Principal Investigator
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PI – Amelia Cuarenta, PhD
Learn More: PI – Amelia Cuarenta, PhDDr. Amelia Cuarenta is an Assistant Professor in the Brain & Behavior area group in the Department of Psychology and is Principal Investigator of The Forty Lab. Her research investigates how early life experiences shape the brain and behavior via genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. By focusing on chromatin remodeling, mobile genetic elements, and epigenetic regulation, her lab explores how life experiences become biologically embedded to influence rewarding behaviors.
Postdocs
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Tori Riesgo, PhD
Learn More: Tori Riesgo, PhDVictoria (Tori) Riesgo is a first year postdoctoral research fellow in the Forty Lab. She graduated from California State University, San Marcos with a B.A. in Psychology where she studied the influence of neuropeptides on rodent maternal behavior in Dr. Kimberly D’Anna-Hernandez’s lab.
PhD Students
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Matt Kern
Learn More: Matt KernMatt received his B.S. in Neuroscience from Boston College prior to joining the 40 Lab as a PhD student in September of 2025. Matt’s previous work highlighted gene expression analyses of neuropeptide systems and immune system regulators in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
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Margie Stricklin
Learn More: Margie StricklinMargie will be joining the Forty Lab as a PhD student in Fall 2026. Margie received her B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies from Georgia State University in May 2026, where she was a NIDA Intern and GRA Scholar in Dr. Debra Bangasser’s lab. Her research focused on early life stress models, including investigating how a neonatal predator odor exposure model impacts pup retrieval and maternal care behaviors. She also assisted in projects exploring how resource scarcity impacts maternal aggression and estrogen receptor expression in dams. Margie’s current research interests focus on hormones and the mechanisms driving sex-differences in development following early life stress. Outside of the lab, Margie loves weightlifting, pickleball, and hiking! She also loves…
