The lab over the years
Lab members
Somdatta Saha (2021-present)
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, India
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, India
Maya Gaines-Smith (2022-present)
PhD candidate
MS, Hampton University
BS, Hampton University
Awards: NIH-IMSD R25GM090084
PhD candidate
MS, Hampton University
BS, Hampton University
Awards: NIH-IMSD R25GM090084
Jessica Maltman (2022-present)
PhD candidate
BS, Virginia Tech
Awards: 2024 School of Medicine Charles C. Clayton Award
PhD candidate
BS, Virginia Tech
Awards: 2024 School of Medicine Charles C. Clayton Award
Michael Fiorillo (2024-present)
PhD student
BS, University of Connecticut
PhD student
BS, University of Connecticut
Justin Silverman (2024-present)
PhD student
MS, Virginia Commonwealth University
BS, Duke University
Awards: NIH-IMSD R25GM090084
PhD student
MS, Virginia Commonwealth University
BS, Duke University
Awards: NIH-IMSD R25GM090084
Lindsey Williams (2023-present)
MS student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT) at VCU
BA, University of Richmond
MS student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT) at VCU
BA, University of Richmond
Karah Moore (2024-present)
Postbaccalaureate Research Education (PREP) scholar
BS, Biomedical Engineering at VCU
Awards: NIH-NIGMS R25GM089614
Postbaccalaureate Research Education (PREP) scholar
BS, Biomedical Engineering at VCU
Awards: NIH-NIGMS R25GM089614
Mattias Embretsen (2024-present)
Undergraduate student at VCU
Undergraduate student at VCU
Barbara Fujita (2023-present)
Research Assistant - Lab Manager
Postgraduate Research Associate at Yale University
BS in Mathematics, University of Richmond
Research Assistant - Lab Manager
Postgraduate Research Associate at Yale University
BS in Mathematics, University of Richmond
Enrique Valenzuela Lesme (2021-present)
Undergraduate student at VCU
BS, John Tyler Community College
Awards: VCU Bridges to Baccalaureate (NIH R25GM102795), and VCU MARC Program (NIH T34GM149502)
Undergraduate student at VCU
BS, John Tyler Community College
Awards: VCU Bridges to Baccalaureate (NIH R25GM102795), and VCU MARC Program (NIH T34GM149502)
Alumni
Anaceli Artigas (2024)
Visiting Scientist
Positivo University, Curitiba, Brazil
Isaac Herszenhorn (2024)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at University College London
Vaibhav Maru (2024)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University
Ojas Joshi (2024)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at University of Virginia
Jason Younkin (2021-2024)
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University
Awards: NIH-NIMH T32MH020030
Current position: Assistant Professor at Virginia State University
Alaina M. Jaster (2020-2024)
PhD student
Awards: NIH-NIDA F31DA057818
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow -- Wayne State University
Julie Kraft (2022-2024)
MS student
Jeremy D. Rolquin (2022-2023)
Research scientist - Lab manager
Current position: Chemistry Data Curator at Porta Sophia -- Psychedelic Prior Art Library
Penelope Sayago (2023)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at VCU
Sandra Ledesma Corvi (2023)
Visiting PhD student
PhD student, University of the Balearic Islands, Spain
Awards: Talent Plus fellowship from the Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears
Doan On (2017-2022)
Research scientist
MS, Virginia Commonwealth University
MS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
BS, University of Virginia
Douglas Keener (2022)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at William & Mary University
Julie Rix (2022)
Visiting high school teacher
Awards: R25DA036915 (HERO-T)
Nikita Thakur (2021-2022)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT) at VCU
BA, University of Virginia
Current position: MD student at Eastern Virginia Medical School
Mario de la Fuente Revenga (2015-2021)
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Awards: NIH-NIMH T32MH020030
Current position: Head of Discovery Science at Radius Health, Inc.
