Principal Investigator
Sara Aton, PhD
Professor
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Sara earned her PhD in Neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis, MO in the lab of Dr. Erik Herzog. She went on to complete her postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania under the mentorship of Dr. Marcos Frank. She then joined the MCDB department at the University of Michigan in 2012 as an Assistant Professor. Sara was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2019 and promoted to Full Professor in 2024.
Current Lab Members
Luuk van Boekholdt, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
2024-Present
Kate McDonald
PhD Student
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2023-Present
Anna VanKampen
Undergraduate Student
Majors: Neuroscience / Sociology
2022-Present
Mentor: Frank Raven
Annie He
Undergraduate Student
Majors: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology / Computer Science
2022-Present
Mentor: Frank Raven
Alvin Dong
Undergraduate Student
Majors: Neuroscience / French
2022-Present
Mentors: Delaney McKinstry, Vinodh Balendran
Brayden Bunce
Undergraduate Student
Majors: Neuroscience
2023-Present
Mentor: Frank Raven
Former Lab Members
Jessy Martinez
PhD Student
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2018-2023
Zhongying Yang
Senior Lab Technician / Lab Manager
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2021-2023
Lijing Wang
PhD Student
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2019-2023
Delaney McKinstry
Pathways Master’s Student
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2021-2023
William Brancaleone
Lab Technician / Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience
2021-2023
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Lydia Wilson
Lab Technician / Undergraduate Student
Major: Biology, Health, and Society
2021-2023
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Kathryn Peterson
Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience
2021-2022
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Roxanne Perez Tremble
NURO Summer Undergraduate Student
Temple University
Summer 2022
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Lauren Park
Lab Technician / Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience
2019-2022
Mentor: Lijing Wang
Stephany Mendez Ortega
Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience
2021-2022
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Daniel Torres
Undergraduate Student
Majors: Biology / Environmental Science
2019-2021
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Kailynn Schmidt
SIREN Summer Undergraduate Student
Bay Path University
Summer 2021
Mentor: Frank Raven
Sha Jiang
Senior Lab Technician / Lab Manager
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2014-2021
Amy Ensing
Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience
2019-2021
Mentor: Brittany Clawson
James Shaver
Undergraduate Student
Majors: Cellular and Molecular Biology / Biomedical Engineering
2019-2021
Mentor: Brittany Clawson
Brittany Clawson
PhD Student
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (PIBS)
2014-2020
Varna Kodoth
Undergraduate Student
Majors: Cellular and Molecular Biology / English
2017-2020
Mentor: James Delorme
Marcus Donnelly
Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience
2019-2020
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Donald Popke
Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience
2019-2020
Mentor: Jessy Martinez
Laura Geneseo
Undergraduate Student
Major: Cellular and Molecular Biology
2018-2019
Mentor: Brittany Clawson
John Gonzalez-Amoretti
NURO Summer Undergraduate Student
Universidad Ana G. Mendez – Gurabo Campus
Summer 2019
Mentor: Brittany Clawson
Emily Pickup
Undergraduate Researcher
Major: Neuroscience
2016-2018
Mentor: Brittany Clawson
Nicolette Ognjanovski
PhD Student
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2012-2017
Kariharan (Hari) Thiruchelvam, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD – Auburn University
2014-2017
Aneesha Suresh
Senior Lab Technician
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
2012-2013
30