Lab Members – Aoki Lab

Current Members

Bridget Xu (bx2078@nyu.edu) Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science major

Bridget, a junior majoring in Neural Science at NYU’s College of Arts and Science, joined the Aoki Lab in Dec 2022. Her research interests revolve around understanding the cellular-level impacts of anorexia and its implications for behavior. She is particularly focused on investigating how pharmacotherapy can influence synaptic connections to alleviate disease symptoms. Currently, Bridget is studying the effects of an effective dose of ketamine on AMPA receptor distribution within excitatory synapses of the prefrontal cortex in mice that have undergone activity-based anorexia. Outside of the lab, Bridget is an avid runner and loves cooking.

Riley Felsher (rkf7238@nyu.edu), Undergrad researcher, Neural Science major at NYU

Riley is a senior at the College of Arts and Sciences at NYU. She joined the Aoki Lab in spring, 2023. Riley is on a pre-med track, a dual major in Neural Science and Spanish.

We all know that exercise is good for you, but not all of us can stick to the healthy routine of exercising regularly. She is interested in the origin of individual differences in the propensity to exercise. She is using the electron microscope to study the neurobiological basis of individual differences in voluntary exercise, focusing on mu opioid receptor expression on dopaminergic axons in nucleus accumbens. Riley is a student athlete, goalie for NYU’s Women’s Soccer team and started training to become a soccer player since the age of 4.

Imanay (Mimi) Lotia (il2209@nyu.edu), Undergrad researcher, Neural Science major

Mimi is a senior, majoring in Neural Science at the College of Arts and Sciences, NYU.

Mimi joined the Aoki lab in the summer of 2023. Mimi is interested in individual differences in the ability to stick to the routine of exercising regularly. She is using the electron microscope to probe for individual differences in the mu opioid receptor expression on dopaminergic neurons in dorsal striatum. Mimi is on a pre-med track and also spends her time volunteering at a hospital and in a Cognitive Development Lab of the Psychology dept, studying child development.

Yuki Lin yl9025@nyu.edu, Undergraduate researcher, Chemistry major, NYU

Yuki joined the Aoki Lab in the summer of 2023. Yuki is interested in exploring whether ketamine and ketogenic diet can serve as pharmacotherapy for anorexia nervosa. She is using an animal model to investigate whether ketogenic diet alters brain levels of GABA and reduces vulerable traits associated with anorexia, such as hyperactivity, anxiety and voluntary food restriction.

Helen Zardus (hmz3074@nyu.edu), Undergraduate researcher, Chemistry major, NYU

Helen joined the Aoki Lab in the summer of 2023. Helen is passionate about finding cures for anorexia nervosa and the underlying reasons for vulnerability to this mental illness. She is interested in the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the action of ketamine in reducing vulnerability to anorexic behavior and also exploring whether ketogenic diet can ameliorate vulnerability to anorexia nervosa by using an animal model.

Dilara Sahin (dns5477@nyu.edu), Undergraduate researcher, Neural Science major

Dilara is a sophomore, with interest in the neurobiological bases of behavior. She is interested in one’s motivation to exercise and has the hypothesis that exposure to exercising opportunity during adolescence may influence one’s behavior as adults. She is using the electron microscope to examine whether exposure versus no exposure to a running wheel during adolescence affects ultrastructural features of dopaminergic axons in dorsal striatum in ways that will affect these axons’ potential to release dopamine.

Cassandra Carrasco (ccarrasc@risd.edu), Undergraduate researcher, Neurobiology Major at Brown University, Dual degree candidate at Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in printing

Cassandra was a Summer Undergraduate Research Program NSF-REU fellow during the summer of 2023, working in the Aoki Lab.

Cassandra is continuing to contribute to the ongoing research of the Aoki Lab remotely. Cassandra is exploring the neurobiological mechanism underlying ketamine’s efficacy in reducing anorexia-like behavior in an animal model. She is using the electron microscope to compare AMPA receptor expression pattern at pyramidal and GABA-IN’s excitatory synapses in the medial prefrontal cortex of animals treated with the efficacious versus inefficacious doses of ketamine.

Katie Harvey (keh8441@nyu.edu) Undergraduate researcher, Neural Science major

Katie Harvey is a sophomore at the College of Arts and Sciences at NYU. She is pursuing a major in neural science and a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. Katie joined the Aoki lab in fall of 2023. She is interested in Anorexia Nervosa and learning about the reasonings behind people’s vulnerabililties to this disease. Katie is interested in exploring how ketamine and a ketogenic diet can work as a treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. Katie is also interested in exploring and understanding why and how excessive exercise plays a role in this disease.