John McGinn (2020-2021)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT) at VCU
BS, University of Virginia
Current position: MD student at St. George's University, Grenade, West Indies
Natalia Cordero Ruiz (2021)
Visiting PhD student
PhD student, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
Awards: Spain Ministry of Economy Fellowship
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University
Rudy Toneatti (2016-2021)
PhD student
MS, Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, France
MS, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
BPhil, University of Nice, France
Awards: UPMC Fellowship
Justin M. Saunders (2016-2021)
MD-PhD student
BS, Villanova University
Awards: NIH-NIMH F30MH116550
Phi Kappa Phi School of Medicine Scholarship
Current position: Psychiatry Residency at Northwestern University
Kyle Hsu (2021)
Summer undergraduate student
Hiba Vohra (2017-2021)
Master's student and Research Scientist
BS, College of William & Mary
Current position: MD student at VCU
Urjita H. Shah (2017-2021)
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University
Current position: Research Associate at Noetic Fund
Jennifer Jimenez (2019-2021)
Research Assistant
BS, Virginia Commonwealth University
Salvador Sierra San Nicolás (2017-2020)
Postdoctoral Fellow
MD-PhD, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Neurology Residency at Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
Current position: Neurology Residency at University of Michigan
Audrey McMurtrie (2019-2020)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT), VCU
BA, University of Notre Dame
Awards: Poland Award in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at VCU
Current position: MD student at VCU
Mohamed Aarif Abdul Kareem (2019-2020)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT), VCU
Visiting student at Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, Spain
BA, Boston University
Awards: Certificate of Recognition in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at VCU
Current position: DM student at University of Pittsburgh
Xiomara Cuno Lavilla (2017-2019)
Undergraduate summer rotation student
BS student at Thomas Nelson Community College
Awards: VCU Bridges to Baccalaureate (R25GM102795)
Current position: Undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University
Dexter Jandres Rivera
Visiting High School Student
Travis Cuddy (2017-2019)
Master's student
Current position: Anesthesiology Residency at VCU
Jong Shin (2017-2018)
Master's student
Next position: Postbac IRTA fellow at NINDS
Yashu Sampathkumar (2018)
MD summer rotation student
Cassandra Dunn (2017-2018)
Research Assistant
Maryum Ijaz (2016-2017)
Master's student
Current position: MD student at VCU
Ana Sánchez-González (2017)
Visiting student
PhD student, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain
Supriya Gaitonde (2016-2017)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Current position: Research Scientist at Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Ashkhan Hojati (2016-2017)
Research Assistant
Current position: MD student at Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Kelsey Hideshima (2015-2017)
Research Assistant
Current position: MD student at University of California, Davis
Next position: Orthopaedic Surgery Residency at University of California, Davis
Juan F. López-Giménez (2016)
Visiting Professor
Research Professor at CSIC in Santander, Spain
José L. Moreno (2008-2016)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Awards: Spain Ministry of Science and Education Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008-2009)
Next position: Scientist at GSK in Stevenage, UK
Current position: Head of Analytical Services at VIVEbiotech in Donostia, Spain
Luna Fomsgaard (2016)
Visiting Student
Master's student at Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark
Apostolia Baki (2015)
Assistant Professor
Next position: Assistant Professor at Northeastern University
Daisuke Ibi (2012 – 2015)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Awards: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship (2012-2013)
The Uehara Memorial Foundation Fellowship (2014-2015)
Current position: Assistant Professor at Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan
Terrell Holloway (2009 – 2014)
Research Assistant
Awards: AMA Foundation Minority Scholars Award
Distinction in Research
Next position: MD Student, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Current position: Psychiatry Residency at Yale School of Medicine
Jeremy Seto (2011 – 2014)
Visiting Scientist
Current position: Assistant Professor at New York City College of Technology, CUNY
Spencer Sharp (2013 – 2014)
CEYE Student
Next position: Undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University
Aintzane García-Bea (2012 and 2013)
Visiting PhD Student
Awards: Basque Country Fellowship
Next position: Postdoctoral fellow at University of Oxford, England
Current position: Scientist at Faes Farma, Bilbao, Spain
Tess Lewis-Jacus (2012)
Visiting High School Student
Ariel Ben-Ezra (2012)
Visiting High School Student
Vinayak Rayannavar (2011 – 2012)
Visiting Undergraduate Student
Next position: PhD Student, NYU Sackler Institute
Verónica Vargas (2011)
Visiting PhD Student
Awards: Spain Ministry of Science and Innovation Fellowship
Giuseppe Mocci (2011)
Visiting PhD Student
Awards: CSIC Fellowship
Next position: Postdoctoral fellow at The Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Fuencisla Pilar-Cuellar (2011)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Awards: Fundación Alicia Koplowitz Fellowship
Next position: Staff Scientist, CSIC, Santander, Spain.
