Lara Fahmy Abdou Gad
1st Year, Predoctoral Candidate

larafahmy@wayne.edu

Education:

Hometown:

Advisors

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Research

Awards & Honors

Publications

Personal Interests

Klevis Karavidha
1st Year, Predoctoral Candidate

kkaravidha@wayne.edu

Education:

Hometown:

Advisors

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Research

Awards & Honors

Publications

Personal Interests

Tabitha Moses
1st Year, Predoctoral Candidate

tmoses@med.wayne.edu

Education:

Hometown:

Advisors

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Research

Awards & Honors

Publications

Personal Interests

Erin Edwards
2nd Year, Predoctoral Candidate

eedwards@med.wayne.edu

Education:
University of New England, ME; B.S. Neuroscience

Hometown:
Fenton, MI

Advisors

Nora Fritz, PhD, DPT

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

To be announced

Research

Neurodegenerative Disease and Motor Learning

Awards & Honors

Publications

Personal Interests

running, hiking, fishing

Lana Grasser
2nd Year, Predoctoral Candidate

lgrasser@med.wayne.edu

Education:
Michigan State University; B.S. Neuroscience, minor in Dance

Hometown:
Sylvan Lake, MI

Advisors

Arash Javanbakht, MD

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Tanja Jovanovic

Research

 I study post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. My main research focuses on studying the efficacy of dance/movement, art, yoga, and exercise therapies for the treatment of trauma-related disorders, in refugee, urban, and veteran populations. I am looking at inflammation and autonomic arousal as objective measures of efficacy that may also provide evidence towards underlying mechanisms. In addition, I am working with my team on multiple projects, including an augmented reality exposure therapy clinical trial, an fMRI study comparing instructional versus experiential fear learning and extinction recall, and stress risk and resilience in Syrian and Iraqi refugees and survivors of torture. 

Awards & Honors

• 2014 Lee Meyer Expendable Scholarship, MSU
• 2014 Barant Scholarship awarded - Michigan high school seniors 
• 2014 - 2017 Dean's Honor List, MSU
• 2015 (spring) Lyman Briggs Undergraduate Research Grant, MSU
• 2015 (fall) Lyman Briggs Undergraduate Research Grant, MSU
• 2015 Honorable Mention, Lyman Briggs Research Symposium, MSU
• 2015 Dr. Howard and Joan Hagerman Scholarship, Lyman Briggs College, MSU
• 2015, 2016 Jeffery Cole Excellence Award, Honors College, MSU
• 2015 First Place, Abstract Presentation for Research, MINS Annual Conference
• 2017 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation Student Award
• 2017 Thomas Rumble Fellowship, WSU
• 2017 Honorable Mention for oral presentation at Graduate Student Research Day, WSU
• 2017 First Place Translational Neuroscience Program 3 Minute Thesis competition, WSU
• 2018 (winter) Graduate Student Travel Award, WSU
• 2018 (fall) Graduate Student Travel Award, WSU
• 2018 Second Place, poster presentation at Graduate & Postdoctoral Research Symposium, WSU
• 2018 First Place, Graduate School 3 Minute Thesis competition, WSU

Publications

1. Phillips N, . . . Grasser L, . . . et al. Patterns of Attention and Memory in Jane Austen: Literary Neuroscience, History of Mind, and the Importance of Individual Difference. Essay in Jane Austen and the Sciences of the Mind. Routledge Press; 2018.
2. Grasser L & Javanbakht A. Treatments of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Civilian Populations. Current Psychiatry Reports; In review. 

