal neurons affect the processes.
2005
Robert Hurley
Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center
I am currently examining the effects of aging and cortical atrophy on object naming, and functional characteristics of the spatial attention network.
2004
Mariana Jimenez
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
Reproductive Neuroendocrinology- I am currently focusing on the role of sex hormones such as progesterone, and their underlying mechanisms in regard to complex social behaviors.
2006
Michael Johnson
Department of Physiology
My general interest is in motor control with a focus on spinal mechanisms. I am primarily concerned with network properties and how limb kinematic variables are encoded in these spinal neural networks.
2006
Kelly Jones
Department of Physiology
I'm interested in the molecular underpinnings of emotional behavior. Currently, I'm examining the role of serotonin signaling in modulating dendritic spine morphology in the cortex, a mechanism that may play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
2002
Hosung Jung
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry
I study the roles of chemokines in peripheral neuropathy.
2004
Aniket Kaloti
Biomedical Engineering Department
Electrophysiological and modeling studies of the rat brainstem trigeminal nuclei
2005
Amar Kar
Department of Neurology
I am studying alternative splicing of tau and its role in neurodegenerative diseases.
2008
Jin-ah Kim
I studied molecular biology and electrophysiology of voltage gated calcium channels for my master’s degree. During the past few years, I have become interested in the role of immediate early genes in long-term synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. I want to deepen my understanding of the dynamic changes of synapses, which are accomplished by ion channels, receptors, and synaptic proteins. I will use electrophysiological and imaging tools during my PhD study.
2004
Yongsoo Kim
Rotating
Imaging and understanding of the adult subventricular zone which is one of adult neurogenesis regions
2007
Taro Kiritani
Department of Physiology
In general, my interest is in integration of computational analysis and physiological data. I would
like to make use of my knowledge of electrophysiology and analytical skills. In addition, I am also
interested in the treatment of mental disorders. My ultimate goal is to tackle mental disorders
using an unconventional strategy.
2000
Nichole Lapointe
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Role of tau in AD-related neurodegeneration
2004
Milos Lazic
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
Studying metabolic phenotype in a rat/mouse model of PCOS (polycitic ovary syndrome)
2003
Joy Lee*
Department of Microbiology-Immunology
Intra-axonal transport of Herpes virus
2007
Alan Lewis*
Department of Neurology
My research attempts to understand the role of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in the neuronal trafficking of HCN channels. The distribution of HCN channels is crucial for regulating cellular excitability, and therefore we would like to elucidate the mechanism by which this distribution is established in normal development as well as how aberrant distribution may lead to pathologic conditions such as epilepsy.
2008
Jing Nong Liang
I have investigated the adaptation of the spinal circuit functions following injury to the spinal cord and issues related to muscle fatigue using neurophysiological and electrophysiological methods. I am also interested in plasticity of the central nervous system; the intracortical activity following CNS lesions; and the development of interventions with potential therapeutic value for motor recovery in patients with brain lesions.
2004
Adam Light*
Department of Ophthalmology
I am studying the role of retinal bipolar cells in producing ganglion cell responses.
2008
Samuel Light
I am interested in the molecular underpinnings of behavior, learning, and memory in healthy and diseased states.
1997
Carren Loredo
In our laboratory, we study how stroke affects the performance of hemiparetic subjects on limb-matching and force-matching tasks. With these experiments, we may be able to discover how the stroke survivor "perceives" his or her impaired arm, and whether deficits in perception, or in the capacity to synthesize an adequate representation of limb mechanical behavior underlies impairment in motor coordination.
2002
Bryce Mander
Department of Neurology
I am currently investigating the effects of sleep and sleep loss on brain function using fMRI and EEG techniques along with behavioral testing. The goal of my research is to understand how sleep loss and recovery from sleep loss interacts with aging to affect brain function and behavioral performance.