Alexey A. Kozlenkov (2010 – 2011)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Current position: Assistant Professor at James J Peters VA Medical Center, New York
Adrienne Umali (2010 – 2012)
Master’s Student
Awards: Master’s in Biomedical Sciences Thesis Award
Next position: Fellow, Lehman College at CUNY
Jeffrey D. Ruta (2010)
Visiting Undergraduate Student
Next position: MD student, Drexel University
Current position: Neurology Residency at Lewis Katz School of Medicine
Mitsumasa Kurita (2009 – 2011)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Current position: Senior Research Scientist at Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Osaka, Japan
Javier López Arqueros (2008)
Visiting Researcher
Current position: Neurologist at Hospital Universitario in Alicante, Spain
Visiting Scientist
Positivo University, Curitiba, Brazil
Isaac Herszenhorn (2024)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at University College London
Vaibhav Maru (2024)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University
Ojas Joshi (2024)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at University of Virginia
Jason Younkin (2021-2024)
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University
Awards: NIH-NIMH T32MH020030
Current position: Assistant Professor at Virginia State University
Alaina M. Jaster (2020-2024)
PhD student
Awards: NIH-NIDA F31DA057818
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow -- Wayne State University
Julie Kraft (2022-2024)
MS student
Jeremy D. Rolquin (2022-2023)
Research scientist - Lab manager
Current position: Chemistry Data Curator at Porta Sophia -- Psychedelic Prior Art Library
Penelope Sayago (2023)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at VCU
Sandra Ledesma Corvi (2023)
Visiting PhD student
PhD student, University of the Balearic Islands, Spain
Awards: Talent Plus fellowship from the Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears
Doan On (2017-2022)
Research scientist
MS, Virginia Commonwealth University
MS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
BS, University of Virginia
Douglas Keener (2022)
Summer undergraduate student
Undergraduate student at William & Mary University
Julie Rix (2022)
Visiting high school teacher
Awards: R25DA036915 (HERO-T)
Nikita Thakur (2021-2022)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT) at VCU
BA, University of Virginia
Current position: MD student at Eastern Virginia Medical School
Mario de la Fuente Revenga (2015-2021)
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Awards: NIH-NIMH T32MH020030
Current position: Head of Discovery Science at Radius Health, Inc.
John McGinn (2020-2021)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT) at VCU
BS, University of Virginia
Current position: MD student at St. George's University, Grenade, West Indies
Natalia Cordero Ruiz (2021)
Visiting PhD student
PhD student, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
Awards: Spain Ministry of Economy Fellowship
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University
Rudy Toneatti (2016-2021)
PhD student
MS, Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, France
MS, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
BPhil, University of Nice, France
Awards: UPMC Fellowship
Justin M. Saunders (2016-2021)
MD-PhD student
BS, Villanova University
Awards: NIH-NIMH F30MH116550
Phi Kappa Phi School of Medicine Scholarship
Current position: Psychiatry Residency at Northwestern University
Kyle Hsu (2021)
Summer undergraduate student
Hiba Vohra (2017-2021)
Master's student and Research Scientist
BS, College of William & Mary
Current position: MD student at VCU
Urjita H. Shah (2017-2021)
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University
Current position: Research Associate at Noetic Fund
Jennifer Jimenez (2019-2021)
Research Assistant
BS, Virginia Commonwealth University
Salvador Sierra San Nicolás (2017-2020)
Postdoctoral Fellow
MD-PhD, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Neurology Residency at Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
Current position: Neurology Residency at University of Michigan
Audrey McMurtrie (2019-2020)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT), VCU
BA, University of Notre Dame
Awards: Poland Award in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at VCU
Current position: MD student at VCU
Mohamed Aarif Abdul Kareem (2019-2020)
Master's student
Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate Program (CERT), VCU
Visiting student at Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, Spain