Jessica Sanchez (jms10129@nyu.edu) Undergraduate Researcher

I am a current sophomore at NYU pursuing a neural science major. I am interested in learning more about different treatments to alleviate the symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa using the ABA model and learning about different components of the brain that influence these various symptoms.

Jessie Ma (jm8401@nyu.edu), MS student, Biology, NYU

Jessie is currently an MS in biology student who joined the Aoki lab in the Fall of 2023. She’s interested in whether ketamine and the ketogenic diet can be effective in ameliorating the effects of anorexia nervosa in both females and males using the ABA animal model.

Yiru Dong (yd2130@nyu.edu), MS, Columbia University Teacher’s College

Yiru is investigating the dosing pattern of ketamine and ketogenic diet that can ameliorate anorexia-like behavior exhibited by late-adolescent and adult mice. Yiru is also investigating the neuronal activity pattern across brain regions of animals experiencing food restriction, wheel running, both or neither. Yiru majored in psychology and graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana in 2020 and completed the MS degree program in December, 2023.

Prakhar Dua (pd2304@nyu.edu), MS, Tandon NYU

Prakhar joined the lab in February 2023 to learn more about neuropsychiatric disorders like anorexia. He initially shadowed Yiru to learn basic IHC techniques, then he switched his focus onto Serotonin receptor distribution in ABA mice meanwhile also doing some EM analyses. He graduated in May 2023 with a MS in Biotechnology and is now working as a research associate in the Alberini lab in conjunction with the Aoki lab to use the electron microscope to know more about how protein degradation pathways affect memory.

Past Members

Past Post-doctoral Fellows

Ang Doma Sherpa, PhD (ads420@nyu.edu)

I was a postdoctoral associate. I received my doctoral training from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. My research was to examine the role of GABA in regulating vulnerability to anxiety in an animal model of anorexia nervosa called activity-based anorexia (ABA). Outside lab, I enjoy yoga and traveling. I am currently employed by Em Partners Corp https://empartners.com/ providing global strategic consultation and advice.

Nicole Sabaliauskas, PhD

Robert Levy, MD PhD

Alev Erisir, PhD

Past Ph.D. Students

Adrienne Santiago, PhD 2020 (ans525@nyu.edu)

ANS What is the circuitry that regulates a mouse’s decision to eat vs run? In the Aoki lab, I tested whether driving or suppressing activity in specific brain regions will alter food-restriction evoked hyperactivity. When I’m not studying mouse brain and behavior, I’m studying the rapid neurodevelopment of my two new daughters. Starting July 2021, I will be starting my post-doctoral training at the New York State Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University. My mentors will be Maura Boldrini and Wei-li Chang of the Hen. There, I will be studying the impact of early life adversity upon major depressive disorders.

Yi-Wen Chen, PhD 2018 (ywc256@nyu.edu)

Yi-Wen received her B.S. in biology and M.S. in psychology from National Taiwan University. Throughout her education in Taiwan, she became increasingly interested in the sex-differences and the neural mechanisms of psychiatric disorders. Yi-Wen is particularly interested in studying adolescence, the stage when the sex-differences in many psychiatric disorders emerge. She entered the CNS doctoral program in 2012, joined the Aoki lab in 2013, and received her Ph.D. in 2018. Her thesis project used an animal model of anorexia nervosa, called activity-based anorexia (ABA), to gain entry into the neurobiological basis of anxiety and vulnerability to stress-induced anxiety during adolescence. As a Fulbright scholar, in her free time, she enjoyed exploring New York City, attending concerts, and visiting art museums. Yi-Wen is the Medical Science Liaison, Medical Affairs at Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson, Taipei, Taiwan.

Anita A Disney

Sho Fujisawa

Nicole Sabaliauskas

Tara Chowdhury

Gauri Wable

Past Undergraduate Researchers

Maria Valentina Jiminian (mvj8649@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science major

Valentina is a senior at the College of Arts and Sciences at NYU. She joined the Aoki Lab in March of 2022. She is on the pre-med track with a major in Neuroscience and a minor in French. Valentina is hoping to understand the reasoning behind a major symptom of anorexia nervosa: excessive exercise. Valentina quantified the number of mu opioid receptors within dopaminergic axons in the ventral striatum of adult mice that had experienced activity-based anorexia as mid-adolescents.

