Current Students

Publications Awards Student Handbook

The Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Rochester recruits and matriculates the highest quality students from around the United States and from all parts of the world. They participate in a rigorous neuroscience curriculum, attend national and international meetings, and contribute to cutting edge research. Many of our students have published manuscripts in high profile international journals and present abstracts at a host of large and small scientific meetings. In addition, our students participate as members of the curriculum, admissions and colloquium committees, and annually present their ongoing research to fellow students and to the neuroscience community as a whole.

Student Composite

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Matthew  Adusei
Briggs Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Identifying corticogeniculate neurons in extrastriate visual cortex

Katherine Andersh, M.S.
Libby Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The role of proinflammatory signaling in glaucoma

Holly Beaulac, M.S.
Patricia White Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Identifying molecular mechanisms that maintain or restore hearing after noise exposure

Amy Bucklaew
First Year

MaKenna  Cealie
Majewska Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The effects of developmental alcohol exposure on glia and neurons

Udaysankar Chockanathan, M.S.
Neural Circuits and Computation Laboratory
Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.)
NBA Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Hippocampal population coding in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease

Emily Crosier, M.S.
Neural Circuits and Computation Laboratory
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The role of feedback projections from the hippocampus to the olfactory bulb in sensory coding

Anthony Bryan Crum
First Year

Yanya Ding
First Year

Michael  DuHain
Second Year

Karl Foley, M.S.
Xia Lab
Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.)
NBA Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The molecular mechanisms of learning and memory

Johanna  Fritzinger
Carney Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Encoding of pitch and timbre in the auditory midbrain

Michael Giannetto
First Year

John (Jay) Gonzalez-Amoretti
First Year

Dennis Jung
Snyder Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Berke Karaahmet, M.S.
O'Banion-Olschowka Labs
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Neuroinflammation

Dennisha King
First Year

Linh  Le
O'Banion-Olschowka Labs
Majewska Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The role of microglia in regulating amyloid pathology over the course of Alzheimer's disease

Colin Lockwood, M.S.
Cognitive Neuroscience Lab

NBA Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Systems neuroscience

Alexandra McHale, M.S.
Fudge Lab
NBA Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Identifying cortico-amygdala-striatal paths in the social brain

Cody McKee
Xia Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Humberto Mestre, M.S.
Nedergaard Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia

Kathleen Miller-Rhodes, M.S.
Neurovascular Protection Group
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Focus on lung-brain coupling during focal ischemia

Allison Murphy, M.S.
Briggs Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Role of corticogeniculate feedback in vision

Evan Newbold
First Year

Paige Nicklas
First Year

Yunpeng Pang, M.S.
Noble Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The role of the redox/Fyn/c-Cbl pathway as a master regulator of glial progenitor cell division, differentiation and survival

Victoria Popov, M.S.
Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Research Interest: Investigate neurophysiology and movement in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Emily Przysinda
Lalor Lab
Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.)
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Neural correlates of social cognition and hierarchical processing of language and music in clinical populations

Bryan Redmond
Huxlin Lab
Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.)
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Integrated neuro-ophthalmology, psychophysics, clinical and translational science research

Gregory Reilly
Portman Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Investigation of sex differences in innate behaviors

Melissa  Rifkin
Second Year

Jacob Rudlong
Gail Johnson Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The role of astrocytic transglutaminase 2 in mediating survival and neuronal health following injury

Garrick Salois, M.S.
Mayer-Pröschel Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The interaction between genetic susceptibilities and perinatal environmental factors in the pathophysiology of intellectual disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Abigail Sawicki
First Year

Ari Seldowitz
First Year

Neal Shah, M.S.
Noble Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Overcoming c-Cbl inhibition as a new therapeutic strategy for treatment of glioblastoma

Shraddha Shah, M.S.
Briggs Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Neural mechanisms of visual attention

Maleelo "Lelo" Shamambo
First Year

Fei Shang
Schallek Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Structural and functional analysis of alpha smooth muscle actin in the mouse retina (under normal and hyperglycemic conditions

Keshov Sharma, M.S.
Romanski Lab
Fudge Lab
Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.)
NBA Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Identifying neural connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in the non-human primate

Caitlin  Sharp
Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Investigating the neurophysiology of cognitive-motor interactions in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Luke Shaw
Wang Lab
Mitchell Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Fronto-parietal feedback circuits and their role in visually guided reaching

Anjali Sinha, M.S.
Holt Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The role of inhibitors of protein phosphatases on long term memory formation

Mark Stoessel, M.S.
Majewska Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Pathways that control cerebellar microglia dynamics and how these pathways contribute to cerebellar physiology and function

Bingyu Sun
First Year

Kathryn Toffolo
Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Alesha Usuki
Noble Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Investigating the role of amyloid beta in the hyperactivation of the E3 ubiquitin ligase c-Cbl

Kamy Wakim, M.S.
Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: To investigate neural markers of executive dysfunction in addiction and HIV

Brendan Whitelaw, M.S.
Majewska Lab
Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.)
NBA Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Microglia in neuronal development

Sarah  Yablonski
Neural Circuits and Computation Laboratory
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Using human induced pluripotent stem cells to study neuronal circuitry

Jingyi Yang, B.S.
Huxlin Lab
Briggs Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: Plasticity in the early visual system

Farangis "Fara" Zakusilo
Gorbunova & Seluanov Laboratory
Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D.)

Research Interest: The basics of neurodegeneration, as well as basics and therapeutic approaches to neuroregeneration

Silei Zhu
Briggs Lab
Neuroscience Ph.D. Program

Research Interest: The functions of corticogeniculate feedback in visual behaviors