Meet the Summer Scholars
Welcome! We are thrilled to introduce you to the 2023 cohort of the Irvine Summer Institute in Neuroscience Program!
Meet Joseph DuPree
Joseph DuPree is an undergraduate student from St. Joseph's University: University City Campus studying Neuroscience with a minor in Pharmacology and Racism and Health. Joseph conducted research this summer in the laboratory of Dr. Javier Diaz Alonso to explore the role of AMPA receptors in learning and memory, using molecular techniques and electrophysiology.
Meet Jadah Forbes
Jadah Forbes is an undergraduate student from Delaware State University studying Psychology with a minor in Biology. Jadah spent her summer conducting research in the laboratory of Dr. Lisa Flanagan to understand how neural stem cells stimulate the growth of blood vessel cells and the impact that this growth can have in recovery from stroke and traumatic brain injury.
Meet Julia Lagomarsino
Julia Lagomarsino is an undergraduate student at Colby College studying Neuroscience and Art History. This summer Julia conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Christie Fowler to understand how stress may impact the action of Lynx2 protein on brain and behavior.
Meet Sanaa Stough-Lacking
Sanaa Stough-Lacking is an undergraduate student at Texas A&M studying Psychology. Sanaa spent her summer conducting research in the laboratory of Dr. Aaron Bornstein to explore how we can create more sensitive and targeted measures to identify cognitive deficits earlier in disease progression.
Meet Vanessa Mijares
Vanessa Mijares is an undergraduate student at California State University San Marcos studying Psychological Science. Vanessa conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Munjal Acharya to understand the impact that chemotherapy has on the brain and in particular at the synapse.
Meet Alayah Solomon
Alayah Solomon is an undergraduate student at North Carolina A&T State University. Alayah conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Chrastil this summer to explore how humans navigate the world around them.
Meet George Babineaux III
George Babineaux III is an undergraduate student at North Carolina A&T State University studying Biology. George conducted research this summer in the laboratory of Dr. Eitan Schechtman to understand the relation between odor exposure during sleep and memory.
Meet Ashley Loga
Ashley Loga is an undergraduate student at Albany State University studying Psychology and Biology. Ashley has been conducting research in the laboratory of Dr. Autumn Ivy to explore the relation between early life exercise and memory.
Meet Jairo Orozco
Jairo Orozco is an undergraduate student from Farmingdale State College. Jairo is conducting research this summer in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Yassa to explore sex differences in emotional pattern separation.
Meet Fabiola Amaya Reyes
Fabiola Amaya Reyes is an undergraduate student from California State University, Fresno. Fabiola's research project in the laboratory of Dr. Megan Peters uses eye tracking and MRI to better understand consciousness.
Meet Elise Kinyanjui
Elise Kinyanjui is an undergraduate student from St. Mary's College of Maryland studying Neuroscience and Psychology. Elise's research in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Yassa explores how the white matter of our brain changes in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's.
Meet Kayla Cason
Kayla Cason is an undergraduate student Howard University studying Biology and minoring in Chemistry and Psychology. Kayla conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Mahler to explore psychedelics as a potential therapeutic agent to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Meet Angel Lindner
Angel Lindner is an undergraduate student at Spelman College studying Psychology. Angel's summer research in the laboratory of Dr. Autumn Ivy explores how exercise can be used to ameliorate the social deficits that are seen in disorder like Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Meet Abril Romero
Abril Romero is an undergraduate student at New Mexico State University studying Biochemistry. Abril's research in the laboratory of Dr. Lisa Flanagan explores the cellular properties of brain cancer cells (glioblastoma) to understand why some are resistant to chemotherapy drugs.
Meet Angela Calderon
Angela Calderon is an undergraduate student at St. Mary's University, San Antonio. Angela's summer research project in the laboratory of Dr. Gyorgy Lur explores the effects of early life stress on working memory in later life stages.
Meet Leila Braggs
Leila Braggs is an undergraduate student at Hampton University. Leila conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Judith Kroll this summer to explore how bilingualism impacts brain and behavior, using EEG as a tool to visualize brain activity.
Meet India Turner
India Turner is an undergraduate student at Xavier University of Louisiana studying Psychology. India's research in the laboratory of Dr. Lulu Chen explores how early life adversity impacts the brain, in particular looking at the corticostriatal pathway.
Meet Kayla and Imani
Imani Douglas is an undergraduate student from Delaware State University studying Psychology, and Kayla Rhodes is an undergraduate student from Howard University studying Health Sciences. Imani and Kayla spent their summer conducting research in the laboratory of Dr. Sara Mednick and Dr. Kate Simon to understand how sex hormones and the menstrual cycle affects sleep patterns.
Meet Heidi Brown
Heidi Brown is an undergraduate student at Cal State Fullerton studying Psychology with a minor in Biology. Heidi spent her summer conducting research in the laboratory of Dr. Momoko Watanabe to explore how fusion organoids interact with one another using calcium imaging.
About the Program
The Irvine Summer Institute in Neuroscience Program at the University of California, Irvine Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory is an immersive residential neuroscience research program. Funded by the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program and the University of California Office of the President's UC-HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Initiative, the program aims to expose undergraduate students from groups underrepresented in science to neuroscience research.
Supporting Partners
The Irvine Summer Institute in Neuroscience is possible thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU), the US Department of Defense Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Experiences (ASSURE), and the University of California - Historically Black Colleges and Universities (UC-HBCU) Initiative from the UC Office of the President.