Audrey Brown ARB9676@nyu.edu, Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science Major

Audrey joined the Aoki Lab in the fall of 2023 to continue her research exploration in exercise and neurological disease. Audrey is interested in investigating whether ketamine is an effective pharmacotherapy for anorexia nervosa. She is using an animal model of activity-based anorexia and the electron microscope to analyze whether ketamine alters the brain plasticity of GluR1 circuitry. Audrey is passionate about exploring the mechanisms that underlie resilience to neurological disorders in the brain.

Francesca Whitecross (fwhitecross@middlebury.edu), a Summer 2022 Undergraduate Research Program student from Middlebury College

Francesca investigated the putative role of mu-opioid receptor modulation of excitatory inputs to nucleus accumbens on individual differences in voluntary exercise. She plans to apply to PhD programs in neuroscience.

Seb Goodwin-Groen (sgg345@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science major

I graduated from NYU in May 2023. I was on the pre-med track, majoring in Neural Science and minoring in Bioethics. I am broadly interested in the interaction between aging and neuroplasticity, and specifically interested in characterizing the differences between the normal aging process and pathological degradation. I hope to ask questions in this line of research that will optimize the effects of current drugs for all patient ages and lead the field towards new cures for neurodegeneration. In my free time I enjoy cooking, growing plants, and playing piano. In July 2023, I became appointed as a research assistant in Cristina Alberini’s lab at the CNS, NYU. My plan is to pursue a dual degree in medicine and PhD in neuroscience.

Rose Temizar (rpt248@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science major

Graduated in December 2021,majoring in Neural Science at New York University. I joined the Aoki lab in Summer 2019. My research interests are in understanding the neural networks involved in developmental and neurodegenerative diseases and how we can use this knowledge to treat and/or reverse the disease at hand. I intend to pursue a graduate degree in neuroscience, learning more about the relationship between the biology and chemistry of the brain and behavior.

My project was to assess whether drebrin distribution within dendritic spines in the prefrontal cortex is altered by the animal model of anorexia nervosa and whether ketamine can reverse the induction of anorexic behavior.

In May 2022, I joined the Goate Lab at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. I will be starting the PhD program at the NIH-Karolinska in August, 2023.

Ikponmwosa Pat-Osagie (Ikponmwosa.Pat-Osagie11@myhunter.cuny.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, Psychology Honors track

Ikponmwosa graduated in December 2021 as a Psychology major at Hunter College and was a BP-ENDURE research fellow. Many individuals with anorexia nervosa lose too much body weight due to over-exercising. Ikponmwosa is wondering whether Narcan, administered to heroin addicts may be therapeutic to patients suffering from anorexia nervosa by ameliorating their runner’s high.

Ikponmwosa’s senior thesis project was to examine whether individual differences in wheel running exhibited by animals undergoing food restriction correlates with levels of opioid receptors expressed on axons found in Nucleus Accumbens. He will be examining the expression pattern of opioid receptors on excitatory, inhibitory and dopaminergic axons, with the hopes of untangling the multiple ways in which endogenous opioids may modulate wheel running intensity.

Ikponmwosa enrolled in the PhD program in neuroscience at UCLA in August 2022.

Cenk Akiz (ca2234@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science Honors track

I graduated in May 2022 from NYU, majoring in Neural Science and minoring in Psychology. I joined the Aoki lab in the Summer of 2020. I am interested in anxiety and behavioral and physiological responses associated with it. When I am not working in the lab I usually spend my time playing the piano or cooking. After graduation, I intend to go to medical school or work in industry and broaden my knowledge about the brain and the rest of the human body.

Cenk is a research assistant at the Sloan-Kettering Memorial and will begin the PhD program in Neuroscience at USC starting the fall of 2024.

Jennifer Li (jl9331@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science Honors track

I graduated from NYU in May 2022, majoring in Neural Science, and I also intend to study a joint minor in math and computer science as they are both tightly related to neuroscience. In general, I am interested in drugs and behavior regarding the brain. Outside of lab and school, I love playing music and jogging! Upon graduation, I intend to pursue an MBA and integrate knowledge from all kinds of backgrounds with what I know about neuroscience. My thesis project examined the cell biological substrates of the action of ketamine in ameliorating anorexia nervosa-like behavior in mice. Since graduation, I have joined the Laboratory of Tom Maniatis at Columbia Zuckerman Institute as the lab’s Staff Research Assistant. I will be enrolled a PhD program in Neuroscience at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School starting the Fall of 2024.

Imogen Bylinsky (imbylinsky@packer.edu), High School Volunteer

I graduated from the high school at the Packer Collegiate Institute. I joined the Aoki Lab through my school’s science research program in the spring of 2020. I am very interested in evaluating the role of exercise and/or pharmaceutical drugs in anorexia-induced mice; and more specifically, how these agents can be used as a tool for recovery. I intend to pursue neuroscience or psychology when I enter college late next year. I will be attending Michigan University starting the fall of 2022.