Personal Interests

Ballet, Yoga, Travel, Wakeboarding, Theater

James Matchynski
2nd Year, Predoctoral Candidate

jamatchy@med.wayne.edu

Education:

Hometown:

Advisors

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Research

Awards & Honors

Publications

Personal Interests

Nolan O'Hara
2nd Year, Predoctoral Candidate

Nolan O'Hara

Education:

Hometown:

Advisors

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Research

Awards & Honors

Publications

Personal Interests

Nicole Zabik
2nd Year, Predoctoral Candidate

nzabik@med.wayne.edu

Education:
Oakland University, MI; B.S. Biochemistry

Hometown:
Sterling Heights, MI

Advisors

 Christine A. Rabinak, PhD and Mark K. Greenwald, PhD

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

To be announced

Research

With tools such as functional imaging, behavior measures, and pharmacological manipulation, the questions I seek to answer are the following: (1) How does previous, regular cannabis use influence PTSD symptoms and efficacy of synthetic THC-assisted exposure therapy? and (2) How do healthy individuals use cannabis in the modern day, and how do these patterns deviate when someone suffers from PTSD?

Awards & Honors

• 2012-2016 Oakland University, Distinguished Scholar Award
• 2014-2016 Oakland University, Dean's List
• 2015-2016 Oakland University, Thompson Chemistry Scholarship
• 2016 American Chemical Society, Travel Grant
• 2017-2018 Wayne State University School of Medicine, Robert J. Bernucci Promising Scholar Award
• 2018 Wayne State University, Invited Student Key Note Presenter at the Translational Neuroscience Symposia
• 2018-2019 Wayne State University, Thomas Rumble Fellowship

Publications

1.  Zabik, N.L., Virca, C.N., McCormick, T.M., Martic-Milne, S., "Selective Electrochemical Versus Chemical Oxidation of Bulky Phenol." J. Phy. Chem. B, 2016, 120, 8914-8924.
2. Zabik, N.L., Imhof, M.M., Martic-Milne, S., "Structural evaluations of tau protein conformation: methodologies and approaches." Biochem. Cell Biol., 2017, 95, 338-349.

Personal Interests

If I'm not nerding out about my dissertation, I am most likely doing one of the following: cooking, making cold brew, weight training, or appreciating art.

Jonathan Lynn
3rd Year, Predoctoral Candidate

jonathan.lynn@wayne.edu

Education:
Central Michigan University; B.S. Neuroscience

Hometown:
Grand Blanc, MI

Advisors

To be determined

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

To be determined

Research

Learning, memory and fMRS.

Awards & Honors

Publications

1. Jayaprakash, N., Wolfram, A., Hill, N., Picotte, F., Lynn, J., Leggieri, K. and Sandstrom, M. Neurophysiological Examination of Transplanted Stem Cells using Optogenetics in Awak Animals. Student Research and Creative Endeavors Exhibition, April 2013.

Personal Interests

Drawing, reading and movies

Brian Silverstein
4th Year, Doctoral Candidate

bsilvers@med.wayne.edu

Education:
University of Toronto, Canada; B.A. Philosophy

Hometown:
Poughkeepsie, NY

Advisor

Eishi Asano, M.D., Ph.D.

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Jeong-won Jeong, Ph.D., Noa Ofen, Ph.D., Alana Conti, Ph.D.

Research

Multimodal analysis combining intracranial EEG, cortico-cortical evoked potentials, and diffusion tensor imaging to study the neurobiological spatiotemporal dynamics of human auditory language perception and the structural networks that support it.

Awards & Honors

• 2018 Best Abstract Presentation Award, Wayne State University BrainStorm Symposium
• 2018 Best Poster Presentation Award, Wayne State University Graduate and Postdoc Research Symposium
• 2016 Graduate Student Travel Award, Wayne State University School of Medicine
• 2015, 2016, 2017 Graduate Research Assistantship, Wayne State University School of Medicine
• 2015 University of Michigan Center for Consciousness Science Travel Award
• Graduated with Honors in Philosophy; Honors Senior Thesis, advised by Dr. Daniel Goldstick: "Restructuring Free Will and Determinism", University of Toronto

