Robert Williams
Graduate Student 2020-2022; currently in the Meliza Lab at UVA
Previously a tech and a fellow in the Bridge to Doctorate Program at UVA, Robert is now a Ph.D. student in the Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience program in the Department of Psychology (Meliza Lab). As an undergraduate, he studied code-switching in different languages and dialects. In our lab, he studied how learning changes the brain and is overall very keen on decorating his office space (and skin…) with images of neurons in various forms. When he is not whispering to mice, he can be found running, enjoying classic films, and listening to music.
Education
University of Virginia
Ph.D. in Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience, 2022-present Bridge to the Doctorate, 2020-2021
Queens University of Charlotte
B.A. in Psychology, 2018; Byrum Scholar
Abigail Townes
Undergraduate Researcher (Team Robert) 2024
Abby is a first-year student at UVA. She is interested in brain plasticity, neurolinguistics, and the effects of stress on behavior. Outside of the lab, Abby can be found playing tennis, reading dystopian novels, and studying at a local coffee shop. She is also a member of Alpha Omega Epsilon, a social and professional sorority for women in STEM at UVA.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2027
Lu Elbaum
Lab Tech/Undergraduate Researcher 2024
Lu is a first year undergraduate student at UVA planning to major in Neuroscience. His research interests include neurodegenerative disorders and brain development. In the Ribic lab, he assists with all things mice, behavior, and electrophysiology. Outside of the lab, he plays violin in a quartet, snowboards in VASST, practices tennis, and enjoys drawing.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2027
Arda Kipcak
Graduate Student 2021-2023; currently in the Erisir Lab at UVA
Arda was an MA student in the Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience program in the Department of Psychology. He studied genetics during his undergrad in Turkey and has worked on various topics ranging from neuroepigenetics and psychoneuroimmunology to liver cancer chemoresistance. He has long been interested in synaptic plasticity and the neuroscience of learning. In the Ribic Lab, he studied the contribution of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) to experience-dependent synapse remodeling. Outside the lab, he can be found chatting about his favorite film trilogy Matrix, or pretty much anything related to comics and anime. He has a baby dog named Alice who is a big fan of catching but never returning sticks!
Education
University of Virginia
MA in Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience, 2021-2023
Izmir University of Economics
B.Sc. in Genetics and Bioengineering, 2021
Samuel Fedde
Undergraduate Researcher 2021-2023; currently teching at Weill-Cornell Medical School
Sam is a fourth-year student majoring in Psychology and Cognitive Science with a concentration in Neuroscience. He is particularly interested in the neural basis of learning. For his last spring at UVA, he received the College Council Grant, which will fund his research on how chronic stress impacts the structure and connectivity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex. Outside of the lab, he likes to play video games, soccer, and watching bad reality TV.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2023
Lara Demir
Undergraduate Researcher 2020-2023; currently teching at Columbia University
Lara is a fourth-year student at UVA majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology, and pursuing a minor in French. Before joining the Ribic Lab, Lara worked with a non-profit adolescent mental health organization. She is interested in child psychiatry/neurology, psychiatric disorders, and the effects of early experience on the structure and function of the brain. In the Ribic Lab, she is a data analyst extraordinaire and is perpetually on the hunt for good spikes in Vyshnavi’s recordings. For her research in the Ribic Lab, she won UVA Brain Institute’s Neuroscience Summer Research Fellowship 2021 and an Internship Accelerator Award from the Department of Psychology. Outside of the lab, she can be found reading, doing yoga, and discovering new food and music.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2023
Catherine Shen
Undergraduate Researcher 2020-2023; currently at UPenn (MD program)
Catherine is a fourth-year UVA student majoring in Human Biology. She is interested in cognitive and brain development, and the effects they have on behavior. Before joining the Ribic Lab, Catherine was previously involved in neuroscience research in the Siegrist Lab. For her research in the Ribic Lab, she won the Harrison Undergraduate Research Award ‘21 to support her studies of learning differences between adolescents and adults. She is a mouse trainer extraordinaire and (together with Robert) is a proud trainer of the smartest mouse in the lab. During her free time, she enjoys running, photography, and trying new food.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2023, Echols Scholar
Vyshnavi Pendala
Lab Technician 2021-2022, currently at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Vyshnavi is a UVA graduate (‘21) and a future physician. She is interested in brain development and plasticity, especially during early childhood. In the Ribic Lab, she was spearheading a project that studies how preterm birth affects brain function in mice (and people!). Vyshnavi previously worked in a nephrology lab studying calcium signaling pathways and Christ Lab studying volumetric muscle loss and regenerative tissue growth. Outside of the lab, she loves to hang out with friends, catch up on the latest Netflix series, and try cooking different cuisines.