Andrew (Muzi) Du (md3950@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, BS, Neural Science major with Honors

Andrew graduated from NYU Shanghai in May 2021, majoring in Neural Science. Andrew joined the Aoki Lab in the summer of 2018. He will be pursuing his Honors thesis project through overseas collaboration with the Aoki lab during 2021, investigating the role of the prefrontal cortical projection to dorsal raphe in the regulation of feeding behavior under the condition of starvation combined with wheel access. Andrew used the techniques of electron microscopy and triple immunofluorescence to correlate synaptic and cellular signatures with individual differences in behavior evoked by the combination of food restriction and wheel access. In the fall of 2021, Andrew started his PhD program in neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University.

Emily Makowicz (em4246@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, BS and MS, Hunter College 2021

Emily was a Hunter College BP-ENDURE Fellow who double-majored in Biology and Psychology. She is interested in neural plasticity and neuronal degeneration, using neuroscience to explore developmental plasticity at a molecular level to explore behavioral patterns in disorders and diseases. In the future, she wants to pursue a PhD degree in Neurobiology and Behavior and continue her research as a future professor. Her project while at NYU was to examine the impact of social isolation during adolescence upon depression-like behavior and synapse formation in the prefrontal corticex and hippocampus and of the potential role played by the FDA-approved anti-depressant, ketamine in the development of these regions. In the fall of 2021, she began her PhD program at Columbia University Medical College.

Ishan Handa (irh224@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, BS, Neural Science major with Honors, 2019

Ishan graduated from New York University studying Neural Science with minors in Public Health and Chemistry in May 2019. He joined the Aoki Lab in 2018 and wrote his honors thesis on the role of serotonin in the neurobiological development of Anorexia Nervosa. Outside of the lab, Ishan loves to travel, watch standup comedy, and discuss public policy. In the fall of 2021, Ishan will begin his study at Florida Atlantic College of Medicine and hopes to incorporate his interests in research, public health, and public policy to his future medical practice.

Sabrina George (sg4640@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher, BS, Neural Science major with Honors, 2019

Sabrina graduated from NYU in May 2019, majoring in Neural Science. She joined the Aoki Lab in the summer of 2018. Her honors thesis focuses on finding a link between addiction and hyperactivity in a mouse model of anorexia nervosa. Her research interests included mechanisms of addiction, neuroplasticity, neurodegenerative diseases and the effects of media (such as film) on the brain. Outside of lab, you can find her at practice for NYU’s womxn’s ultimate frisbee team, the Violet Femmes, reading, crocheting, watching SNL skits, or wondering what hobby she should pick up next. Since graduation, she is pursuing her master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics at the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Science at NYU Langone. She intends to apply to medical school.

Kayla Ying Yan Lim (yl2799@nyu.edu), BS, Neural Science with Honors, 2018

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I joined the team late 2015 and mostly assisted with graduate student Adrienne’s project. I received the Sherrington Award for Neural Science Undergraduate Research. Soon after graduating from NYU, I joined the Stavropoulos Lab as a Research Associate. Since the fall of 2020, I have been pursuing a PhD degree in neural science at UCLA. When not in the lab or in class, I will most likely be found rehearsing in the dance studio. Generally, my interests include developmental plasticity, stress, and movement therapy; I intend to pursue a graduate degree and a subsequent career in neuropsychological research.

Hannah Actor-Engel, hae220@nyu.edu, Undergraduate Researcher, Neural Science major 2015

Earned a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Anschutz Med School, under the mentorship of Matthew Kennedy in February 2023.

Morgan Lange (langemp164@gmail.com), Post-bac Researcher

I received bachelor’s degrees in Neuroscience and Economics from Vanderbilt University in 2016. I joined the Aoki lab in 2019 in conjunction with a Molecular Systems class in NYU’s Graduate Biology department to explore the molecular basis for mental disorders. I am considering the possibility of a Master’s or PhD in Neural Science.

Valentina Alvarez Martinez (vam349@nyu.edu), Undergraduate Researcher

I am a senior majoring in Neural Science and minoring in Business and Chinese. I was in the BP ENDURE program but left the program at the end of Fall 2020. I am interested in finding pharmacological cures for psychiatric disorders.

Additional Alumni

Master’s Trainees

Hermina Nedelescu

Aditi Naik (aditi.naik@downstate.edu), currently in a PhD program at SUNY Downstate, studying Neural and Behavioral Science under Professor Sabina Hrabetova