PEOPLE

Wenbo received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Tsinghua University in China, where she completed her thesis research examining the function of auditory midbrain neurons in spectrotemporal processing of sound in Dr. Bo Hong’s lab. She then earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in Dr. Shantanu Jadhav’s lab at Brandeis University. Her Ph.D. work aimed to understand how the brain’s memory system supports flexible navigation and decision-making, with a focus on the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. Her research has shown that coordinated neural activity across the two regions, manifested as replay and theta sequences, can form rich patterns of representations from behavioral experience, and thus has the potential to extensively increase the flexibility of navigational behavior. As her next step, she joined Dr. Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz and Dr. Azahara Oliva’ labs at Cornell University as a postdoc, and wants to crack the neural coordination mechanisms by harnessing new tools for large-scale recording and precise manipulation of circuit-level dynamics.

Weiwei’s research interests lie in developing computational methods to understand the multi-regional information processing related to learning and memory. She pursued her studies in systems biology at the University of Science and Technology of China and delved into computational neuroscience during her time in Dr. Si Wu’s lab in Beijing, where she studied the dynamics of neuron-glia interaction for her thesis. Her interest in causality-based machine learning was sparked during her Master in Neural Information Processing at the University of Tuebingen (Germany) while working at MPI-EI. She applied causal discovery methods to capture the state-dependent entorhinal-hippocampal interaction in Dr. Anton Sirota’s lab at the University of Munich (Germany) and stayed there for her Ph.D.. Her works focus on deciphering local field potential signals by simulation and developing biophysics-constrained machine-learning methods to infer multi-regional communication from LFP.  Joining AYALAB as a postdoc, she is now investigating multi-regional coordination by combining causal representation learning and close-loop optogenetic manipulation and understanding their computational principles with simulations.

I am a neuroscientist with engineering training who is enthusiastic about interdisciplinary, translational neuroscience research. My research focus on studying and interacting with biological processes in-vivo, which I believe will lay the foundation for new discoveries and potential clinical treatments. I am well versed in principles of electrical engineering, materials science and systems neuroscience. These skills allow me to develop tools and novel technologies to interface with living organs and provide potential solutions to health science challenges.

Caleb received his B.S. from the University of Michigan in Neuroscience and Evolutionary Anthropology, where he completed an honors thesis investigating oxytocinergic modulation of striatal dopamine release in the monogamous prairie vole. The focus of his PhD work in the Sheehan Lab is on investigating the behavioral mechanisms underlying territory formation in wild and laboratory mice under naturalistic outdoor field conditions.  In the AyA lab group, he is currently working to merge his interests in neuroscience and behavioral ecology to understand how the neural mechanisms underlying social and spatial attachments function in mice living within complex territorial social structures outdoors.

Jaehyo’s research interests lie in understanding how the brain integrates multimodal information to generate complex dynamics. To investigate this, he develops new technologies to monitor brain signals of various types (i.e., electrophysiological and chemical signals) over a long-time scale.

Kushaan’s interests lie in studying the inter-regional communication of hippocampal and neocortical brain regions during adaptive decision-making paradigms. He received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore. After completing his degree, he worked as a Research Assistant in Swanand Marathe’s lab at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where he worked on the analysis of changes in hippocampal glial morphology as a function of stress and its treatment through antidepressants. He then joined the lab of David Euston in Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge studying the prefrontal correlates during memory-guided navigation. He is enthusiastic about integrating computational modeling with large-scale, high-temporal-resolution recordings and precise manipulation techniques to address fundamental questions regarding the neural bases of decision-making. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar, listening to podcasts, and playing badminton.

Xiyu graduated from Cornell University with a major in Biological Sciences (Neurobiology and Behavior concentration) and a minor in Psychology. As an undergraduate, she worked with Dr. David Deitcher to develop a novel neural activity-dependent reporter system for Drosophila and investigate the effect of whey supplementation on seizure sensitivity. She is excited to learn more techniques like electrophysiology and optogenetics, understanding the neural dynamics in a better resolution.

Reshma, a pre-medical student in the College of Arts and Sciences, is pursuing a major in biological sciences with a concentration in neurobiology and behavior. Originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, she now resides in Fort Worth, Texas. Her interest in neurobiology was sparked by a personal experience when her grandmother passed away from a brain hemorrhage, igniting a curiosity about neurological traumas. In the lab, Reshma actively participates in hat implant surgeries on mice and performs spike sorting to analyze recorded data. Post-medical school, Reshma aims to specialize in surgery to directly impact patient care. Beyond her research, she serves as a teacher assistant and student advisor while dedicating time to volunteer at hospitals. In her downtime, Reshma enjoys capturing sunsets, walking to get boba, and watching Korean shows.

Salma is sophomore at the College of Arts and Science, where she is majoring in Biological Sciences with a minor in Classical Studies. Her fascination with the brain began at six years old when she became captivated by the mechanisms of a broken watch. This curiosity developed into a passion for understanding the brain, which is akin to a finely tuned watch, with millions of neurons creating a vast and uncharted cosmos. Salma is eager to explore the complexity of memory consolidation and synaptic pruning to better understand cognitive disorders. She enjoys her free time volunteering at a hospital and clinic back home, as well as reading and knitting. In the lab, she hopes to learn techniques like optogenetics and AAV to study neuronal networks. Her goal is to complete an MD-PhD program, becoming a physician-scientist who translates lab discoveries into patient care improvements; merging clinical practice with research to advance medical knowledge.

Ryan is a sophomore from Virginia Beach majoring in biology and concentrating in Neurobiology and Behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He became interested in neurobiology in high school when he took a psychology class that emphasized the mechanisms responsible for sleep, emotion, and learning. Having participated in Quizbowl all throughout high school, he is particularly curious about how knowledge of varying complexity is stored and retrieved by the brain. In his free time, he enjoys biking, lifting, and tutoring in math. He aims to enter graduate school after college and obtain an MD or PhD

Maria Aurelio is an undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences and concentrating in Neurobiology and Behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences. Though originally from the Philippines, she also grew up in Seattle, WA where she first discovered the field of neuroscience in high school thanks to her interest in music. She was always curious about music’s effect on cognition as a violinist, leading her to want to learn more about the hippocampus and gain a biological understanding of how different aspects of memory are encoded in the brain. After college, she hopes to continue pursuing research within an MD and/or PhD program. Outside of school and the lab, she enjoys crocheting, reading, and volunteering around Ithaca!

William Zheng is a sophomore from Beijing, majoring in Biology & Society. He is interested in neurobiology and has learned the basic molecular experiments and mice behavioral tests from Peking University during his high school. William is fascinated to explore how hippocampo-cortical network dynamics contribute to memory consolidation and retrieval. He plans to apply for the MD-PhD program as a future neurosurgeon and scientist after graduating from Cornell. Outside the class, he likes soccer, photography, and watching the Premier League and Formula One in his spare time.

Ashley is a junior majoring in Human Development in the College of Human Ecology. She has been passionate about neuropsychology since high school after working with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, which led her to continue her studies in development and neuropsychology. With some interest in information/data science, she is eager to explore computational brain research and learn neural systems in behavior. She hopes to continue research in the healthcare field after college. Outside of the lab, Ashley enjoys dancing, volunteering at schools in Ithaca, and working as a Korean interpreter.

My name is Madison Wolf. I’m from Los Angeles, California. I’m majoring in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Neuroscience and a minor in Nutrition. I’m going to apply to medical school after I graduate and I’m also on the Cornell Gymnastics team!