Education
University of Virginia
B.A. in Biology, 2021
Sophia Rogers
Undergraduate Researcher 2021
Sophie is a fourth-year student at UVA majoring in Computer Science and Religious Studies. She was drawn to the Ribic Lab because it allowed her to apply her skills in Python (her language of choice) to data collected in the lab. She is excited to be continuing her education in computer science at GWU as a Master’s student and intends to incorporate her interest in neuroscience into her education. When she is not debugging lab software, she is slicing brains and googling anatomical jargon she hears in the lab. Outside of school, she enjoys baking, listening to podcasts, theological discussions, and grabbing coffee… lots of coffee.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2022
Isabelle Witteveen
Lab Technician 2020-2021; currently a graduate student at Emory University
Isabelle recently graduated with the highest distinction from the University of Virginia with a degree in Neuroscience and a minor in chemistry. Her interest in research began while working as a research assistant for the Cognitive Aging Lab in the summer of 2017. As an undergraduate, Isabelle worked in the Winckler Lab where she studied the importance of the proteins RILP and Rab7 in the trafficking of late endosomes in hippocampal neurons. Isabelle was a Lab Technician in the Ribic Lab until April 2021, and is now pursuing a career at Teach for America! Besides science, her other passions include yoga and meditation, teaching and education reform, hiking, and exploring local restaurants.
Education
University of Virginia
B.A. in Neuroscience, 2020, Echols Scholar
Jieming (Jenny) Fu
Rotation Student (UVA NGP) 2020; currently in the Cang Lab at UVA
Jenny is a student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program and was formally co-mentored with Dr. Jianhua “JC” Cang for the first 6 months of her PhD research. During her time in our lab, she learned how to work with very young mice and how to prepare them for in vivo 2-photon imaging, which she will then apply to her PhD project to understand the development of visual function in the cortex.
Education
Georgia Institute of Technology
M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, 2019
Emory University
B.S. in Chemistry, B.A. in English and Creative Writing, 2017, High Honors
Troy Holsworth
Undergraduate Researcher 2020-2023; currently at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Troy is a fourth-year UVA student double-majoring in Biology and Psychology (and has a minor in German). He is interested in the studies of neurophysiology, brain development, and genetics. Troy was previously involved in researching the effects of learning disabilities on various areas of development in childhood through the Reading and Academic Development Research Group. In the Ribic Lab, he is working with Vyshnavi and Lara on deciphering how preterm birth changes the infant's brain and can be found trying to talk to mice in German. Outside of the lab, he can be found rooting for his favorite sports teams such as the Green Bay Packers, catching up on his comic books and sci-fi/fantasy shows, and traveling around the world.
Education
University of Virginia
B.A. in Biology and Psychology, 2022
Aoxin (Florrie) Luo
Undergraduate Researcher 2020-2022
Aoxin Luo is a third-year international student at UVA who prefers others to call her by the nickname Florrie since her actual name is a bit hard to pronounce. Florrie is double majoring in Psychology and Cognitive Science with a concentration in neuroscience, all while pursuing a minor in philosophy. She likes to work with kids and aims to unravel the rules of brain development and learning so she can apply her findings to students. Outside of the lab she enjoys cooking for herself and her friends and doing some jazz or K-pop dancing.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2023
Phillip Amenyo-Awude
Undergraduate Researcher 2021
Philip is a fourth-year UVA student majoring in Biology. He is interested in cognitive brain development, plasticity, and neurodegeneration. Philip was previously involved in researching neural brain connectivity in neurodegeneration and its effect on cognitive function through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Summer Internship Program. As a member of the Ribic Lab, he is working with Vyshnavi on studying preterm birth effects on brain function and was awarded the Internship Accelerator Award from the Department of Psychology. He is an anatomist extraordinaire with (so far!) unbeaten brain sectioning and slide preparation skills. During his free time, he is either practicing his instruments, playing soccer, or watching his favorite team play, and likewise, catching up on his anime/sci-fi shows. He is not a big fan of coffee or donuts (yet!).
