Meet Our Team
Gregory Schwartz, PhD
NUIN Director
Greg Schwartz, Derrick T. Vail Professor of Ophthalmology, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Neuroscience, and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, serves as the NUIN Director. He previously served as the NUIN Associate Director (Chicago campus), Chair of the Admissions Committee, Director/Co-Director of 3 NUIN courses, and as a member of the NUIN Advisory Board. Greg has graduated four NUIN students and currently mentors four others. Greg’s research program focuses on circuits in the retina and the early visual system in mice.
Contact Me:
- 312-503-7503
- Chicago: Tarry 5-733
Daniel Dombeck, PhD
Associate Director, Evanston Campus
Dan Dombeck, Associate Professor in Neurobiology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, serves as the Associate Director in Evanston. He previously served as the co-Chair of the Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Concentration Area and Qualifying Exam Committee. Dan has graduated two NUIN students and currently mentors two others. Dan's lab studies mammalian spatial navigation and spatial memory.
Contact Me:
- 847-467-0475
- Evanston: Pancoe 2-409
Talia Lerner, PhD
Associate Director, Chicago Campus
Talia Lerner, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, serves as the Associate Director, Chicago Campus. She previously served as an early years student advisor, director of the Cellular Neurophysiology module of the NUIN Fundamentals of Neuroscience core class, and member of the admissions and curriculum committees. She has graduated two NUIN students, and currently mentors three others. Talia’s lab studies the neural circuit basis of motivation, reward learning and decision-making.
Contact Me:
- 312-503-5596
- Ward Building, 5-120
Jena Pitman-Leung, PhD
Assistant Director
Jena Pitman-Leung is a NUIN Alum (2007 graduate) who worked as a Drosophila neurobiologist, sleep and career development consultant, and academic administrator at Brandeis University before coming to NU. Please refer to Jena for:
- Program activities and budget
- Advising: Rotations and laboratory questions/concerns
- Student groups
- TGS and NUIN policies, NUIN Handbook
- NUIN Curriculum
- TA assignments
- If you’re not sure who to ask
Zoom Office hours are Monday, 3:00-4:00pm
Contact Me:
- Evanston: 847-467-4246
Chicago: 312-503-4308
- Evanston: Hogan 2-171
Chicago: Ward 1-330
Stephanie Pociask, PhD
Assistant Director, NUIN Sponsored Programs
Stephanie Pociask is a NUIN Alum (2017 graduate) who has studied prion folding in neurodegeneration, and has worked in student career development and support, including as Assistant Director of the NIH supported CLIMB program at NU. Please refer to Stephanie for:
- NUIN Administered T32 information, applications, appointments, etc.
- NU PREP Scholar Inquiries
- NRSA application assistance
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives and Efforts
Zoom office hours are Thursday 1:00-2:00pm
Contact Me:
- (312) 503-1873
- Chicago: Morton 1-645
EV: Hogan 2-095
Kristin Thoma, JD, MS
Senior Program Coordinator
Kristin has worked as an academic administrator ay University of Chicago, a labor and employment lawyer, and as the Assistant Director of the Training Grant Support Office at NU. Please refer to Kristin for:
- Classes and registration
- Rotation requirements
- Milestone and related paperwork including committee meetings, seminar requirement, graduation planning etc
- GSTS data entry
- Student funding inquiries
Zoom office hours: TBD
Contact Me:
- 312-503-2742
- Chicago: Morton 1-645
EV: Hogan 2-095
Melissa Moore, BS
Program Assistant
Melissa received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Universidad Autónoma del Caribe in Colombia. She previously worked as an Administrative Assistant for the President of the Colegio San Jose. She joined NUIN in November of 2021.
Please refer to Melissa for:
- Room/Zoom booking, including classrooms
- Website questions
- Listservs
- NUIN@
- General inquiries
Contact Me:
- 312-503-4300
- Chicago: Morton 1-645
EV: Hogan 2-171