Publications

1. Kambara, T., Brown, E. C., Silverstein, B. H., Nakai, Y., Neural dynamics of verbal working memory in auditory sentence comprehension. Human Brain Mapping. In review.
2. Lee, H., Noh, G. J., Joo, P., Choi, B. M., Silverstein, B. H., Kim, M., ... & Kim, S. (2017). Diversity of functional connectivity patterns is reduced in propofol‐induced unconsciousness. Human brain mapping, 38(10), 4980-4995.
3. Pal., D., Silverstein, B. H., Sharba, L., Li, D., Hambrecht-Wiedbusch, V., Hudetz, A. G., Mashour, G. A. (2017). Propofol, sevoflurane, and ketamine induce a reversible increase in delta-gamma and theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling in frontal cortex of rat. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 11, 41.
4. Silverstein, B. H., Snodgrass, M., Shevrin, H., & Kushwaha, R. (2016). Unconscious P3b and complex unconscious processing: Reply to Naccache et al., 2016. Cortex, 85, 129.
5. Pal, D., Silverstein, B. H., Lee, H., & Mashour, G. A. (2016). Neural correlates of wakefulness, sleep, and general Anesthesia: An experimental study in rat. Anesthesiology, 125(5), 929-942.
6. Silverstein, B. H., Bressler, S. L., & Diwadkar, V. A. (2016). Inferring the dysconnection syndrome in schizophrenia: Interpretational considerations on methods for the network analyses of fMRI data. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7.
7. Silverstein, B. H., Snodgrass, M., Shevrin, H., & Kushwaha, R. (2015). P3b, consciousness, and complex unconscious processing. Cortex, 73, 216-227.
8. Pal, D., Hambrecht-Wiedbusch, V. S., Silverstein, B. H., & Mashour, G. A. (2015). Electroencephalographic coherence and cortical acetylcholine during ketamine-induced unconsciousness. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2015; 114 (6): 979-89.

Personal Interests

Outside of research, I'm active in social and political organizing around southeast Michigan. When I have time, I cook, attempt to play piano, practice martial arts, and go camping/hiking.

Wafaa Sweidan
4th Year, Doctoral Candidate

wsweidan@med.wayne.edu

Education:
Lebanese American University, Lebanon; B.S. Biology

Hometown:
Lebanon

Advisors

Navid Seraji-Bozorgzad, M.D.

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

To be decided

Research

Microglial activation in Huntington's disease, orrelation with disease progression and white matter changes.

Awards & Honors

Publications

1. Chamaa, Fa, 1 ., Sweidan, Wa, 1., Nahas, Zb., Saade, Na., Abou-Kheir, Wa.(2015).Thalamic Stimulation in Awake Rats Induces Neurogenesis in the Hippocampal Formation.Brain Stimulation. 10.1016/j.brs.2015.09.006

Personal Interests

Sports

Chaitali Anand
5thYear, Doctoral Candidate

canand@med.wayne.edu

Education:
University of Pune, India; B.S. Microbiology

Hometown:
Pune, India

Advisors

Naftali Raz, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D. 

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Vaibhav Diwadkar, Ph.D., Noa Ofen, Ph.D. and John Woodard, Ph.D

Research

Glutamatergic basis for age-related differences in associative learning and memory

Awards & Honors

• 2016 WSU Institute of Gerontology Pre-doctoral training award

Publications

Book chapter:

1. Sharma M, Anand C, Chugani D (2015) Role of the Kynurenine pathway in Epilepsy. In Targeting the Broadly Pathogenic Kynurenine Pathway (pp. 205-210) Springer International Publishing AG, Switzerland.

Personal Interests

Badminton, running, photography and sketching.

Andrew Neff
5th Year, Doctoral Candidate

aneff@med.wayne.edu

Education:
Michigan State University; B.A. Politial Science

Hometown:
West Bloomfield, MI

Advisor

Paul Burghardt, Ph.D.

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Donald Kuhn, Ph.D., Francesca Luca, Ph.D. and Kevin Theis, Ph.D.