Education
University of Virginia
B.A. in Biology, 2022
Yanbin Xu
Undergraduate Researcher 2021-2023; currently in the Cang Lab at UVA
Yanbin is a second-year student at UVA planning to declare majors in Neuroscience and Statistics, and a minor in mathematics. He is interested in biostatistics, bioinformatics, psychiatric disorders, and the role of neural connectivity in the the function of the brain and cognitive behaviors. In the Ribic Lab, he is a data analyst extraordinaire and is also good at genetic techniques: genotyping, cloning,and mice behavior essays. He works with Arda to explore the effects of autism-linked SynCAM 1 mutations on mouse behavior and brain connectivity. Outside of the lab, he can be found reading, tennis, and discovering new food and animations.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2025, Echols Scholar
Alice Wu
Undergraduate Researcher 2023-2024
Alice is a fourth-year student at UVA, majoring in Chemistry with a specialization in Biochemistry. Her research interests include visual learning and brain plasticity. In the lab, she works closely with Mona and has become quite the expert in immunohistochemistry and image analysis. Her work aims to understand how learning remodels dendritic spines in the visual cortex by quantifying their characteristics before and after learning. Furthermore she is validating the viral tools Mona uses by using an immunohistochemical approach. Outside of lab, Alice loves dancing and is a member of the ballroom dance club and Chinese traditional dance group. In her free time, she enjoys reading, drawing, and is a big fan of musicals.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2024
Astrid Ouazana
Undergraduate Researcher 2023-2024
Astrid is a third-year student at UVA from Paris, majoring in Cognitive Science, pursuing the Neuroscience concentration, and in Psychology. She is interested in psychiatric disorders, child psychiatry, the biology behind human behavior, and how the human mind and its functions influence our personality, behavior, and perspective. In high school, she devoted her spare time to helping those in need by founding a platform named “Hotline: Just to Talk" for students to call anonymously and talk through any mental health related issue with a trained student. She also volunteered at the Montefiore School Health Program in the Bronx, NY, where she oversaw projects to increase awareness of cost-free mental and physical health programs for students in low-income neighborhoods. Before joining the Ribic Lab, Astrid gave time to a number of community service efforts, particularly with the club Autism Allies. In the Ribic Lab, she assists graduate student Mona Fariborzi hunt for spines to investigate how different types of experiences alter visual processing. Outside of the lab, she can be found reading, cooking, and discovering new music and new documentary films about neuroscience, psychology, and history.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2024
Gia Oscherwitz
Undergraduate Researcher 2022
Gia is a first-year UVA Rodman Scholar who is majoring in Biomedical Engineering with concentrations in Neural Systems Engineering and Nanomedicine. She is interested in designing advanced forms of neurotechnology and brain-computer interface neuroprosthetics, and after her undergraduate studies, she is hoping to engage in an MD/PhD program focused on neuroengineering. Outside of the lab, Gia works as the main biomedical product technician at CognoTrain, a digital health-based startup focused on utilizing personalized cognitive training to aid individuals exhibiting symptoms of mild cognitive impairment. She can also be found designing robots with UVA’s mechatronics society, spending time with her skisters in the Sigma Kappa sorority, or expanding her (ridiculously large) collection of books.
Education
University of Virginia
Expected: 2026, Rodman Scholar
Bea(trix), 2008-2019
Senior Canine Assistant
Beatrix hailed from Florida and had a strong dislike for cold weather, Halloween decorations and misbehaved puppies. As Arthur’s supervisor, she provided necessary guidance during lab’s writing projects. The goodest girl ever, she passed away after a sudden illness (gastric dilatation-volvulus) in November 2019 and is dearly missed.
Arthur, 2017-2022
Junior Canine Assistant
Arthur’s precise origin is unknown, but his love of a good bully stick and Beatrix (not in that order) is renowned. Trained under Beatrix for 2 years, his expertise was support services during grant or manuscript preparation. The goodest boy ever, he joined Beatrix after a year-long battle with canine lymphoma and left a massive hole in the hearts of everyone who knew him.