Christine Constantinople
Principal Investigator
Christine graduated from New York University with a B.S. in Neural Science in 2008, and earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior in Randy Bruno’s lab at Columbia University in 2013. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute with David Tank and Carlos Brody. She joined NYU as an Assistant Professor in the Center for Neural Science in January 2019.
Maggie DeMaegd
Postdoctoral Researcher
Maggie graduated from Illinois Wesleyan with a B.S in Biology in 2015. She then earned her PhD in Biological Sciences in Dr. Wolfgang Stein’s lab at Illinois State University where she studied circuit and cellular mechanisms of neuromodulation in the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system. Her post-doctoral research focuses on characterizing the role of projection-specific orbitofrontal circuits in value-based decision making. Outside of the lab, she enjoys hiking, crafting and everything Lord of the Rings related.
Supported by an F32 award from the BRAIN Initiative.
Carla Golden
Postdoctoral Researcher
Carla graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience in 2013. She then earned her PhD in Neuroscience in 2019 in the labs of Joseph Buxbaum and Hala Harony-Nicolas at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she studied transcriptional and neuroanatomical alterations associated with attention deficits in a rat model of Fragile X syndrome. For her postdoc, she is studying sex differences in neural circuits involved in decision making and the impact of reproductive hormones. In addition to doing research, Carla is passionate about advocating for science and bringing neuroscience to local communities.
Supported by an F32 award from the BRAIN Initiative and the Simons Foundation Society of Fellows.
David Hocker
Postdoctoral Researcher
David graduated from Indiana University in 2009 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Mathematics and Italian. In 2016 he earned his PhD in Physical Chemistry in Herschel Rabitz’s group at Princeton University where he studied quantum control theory. David then completed a computational neuroscience postdoc with Il Memming Park at Stony Brook University where his work focused on utilizing control theory for the stimulation of neural dynamical systems. He is broadly interested in understanding and manipulating low-dimensional neural dynamical systems, with a particular interest in cognitive processes such as decision making. Outside of the lab, David is a competitive cyclist who also enjoys rock climbing and knitting.
Supported by a K01 from NIMH. David is jointly advised by Cristina Savin.
Aster Perkins
Postdoctoral Researcher
Aster Perkins (they/them) graduated from Cornell University in 2016 with a B.S. in Biology. After working from 2016-2018 in Yogita Chudasama’s lab at NIMH as a postbaccalaureate IRTA fellow, they then earned their Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2024 in the lab of Erin Rich at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In their Ph.D. thesis work, they studied the neural basis of decision-making in options with multiple attributes. Their postdoctoral research focuses on the mechanisms by which distributed neural circuits infer environmental states. Outside of research, Aster enjoys mending, playing the piano, and writing scary stories.
Adithya Rajagopalan
Postdoctoral Researcher
Adithya graduated from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune, India with a dual B.S.-M.S. degree in Biology in 2017. He then earned his PhD in Neuroscience in 2023 from Glenn Turner’s lab at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus via a joint graduate program with Johns Hopkins University. During his PhD he used Drosophila melanogaster to study value-based decision-making at the level of behavior, circuits and theory, leveraging the model system’s plethora of genetic tools to expand theories explaining decision-making under uncertainty. His post-doctoral research focuses on understanding how the activity of orbitofrontal circuits is constructed from its inputs in the context of value-based decision making. Outside the lab he enjoys football (refuses to call it soccer), board games and live music.
Supported by a Leon Levy Scholarship in Neuroscience.
Elliott Capek
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Elliott graduated from Oregon State University in 2018 with a B.S. in Physics and Biochemistry & Biophysics. He completed his thesis project on simulating the stepping mechanism of the dynein motor protein using Brownian dynamics. After graduation, he worked as a postbac fellow in the lab of Dietmar Plenz at the National Insititute of Mental Health, where he studied critical scaling of neural activity in awake mice. In his Ph.D. he is interested in using topological tools to study how prefrontal neural populations support decision making. In addition to research, he is interested in mental health advocacy and spending time in nature.
Elliott is jointly advised by Alex Williams.
Heejae Jang
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Heejae graduated from Princeton University with a B.S. in Physics in 2017. For her senior thesis, she studied the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in social behavior in the lab of Ilana Witten. She continued working as a research technician for two years before coming to NYU. For her doctoral research, she is studying the role of the cortical-striatal circuit in goal-directed learning and decision making. Every morning before she comes into lab, she works out for 2 hours at the gym and makes pour-over coffee.
Andrew Mah
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Andrew graduated from Washington and Lee University with a Bachelors of Science in Neuroscience and Mathematics. For his honors thesis, he studied the circadian rhythms of spiders. For his doctoral research, he is developing computational models of a novel behavior developed in the lab, and using fiber photometry to relate neuromodulatory signaling to latent cognitive variables guiding behavior. Outside of lab, he is interested in scientific education and outreach.
Supported by an F31 Award from the NIMH, NIH Training Program in Computational Neuroscience and T32 Training Grant from NIMH.
Shannon Schiereck
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Shannon graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017 with a B.S. in Neurobiology. There she studied the role of the ventromedial nucleus of the thalamus in arousal and synaptic renormalization during sleep. For her doctoral research, she is studying how thalamic inputs give rise to computations in the prefrontal cortex during decision-making. Outside the lab, she is passionate about science outreach, marine conservation, and scuba diving.
Supported by T32 Training Grant from NIMH.
Danilo Trinidad Perez-Rivera
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Danilo graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey in 2017 with a B.S. in Chemistry. There he was a member of the Biomathematics Laboratory, focusing on computational models of disease development and propagation. After graduation, he worked at the Institute of Neurobiology as a research technician. For his doctoral research, he is interested in developing computational methods for the characterization of low-dimensional structure of neural firing patterns during decision making. Outside the lab, he is passionate about community-building, Caribbean culture, and music.
Supported by Department of Energy Computational Sciences Graduate Fellowship. Danilo is jointly advised by Cristina Savin.
Audrey Martin
Research Technician
Audrey graduated from Fordham University with a B.S. in Integrative Neuroscience and concentration in cell and molecular neuroscience in May 2023. During her undergraduate studies, she researched the synthesis of potential broad-spectrum inhibitors of herpesviruses. She is interested in mechanistic and molecular dysregulation implicated in neurological disorders. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing pool, rock climbing, and reading in the park.
Jonny Schindler
Research Technician
Jonny graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.S. in Psychobiology in 2022. During his undergraduate, he researched the neural correlates of social decision-making in humans using transcranial magnetic stimulation. He is interested in the role of sleep in learning, memory, and emotions. Outside of the lab, Jonny enjoys exploring new parts of the city and playing board games.
Rat-mon y Cajal
Lab Mascot
Rat-mon is a stuffed rat.
Alumni
– Research Technicians –
Royall McMahon Ward (PhD student in Material Science and Engineering at Northwestern University)
Daljit Kaur (PhD student in neuroscience at Albert Einstein School of Medicine)
Mitzi Adler-Wachter (research technician at University of Washington Neurology)
Madori Spiker (Masters student in computer science at UCSB, industry)
Veronica Bossio (PhD student in neuroscience at Columbia University)