Members

Principal Investigator

Sara Aton, PhD

Professor

Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

[email protected]

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

Frank Raven, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD – University of Groningen

2021-Present

[email protected]

Luuk van Boekholdt, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

2024-Present

[email protected]

Alexis Vega Medina

PhD Student

Neuroscience Graduate Program (PIBS)

2021-Present

[email protected]

Vinodh Balendran

PhD Student

Neuroscience Graduate Program

2021-Present

[email protected]

Kate McDonald

PhD Student

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

2023-Present

[email protected]

Hira Mirza

PhD Student

Neuroscience Graduate Program

2024-Present

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

Carlos Puentes-Mestril

PhD Student

Neuroscience Graduate Program (PIBS)

2014-2020

[email protected]

James Delorme

PhD Student

Neuroscience Graduate Program

2015-2020

[email protected]

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

Jaclyn Durkin

PhD Student

Neuroscience Graduate Program

2013-2018

[email protected]

Emily Pickup

Undergraduate Researcher

Major: Neuroscience

2016-2018

Mentor: Brittany Clawson

Nicolette Ognjanovski

PhD Student

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

2012-2017

[email protected]

Kariharan (Hari) Thiruchelvam, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD – Auburn University

2014-2017

[email protected]

Aneesha Suresh

Senior Lab Technician

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

2012-2013

[email protected]

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