In Depth Profiles

 

Graduates Jonathan Jui (left) and Shariq Mobin (right) are pictured with PhD Program Director Michael Silver (center).

Q&A with the Graduates

We have a tradition of asking our graduating students to answer several questions about their PhD studies and future plans. The resulting Q&A articles are filled with reflections and words of advice.

Studying neural circuits of the retina in the dark, photographing people in the light, Berkeley Neuroscience PhD student Malak El-Quessny describes the passions that drive her both in and out of the lab.

Neuroscientist Portrait Project

The Neuroscientist Portrait Project takes a look at the lives of neuroscientists inside vs. outside of the lab with an emphasis on highlighting the stories of those who are traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. Created by Christine Liu (entering class of 2014) and sponsored by Berkeley Neuroscience.

Directory

Below is the complete list of all current Berkeley Neuroscience PhD Program students with some basic info about their research interests and background. To view past students, go to the Alumni page.

Entering Class of 2018

Erin Aisenberg, 2018
Trinity College

Marisa Becerra, 2018
University of Arizona

Julia Bleier, 2018
Brown University

Katie Cording, 2018
University of Colorado, Boulder

Matt Davis, 2018
Emory University

Mark Gorenstein, 2018
Columbia University

Azure Grant, 2018
University of California, Berkeley

Madeline Klinger, 2018
University of Chicago

Sonali Mali, 2018
Indiana University

Brett Nelson, 2018
University of California, Santa Cruz

Entering Class of 2017

Dariya Bakshinskaya, 2017
Rutgers University
Isacoff Lab

Hayley Bounds, 2017
Brown University
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Adesnik Lab

Celia Ford, 2017
Brown University
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Wallis Lab

Lily Gong, 2017
Wheaton College
Theunissen Lab

Molly LaPoint, 2017
Boston College
Jagust Lab

Sylvia Madhow, 2017
UC Santa Barbara
Bouchard Lab

Ryan Schultz, 2017
University of Minnesota
Isacoff Lab

Christiane Voufo, 2017
Syracuse University
Feller Lab

Ellen Zippi, 2017
University of Texas, Austin
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Carmena Lab

Entering Class of 2016

Zuzanna Balewski, 2016
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Wallis Lab

Bill Croughan, 2016
Carnegie Mellon University
Foster Lab

Vael Gates, 2016
University of Cambridge
Griffiths Lab

Holly Gildea, 2016
Brown University
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Dillin Lab

Carson McNeil, 2016
California Institute of Technology
Gallant Lab

Jacob Miller, 2016
Duke University
D’Esposito Lab

Tobias Schmid, 2016
University of Florida
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Yartsev Lab

Christine Tseng, 2016
California Institute of Technology
Gallant Lab

Kevin Yu, 2016
University of California, Berkeley
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Theunissen Lab

Entering Class of 2015

Jenna Adams, 2015
University of California, Santa Barbara
Jagust Lab
“Associations between tau spread and functional connectivity in cognitively normal older adults”

Krisha Aghi, 2015
Brown University
Isacoff Lab
“Synaptic homeostasis and heterogeneity in vivo at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction”

Joseph Aman, 2015
University of Utah
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Feldman Lab
“Rapid homeostatic plasticity in somatosensory cortex”

Zeke Barger, 2015
University of Washington
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Dan Lab
“Medullary control of sleep”

Ruairidh Battleday, 2015
University of Edinburgh/Oxford
Griffiths/Olshausen Labs
“Probabilistic models of cognition”

Althea Cavanaugh, entered 2017
Bowdoin College
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow

Foster Lab

“Dynamics of Spatial Coding Along the Dorsoventral Axis of the Hippocampus”

Adam Eichenbaum, 2015
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Berkeley Fellow
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow
D’Esposito Lab
“Mechanisms of human learning and plasticity”

Malak El-Quessny, 2015
Boston University
Chancellor’s Fellow
Feller Lab
“How visual experience shapes the interplay of dendritic form and circuit function in the developing retina”

Irene Grossrubatscher, 2015
Univ degli Studi di Bologna
Isacoff Lab
“Setting thresholds for behavior: How does internal state modulate prey capture?”

Shariq Mobin, 2015
University of California, Berkeley
Olshausen Lab
“Efficient coding of natural sound”

Arjun Mukerji, 2015
University of Texas, Austin
Silver Lab
“Parallel Visual Processing Streams in Thalamus and Cortex”

Sara Popham, 2015
Johns Hopkins University
Gallant Lab
“Investigating multimodal semantic representations in the human brain”

Maimon Rose, 2015
University of Chicago
Yartsev Lab
“Tracking the development of neural dynamics in a vocal learning mammal”

Daniel Toker, 2015
Princeton University
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
D’Esposito Lab
“Sensory information transmission in oscillatory networks”

Amanda Tose, 2015
University of Washington
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Lammel Lab
“Role of dorsal raphe input to the lateral hypothalamus in behavior with in vivo calcium imaging”

Entering Class of 2014

Jocelyn Breton, 2014
Middlebury College
Fields/Lammel Labs
“The role of mesocortical projections in anxiety and alcohol consumption”

Franklin Caval-Holme, 2014
Stanford University
National Research Service Award Fellow
Feller Lab
“Dissecting a microcircuit that regulates the earliest light responses in the retina”

Ignas Cerniauskas, 2014
Vilnius University, Lithuania
Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Fellow
Lammel Lab
“Dissecting habenular circuits underlying depression-related behavior”

Charles Frye, 2014
University of Chicago
Berkeley Fellow
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Sommer Lab
“Extending Minimum Probability Flow to models with hidden variables”

Colin Hoy, 2014
Hendrix College
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Knight Lab
“The role of surprise in error signals”

Christine Liu, 2014
University of Oregon
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Lammel Lab
“Elucidating the neural circuitry underlying nicotine-related behaviors”

Ben Shababo, 2014
Columbia University
Hertz Foundation Fellow
Adesnik Lab
“High-throughput, cellular resolution mapping of neural circuits”

Emilio Soto-Soto, 2014
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Kriegsfeld Lab
“The Impact of Early Life Circadian Disruption on Neural Development and Cognitive Flexibility”

Greg Telian, 2014
MIT
Chancellor’s Fellow
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellow
Adesnik Lab
“Sensorimotor cortical representations in vM1 and vS1 during active sensation”

Entering Class of 2013

Charles Garfinkle, 2013
McGill University
Sommer Lab
“Identifiability in Sparse Dictionary Learning with Applications to Neuroscience”

Sean Mackesey, 2013
Northwestern University
Sommer Lab
“The role of hippocampal field potentials in memory / Neuroinformatics infrastructure for electrophysiology”

Kata Slama, 2013
Brown University
Knight Lab
“Neural mechanisms of top-down and bottom-up audio-visual attention in humans”

Entering Class Of 2012

Eric Weiss, 2012
UC San Diego
Olshausen Lab
“3D visual perception in humans and the computational role of eye movements”

Entering Class Of 2010

Guy Isley, 2010
Stanford University
Sommer Lab
“The dynamics and stability of recurrent inhibitory-excitatory neural networks”