Mentors

Mentor Name

Department

Area of Interest

Karina Alviña, PhD

Neuroscience

Environmental factors and related neural mechanisms driving neuroprotection across the lifespan. Neurophysiology of stress and exercise and cognitive function.

Michelle Bedenbaugh, PhD

Neuroscience

Neural circuits that drive feeding, stress and other motivated behaviors.

Eduardo Candelario-Jalil, PhD

Neuroscience

Neuroinflammatory mechanisms underlying cerebrovascular disorders such cerebral ischemia. Vascular remodeling. Stroke recovery.

Gemma Casadesus, PhD

Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Physiological factors that impact brain function and drive or protect against Alzheimer’s Disease.

Paramita Chakrabarty, PhD

Neuroscience

Role of neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, Parkinson’s disease.

Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, PhD

Community Dentistry

Neural circuits and mechanisms underlying pain perception in humans across the lifespan, neuroimaging.

Amanda Elton, PhD

Psychiatry

Neural correlates of Substance Use Disorders & Addiction, neuroimaging.

Karyn Esser, PhD

Physiology and Aging

Role of circadian rhythms in skeletal muscle physiology and systemic health. Skeletal muscle and brain aging.

Ben Giasson, PhD

Neuroscience

Molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias.

Paola Giusti Rodriguez, PhD

Psychiatry

Functional genomics and genetics of psychiatric illnesses, human-based studies of neurodevelopmental disorders (including Autism Spectrum Disorder and schizophrenia)

Sung Min Han, PhD

Physiology and Aging

Role of mitochondrial function in cognitive Aging using C. elegans as model.

Jeffrey Jones, PhD

Neuroscience

Neurogenomics, age-related metabolic changes in neurons and their role in Alzheimer’s disease.

Habibeh Khoshbouei, PhD

Neuroscience

Role of dopamine in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, dopaminergic regulation of brain-body circuits, neuroinflammation.  

Matt LaVoie, PhD

Neurology

Molecular mechanisms of adult onset neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. 

Shellie-Anne Levy, PhD

Clinical and Health Psychology

Cognitive changes in older adults with neurodegenerative disorders. Impact of health, psychosocial disparities, and resiliency factors in influencing neurodegenerative disorders.

Ben Lewis, PhD

Psychiatry

Substance Use Disorders and Addiction, Brain Aging, Neurorehabilitation, Computational neuroscience, Neuropsychology.

Ashley Malin, PhD

Epidemiology

Impact of environmental toxicants and nutrition on various health outcomes such as Neurodegenerative disorders, cardiometabolic disease and neurodevelopment. 

Freddyson Martinez-Rivera, PhD

Neuroscience

Fundamental aspects of adaptive and dysfunctional behaviors, substance abuse, impaired decision-making, mood-associated disorders.

Alfonso Martin-Peña, PhD

Neuroscience

Neurogenetics, mechanisms of synaptic function in health and Neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Neurophysiology.

Mark Moehle, PhD

Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Cellular mechanisms underlying motor and non-motor symptoms of Movement Disorders, Parkinson’s Disease, Dystonia, Lewy Body Dementia.

Nancy Padilla-Coreano, PhD

Neuroscience

Neural mechanisms and dynamics of social behavior and social competence in health and disease states.

Eric Porges, PhD

Clinical and Health Psychology

Age-related changes in cognition, neurophysiological processes that underlie, impact, and accelerate these changes.

Barry Setlow, PhD

Psychiatry

Effects of exposure to drugs of abuse on cognition and on decision-making, animal models of age-related cognitive decline.

Adrienn Varga, PhD

Neuroscience

Neural mechanisms underlying respiratory control, opioid-induced respiratory depression, breathing dysfunction in neurodegeneration

Josh Wong, MD

Neurology

Movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, dystonia and others.