BA, Boston University
Awards: Certificate of Recognition in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at VCU
Current position: DM student at University of Pittsburgh
Xiomara Cuno Lavilla (2017-2019)
Undergraduate summer rotation student
BS student at Thomas Nelson Community College
Awards: VCU Bridges to Baccalaureate (R25GM102795)
Current position: Undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University
Dexter Jandres Rivera
Visiting High School Student
Travis Cuddy (2017-2019)
Master's student
Current position: Anesthesiology Residency at VCU
Jong Shin (2017-2018)
Master's student
Next position: Postbac IRTA fellow at NINDS
Yashu Sampathkumar (2018)
MD summer rotation student
Cassandra Dunn (2017-2018)
Research Assistant
Maryum Ijaz (2016-2017)
Master's student
Current position: MD student at VCU
Ana Sánchez-González (2017)
Visiting student
PhD student, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain
Supriya Gaitonde (2016-2017)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Current position: Research Scientist at Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Ashkhan Hojati (2016-2017)
Research Assistant
Current position: MD student at Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Kelsey Hideshima (2015-2017)
Research Assistant
Current position: MD student at University of California, Davis
Next position: Orthopaedic Surgery Residency at University of California, Davis
Juan F. López-Giménez (2016)
Visiting Professor
Research Professor at CSIC in Santander, Spain
José L. Moreno (2008-2016)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Awards: Spain Ministry of Science and Education Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008-2009)
Next position: Scientist at GSK in Stevenage, UK
Current position: Head of Analytical Services at VIVEbiotech in Donostia, Spain
Luna Fomsgaard (2016)
Visiting Student
Master's student at Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark
Apostolia Baki (2015)
Assistant Professor
Next position: Assistant Professor at Northeastern University
Daisuke Ibi (2012 – 2015)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Awards: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship (2012-2013)
The Uehara Memorial Foundation Fellowship (2014-2015)
Current position: Assistant Professor at Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan
Terrell Holloway (2009 – 2014)
Research Assistant
Awards: AMA Foundation Minority Scholars Award
Distinction in Research
Next position: MD Student, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Current position: Psychiatry Residency at Yale School of Medicine
Jeremy Seto (2011 – 2014)
Visiting Scientist
Current position: Assistant Professor at New York City College of Technology, CUNY
Spencer Sharp (2013 – 2014)
CEYE Student
Next position: Undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University
Aintzane García-Bea (2012 and 2013)
Visiting PhD Student
Awards: Basque Country Fellowship
Next position: Postdoctoral fellow at University of Oxford, England
Current position: Scientist at Faes Farma, Bilbao, Spain
Tess Lewis-Jacus (2012)
Visiting High School Student
Ariel Ben-Ezra (2012)
Visiting High School Student
Vinayak Rayannavar (2011 – 2012)
Visiting Undergraduate Student
Next position: PhD Student, NYU Sackler Institute
Verónica Vargas (2011)
Visiting PhD Student
Awards: Spain Ministry of Science and Innovation Fellowship
Giuseppe Mocci (2011)
Visiting PhD Student
Awards: CSIC Fellowship
Next position: Postdoctoral fellow at The Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Fuencisla Pilar-Cuellar (2011)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Awards: Fundación Alicia Koplowitz Fellowship
Next position: Staff Scientist, CSIC, Santander, Spain.
Alexey A. Kozlenkov (2010 – 2011)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Current position: Assistant Professor at James J Peters VA Medical Center, New York
Adrienne Umali (2010 – 2012)
Master’s Student
Awards: Master’s in Biomedical Sciences Thesis Award
Next position: Fellow, Lehman College at CUNY
Jeffrey D. Ruta (2010)
Visiting Undergraduate Student
Next position: MD student, Drexel University
Current position: Neurology Residency at Lewis Katz School of Medicine
Mitsumasa Kurita (2009 – 2011)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Current position: Senior Research Scientist at Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Osaka, Japan
Javier López Arqueros (2008)
Visiting Researcher
Current position: Neurologist at Hospital Universitario in Alicante, Spain