Research

The gut microbiome and human health

Awards & Honors

• 2017 Second place, 4th Annual TNP -3-Minute Thesis Competition
• 2016 First place, 3rd Annual TNP 3-Minute Thesis Competition

Publications

Personal Interests

Dogs, cooking and nature

Natalie Wiseman
6th Year, Doctoral Candidate

nwisema@med.wayne.edu

Education:
Bowling Green State University; B.S. Biology

Hometown:
Ann Arbor, MI

Advisor

Zhifeng Kou, Ph.D.

Advisory/Dissertation Committee

Alana Conti, Ph.D., E. Mark Haacke, Ph.D., Jeffrey StanleyPh.D. and Robert Welch, M.D. 

Research

Brain metabolism changes after mild traumatic brain injury.

Awards & Honors

• 2016 First Annual TNP Symposium and Research Day award for best clinical research presentation
• 2015 NIH F30
• 2014 ISMRM 23rd annual meeting magna cum laude award

Publications

1. Iraji A, Chen H, Wiseman N, Zhang T, Welch R, O'Neil B, Kulek A, Ayaz SI, Wang X, Zuk C, Haacke EM, Liu T, Kou Z. Connectome-scale assessment of structural and functional connectivity in mild traumatic brain injury at the acute stage. Neuroimage Clin. 2016; 12: 100–115.
2. Iraji A, Calhoun VD, Wiseman NM, Davoodi-Bojd E, Avanaki MR, Haacke EM, Kou Z. The connectivity domain: Analyzing resting state fMRI data using feature-based data-driven and model-based methods. Neuroimage. 2016 Jul 1; 134: 494-507. 
3. Iraji A, Chen H, Wiseman N, Welch RD, O'Neil BJ, Haacke EM, Liu T, Kou Z. Compensation through Functional Hyperconnectivity: A Longitudinal Connectome Assessment of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Neural Plast. 2016; 2016: 4072402. 
4. Liu, J., Xia, S., Hanks, R.A., Wiseman, N.M., Peng, C., Zhou, S., Haacke, E.M. and Kou, Z. Susceptibility Weighted Imaging and Mapping of Micro-hemorrhages and Major Deep Veins after Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of neurotrauma. 2015.
5. Doshi, H., Wiseman, N., Liu, J., Wang, W., Welch, R.D., O'Neil, B.J., Zuk, C., Wang, X., Mika, V., Szaflarski, J.P., Haacke, E.M. and Kou, Z. Cerebral hemodynamic changes of mild traumatic brain injury at the acute stage. PLoS One. 2015 Feb 6;10(2)

Personal Interests

Games, crocheting, metascience and animals.

Michael Lisieski
M.D./Ph.D. program, Wayne State University Medical School, 3rd year.

mlisiesk@med.wayne.edu

Education:
University of Buffalo; B.S. Pharmacology & Toxicology; B.A. Psychology

Hometown:
North Huntingdon, PA

Advisor

Shane A. Perrine, Ph.D.

Dissertation Committee

Alana C. Conti, Ph.D., Mark K. Greenwald, Ph.D. and Jonathan D. Morrow, M.D., Ph.D.

Dissertation Research Title

The Effects of Cocaine Exposure on Hyperactivity, Susceptibility to Traumatic Stress, and Locus Coeruleus Function in Rats

Dissertation Defense Date

March 2018

Muzamil Arshad
M.D. Ph.D. program, Wayne State University Medical School,Detroit, MI, 4th year.

muarsha@med.wayne.edu

Education:
Benedictine University, Lisle, IL; B.S. Physics

Hometown:
Romeoville, IL

Advisor

Naftali Raz, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D.

Dissertation Committee

Boris Baltes, Ph.D., Alexander Gow, Ph.D., and Donald Kuhn, Ph.D.

Dissertation Research Title

Change in Processing Speed and its Associations with Cerebral White Matter Microstructure

Dissertation Defense Date

May 2017

Eric A. Woodcock, Ph.D.
Posdoctoral Fellow, National Institute on Drug Abuse T32 Neuroimaging Sciences Training Program, Departments of Psychiatry, and of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

eric.woodcock@yale.edu

Education:
University of Washington (Seattle); B.S. Psychology

Hometown:
Buckley, WA

Advisor

Mark Greenwald, Ph.D.

