Meet Our Team
Michael Yassa, Ph.D.
Director
Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
B.A. and M.A., Johns Hopkins University
Ph: (949) 824-1687 | Email: myassa@uci.edu | Office: 320 QRL
Manuella Oliveira Yassa, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Outreach and Education
Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
M.A., University of California, Irvine
B.A., Johns Hopkins University
Manuella completed her Bachelor's degree in neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University, and her Master's and Doctoral degrees in Social Ecology with a focus on neuroscience education and the impact of university-community partnerships on the diversity of the STEM educational system and workforce.
Ph: (949) 824-5193 | Email: manuella.yassa@uci.edu | Office: 309 QRL
Cecilia Szarnyasi, B.A.
Center Administrator
B.A., California State University, Fullerton
Cecilia completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration at California State University, Fullerton. Before joining the CNLM team, Cecilia worked at the UCI School of Law as an Events Assistant, helping both with administrative tasks and day-of coordination for events. She will be assisting the CNLM with day-to-day tasks, financial reimbursements, human resources, and general administrative duties.
Ph: (949) 824-5193 | Email: cszarnya@uci.edu | Office: 320 QRL
Eleanor Chan
Chief of Financial Affairs and Sponsored Projects
B.A., University of California Los Angeles
Eleanor is a graduate of UCLA and has been working at UCI since 2002 in divisions spanning Biological Sciences and Medicine. She is highly experienced in financial management and contracts & grants administration.
Email: echan@uci.edu | Office: 320 QRL
Raymond D. Villareal, Ed.S., NCSP
Outreach and Education Assistant
Ed.S. and M.Ed., College of William and Mary
B.A., University of California, Irvine
Prior to joining the CNLM team, Raymond served as a psychometrist and school psychologist for low-income students and incarcerated adults throughout Texas and Virginia. Raymond is currently a Ph.D. student in the Neurobiology and Behavior program in the School of Biological Sciences at UCI, researching on the effects of trauma on executive functioning and learning. Through advocacy and research, Raymond aims to improve access and educational outcomes for underrepresented minorities and low-income students interested in neuroscience, psychology, and education.
Ph: (949) 824-5193 | Email: rdvillar@uci.edu | Office: 320 QRL
Morgan Coburn, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Office of Outreach and Education
Ph.D and M.S., University of California, Irvine
B.A., Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley
Morgan grew up in San Juan Capistrano, before she traveled to Western Massachusetts to complete her Bachelors in Neuroscience and Behavior at Mount Holyoke College. She returned to Southern California to complete her Masters and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences in the laboratory of Dr. Mathew Blurton-Jones. Her doctoral research focused on human microglial dynamics in Alzheimer’s Disease. Morgan then completed a Postdoc at the University of Virginia with Dr. Ukpong Eyo before returning to the CNLM team. In her role, she works to advance the Outreach and Education goals of the CNLM to create accessible, equitable, and high-quality learning experiences in partnership with communities.
Email: macoburn@uci.edu
Erin M. Purvis, Ph.D.
Civic Science Fellow
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
B.S., University of California, Santa Barbara
Email: epurvis@uci.edu
Jennifer Smith, M.S.
Executive Director of Development
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
M.S., University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Email: jennifer.smith@uci.edu
Jessica Ha
Student Administrative Assistant
Undergraduate, University of California, Irvine
Jessica is a Human Biology Major and a Business Entrepreneurship Minor at UC Irvine. As a research assistant, she studies memory consolidation and organization the Fortin Lab and volunteers weekly with dementia focused programs. She is eager to pursue a career in psychiatry and hopes to attend medical school following her undergraduate education. Currently, she acts as a student administrative assistant for CNLM.
Email: hajn@uci.edu
Kryssi Teurn-Chao
Student Marketing Assistant
Undergraduate, University of California, Irvine
Kryssi is a Sociology major at UC Irvine. She became passionate about marketing through early digital design projects and developed her planning skills and executive design campaigns throughout her undergraduate career. Her sociological background helps her understand her audience and connect with them on an interpersonal level. Kryssi is excited to continue learning and growing in the ever-evolving field of marketing as she advances in her career. Currently, she works as a Student Marketing Assistant at the CNLM.
Email: kteurnch@uci.edu
Erynn Nassif
Student Marketing Assistant
Undergraduate, University of California, Irvine
Erynn is a Business Administration Major and a Digital Information Systems Minor at UC Irvine, specializing in Marketing. She has gained valuable hands-on experience in the marketing field through her past role as Director of PR & Marketing for her sorority, Tri Delta. Her past experiences throughout her undergraduate career have provided her with a solid foundation in content marketing, fostering engagement and building a thriving online community. She hopes to pursue a career in the Digital Marketing Industry. Currently, she works as a student marketing assistant for CNLM.
Email: nassife@uci.edu
Executive Committee
Sunil Gandhi
Vice Chair of the Executive Committee
Marcelo Wood
Chair, Neurobiology & Behavior
Christine Gall
Chair, Anatomy & Neurobiology
Gary Lynch
Distinguished Professor, Psychiatry
Bruce McNaughton
Distinguished Professor, Neurobiology & Behavior
Barbara Dosher
Distinguished Professor, Cognitive Science
Faculty Fellows
The 123 Faculty Fellows of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory make up the core of the Center. Our Fellows have appointments in a wide range of departments in including Neurobiology and Behavior, Engineering, Psychology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Cognitive Sciences, Anatomy and Neurobiology and Pharmacology because they tackle the study of the neurobiology of learning and memory from different angles, using different tools. To learn more about the Faculty Fellows of the CNLM, please click here.
CNLM Ambassadors
The CNLM Ambassadors are a group of over 70 undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research staff and community members who are passionate about brain awareness, education and outreach. The group engages in brain awareness activities both on the UC Irvine campus and in K-12 schools, community centers and senior centers in Orange County and Southern California. Click here to learn more about the CNLM Ambassadors Program.
The Chairs of the CNLM Ambassadors for 2022-2023 academic year are Caden Henningfield and Miranda Chappel-Farley.