Aoki Lab

Hermina Nedelescu 

 

I work at the intersection of neuroanatomy, behavior and development. My interests are to understand connectivity pathways contributing to functional circuits which sustain voluntary behavior. In 2005, I completed my Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where I was also an intercollegiate 1M / 3M spring board diver. Following a short period in Japan, under the mentorship of Dr. Yoichi Yamamoto at the Graduate School of Medicine in Osaka, I returned to the United States and completed my Master’s degree in 2009 from New York University under the mentorship of Dr. Chiye Aoki. For my PhD I was a Marie Curie Fellow and a short-term JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Arbuthnott and Dr. Aoki. From 2014 I was awarded a standard JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University hosted by Dr. Izumi Sugihara.  I believe in sharing scientific results with the general public, therefore, in 2014 I founded Scientific Art~tistic Science which is a concept that strives to promote science to the general public through art. This is achieved by collaborating with artists.

Jia-Yi Wang

I am a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. I earned a bachelor of science in neural science from New York University in 2014. I completed my honors thesis in the Aoki lab where I studied the reorganization of the GABAergic inhibitory system in response to activity-based anorexia induction. My research interests are in understanding how neuronal networks underlie physiologic and pathologic behavior. Currently, I am involved in research understanding the role of striatal interneurons in the development of OCD-like behaviors as part of my scholarly project at the University of Pittsburgh.

Irene Yu

I graduated from New York University in 2014 and completed my B.S. in neural science with honors under the wonderful mentorship of Dr. Aoki. I joined the Aoki lab in May of 2013 and conducted research for my undergraduate honors thesis, using electron microscopy to study the hippocampal changes in GABAergic innervation that result from exercise in the context of ABA. I am currently a medical student at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, looking to specialize in neurology. Some of my favorite pastimes include scientific and cartoon illustration, dance, and piano. I believe that there is a critical interplay between research, medicine, and art, so I will continue to develop my skills in all three areas and intend to integrate them into my future practice when I am treating patients.

Shannon Rashid

 In general, I am interested in the role of sex hormones in the brain: both how they contribute to normal function and the roles they may play in disease. This interest was sparked by work I completed in Dr. Chiye Aoki’s lab under the mentorship of former graduate student Dr. Gauri Wable. I received my BS in Neural Science from NYU in 2014 after completing my honors thesis in the Aoki lab studying a mouse model of activity based anorexia. After working in Dr. Paul Glimcher’s lab as a research assistant for a year, I began the MD/PhD program at NYU in 2015 and earned the PhD degree in 2020. I hope to further pursue my interest in neuroendocrinology through my PhD work here. Outside of science, I love to cook and travel as much as I can.

Aja Evans (aqe200@nyu.edu)

I am currently a BP Endure scholar and senior at NYU and and will be graduating in May 2016. I have been a member of the Aoki lab since the Spring of 2015 and have worked on a number of projects. Currently I am looking at ABA induced plasticity of noradrenergic axon in the female adolescent rat hippocampus. In addition to science I also study documentary film-making and am interested in joining these two passions to increase public brain awareness.

Leah Alexander (leah.alexander@nyu.edu)

I am currently a junior at NYU, majoring in Neural Science and following a Pre-Health track, and I have just recently joined the Aoki lab this spring. Prior to joining the Aoki lab, I spent the past few years conducting brain cancer research in a neuropathology lab at NYU Langone Medical Center. Additionally, I had spent this past summer in a neuroopthalmology lab at the Felsenstein Medical Research Center of Tel Aviv University, researching the effects of diabetes on the retina and the brain. In the Aoki lab, I am currently assisting in projects that revolve around various aspects of GABA, and, in the near future, I plan to carry out my own project for my senior thesis that will likely focus on the effect of val66met polymorphisms on stroke recovery. I am currently in a Master’s program at Newcastle University. When I am not in the lab, I enjoy reading, trying new restaurants throughout the city, and traveling.

Ruka Aderogba (ruka.aderogba@gmail.com)

I am a student in the Hunter/NYU BP-Endure program. I have always been interested in the neuronal mechanisms of the brain. I believe that research is the best way to understand the complexity of neurological diseases, which can eventually lead to a greater understanding of many mental health disorders and their treatments.  My research interest is social isolation, adolescence females, environmental enrichment and gut micro-biomes. I am currently a new mom, so in my free time I attempt to sleep.