Dissertation Committee

Boris Baltes, Ph.D., Vaibhav Diwadkar, Ph.D., David Ledgerwood, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D.

Dissertation Research Title

Neuropharmacological Investigation of Stress and Nicotine Self-Administration Among Current Cigarette Smokers

Dissertation Defense Date

May 2017

Denise Briggs, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Standford, CA

dibriggs@stanford.edu

Education:
University of Michigan; B.S. Neuroscience and Psychology

Hometown:
Grosse Point, MI

Advisor

Donald Kuhn, Ph.D. 

Dissertation Committee

Matthew Galloway, Ph.D., Jason Mateika, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D.

Dissertation Research Title

Cognitive, Psychiatric, and Neuropathological Manifestations of Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Dissertation Defense Date

March 2016

Helen Wu, Ph.D.
M.D./Ph.D. program, Wayne State University Medical School, 4th year. 

wuhelen@med.wayne.edu

Education:
University of Michigan; B.S. Biomedical Engineering

Hometown:
 

Advisor

Jeffrey Loeb, M.D., Ph.D. and Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D. 

Dissertation Committee

Bruce Berkowitz, Ph.D., Matthew Galloway, Ph.D. and Donald Kuhn, Ph.D.

Dissertation Research Title

Identification of Metabolite Biomarkers in Epilepsy using 1H MRS

Dissertation Defense Date

June 2016

Hilary Marusak, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacy and Health Science, Wayne State University

hmarusak@med.wayne.edu

Education:
Kalamazoo College; B.A. Biology and Psychology

Hometown:
 

Advisor

Moriah Thomason, Ph.D. 

Dissertation Committee

Mark Greenwald, Ph.D., David Rosenberg, M.D. and Richard Slatcher, Ph.D.

Dissertation Research Title

Childhood Trauma and Emotion Processing Neurocircuitry

Dissertation Defense Date

March 2016

Dhruman Goradia, Ph.D.
Associate Scientist, Banner Alzheimer's Institute

dhruman.goradia@bannerhealth.com

Education:
University of Mumbai; B.E. Instrumentation Engineering      Wright State University; M.S. Biomedical Engineering

Hometown:
Mumbai, India

Advisor

Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D. 

Dissertation Committee

Vaibhav Diwadkar, Ph.D., Naftali Raz, Ph.D. and Manuel Tancer, M.D. 

Dissertation Research Title

Evidence of Distinctive Structural Alterations that Differentiate ADHD Boys With and Without a Comorbid Reading Disability

Dissertation Defense Date

June 2015

Brianne Mohl, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Radiology and Neurology, University of Colorado

brianne.mohl@ucdenver.edu

Education:
Colorado State University; B.S. Natural Sciences

Hometown:
Longmont, CO

Advisor

Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D. 

Dissertation Committee

Joseph Casey, Ph.D., Vaibhav Diwadkar, Ph.D., Lara Jones, Ph.D. and Noa Ofen, Ph.D. 

Dissertation Research Title

Neural Alterations Influencing Skilled Reading in ADHD: A Task-based fMRI Study

Dissertation Defense Date

February 2015

Erik Brown, M.D., Ph.D.
Neurosurgical Resident, Department of Neurological Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University Hospital

ecbrown@med.wayne.edu

Education:
University of Michigan; B.S. Electrical Engineering

Hometown:
Allen Park, MI

Advisor

Eishi Asano, M.D., Ph.D. 

Dissertation Committee

Vaibhav Diwadkar, Ph.D., Jeffrey Loeb, M.D., Ph.D. and Jeffrey Stanley, Ph.D.

Dissertation Research Title

Multi-Modality Assessment of Language Function

Dissertation Defense Date

June 2013