Staff Scientists

Michael Jones, PhD

Mike switched to neuroscience after a brief career in structural engineering and the software industry. Before moving to cognitive neuroscience, he studied the brain one neuron at a time, first as a grad student at the University of Colorado and then as a postdoc at Saint Louis University. Outside the lab, Mike can be found riding his Trek, nursing his obsolete MacBooks (cat-themed OS X > outdoor-themed OS X), and writing math and science articles for his obscure website.

Research assistants

Bianca Braun

Bianca was born and raised in Germany, but graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and the highest honors in her field from Harvard University in May of 2023. After concluding her post-baccalaureate journey, Bianca intends to attain a PhD in Clinical Psychology. For fun, Bianca works out regularly and loves exploring new spots, places, and countries. Hiking the “stairway to heaven” in Hawai’i was one of her most memorable experiences.

Lexie Hackman

Lexie is a research coordinator with a Bachelor's Degree in Clinical Neuroscience and Psychology from Virginia Tech. She enjoys reading, photography, puzzles, and traveling. She loves getting to explore new places (including Boston!) with her favorite place she's visited being Thailand.

Sarah McConkey

Sarah is a research assistant and the lab manager at Washington University in Saint Louis. She loves horror movies, ferments, and cats. Formerly a pastry cook and confectioner, she enjoys creating things that make you go hmmm.

Graduate students

Aahana Bajracharya

Aahana is a PhD student at Washington University in Saint Louis. She did her undergraduate work at Wesleyan College where she majored in neuroscience and applied mathematics. Aahana is from Kathmandu, Nepal, and fluent in 4.5 languages (you'll have to guess which ones). Aahana has promised to bake tasty treats for lab meetings, making her the most popular PhD student in the lab.

Bridget Carey

Bridget graduated from Boston College manga cum laude with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Management and Leadership. Her undergraduate honors thesis was on the role of the BLA and oxytocin in female social preference behavior. After graduating, she worked for a year at Joslin Diabetes Center on a study looking at the consequences and comorbidities of diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease. In her graduate studies, she is interested in studying how exercise can help all types of cognitive processes. For fun she works out daily, enjoys country music concerts, trying new restaurants in the city with friends, attending BC football games, and spending time with her family.

Hailey Smith

Hailey is a Ph.D. student at Northeastern University. She completed her undergraduate degree at Arcadia University in Psychology and Neuroscience. For fun, Hailey likes to explore, read, pick up new hobbies, and play video games (although she isn’t very good at them). She looks forward to seeing you in the lab!

Undergraduate students

Rahmeh Aboelela

Rahmeh is a Junior from North Attleboro, Massachusetts majoring in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology with a minor in International Affairs. She enjoys baking, kayaking, travelling, spending time with family, giving back to her Muslim community, advocating for people with special needs and listening to thriller podcasts.

Kerem Basoglu

Kerem is a 3rd year student from South Burlington, Vermont majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience. He plans to attend med-school after completion of his bachelor's degree and is interested in neurology and neurodegenerative disease. In his free time, Kerem loves to play soccer, go on hikes, bike rides, kayak trips, and spend time doing pretty much anything outdoors.

Jillian Darris-O'Connor

Jillian Darris-O’Connor is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Behavioral Neuroscience at Northeastern University on the pre-medical track. She is hoping to become a neurosurgeon. She is fascinated by the brain and nervous system. Outside of her studies, she enjoys running and spending time with her Corgi named Willow.

Sarah Duval

Sarah is a first-year student from Boston MA, majoring in Mathematics and Psychology with a Minor in Behavioral Neuroscience. In her free time, she loves dancing, reading, painting, going on walks, and listening to music.

Maya Sachidanand

Maya is a third-year student from San Jose, CA majoring in Data Science and Behavioral Neuroscience. She is interested in the intersection between technology and the human mind. In her free time, she enjoys sewing, exploring Boston, cooking, and watching basketball.

Sia Shah

Sia is a 2nd-year student at Northeastern University from Albany, NY majoring in Health Sciences with a minor in Biochemistry. She is very passionate about healthcare and plans to attend medical school in the future. Sia likes to spend her time skiing, playing volleyball, reading, going on hikes with her family, watching Celtics games, and working as a volunteer with Horizons for Homeless Children.

Sofia Wojtaszek

Sofia is a second-year student from Wakefield, MA majoring in behavioral neuroscience. She is an EMT who is very passionate about pursuing medicine and plans to attend medical school in the future. In her free time, she enjoys playing softball, hiking, baking, and cycling.

Christian Wong

Christian is a second-year student from Moorestown, NJ, majoring in Bioengineering and Biochemistry. He hopes to attend medical school after graduating. In his free time, he enjoys exploring Boston, watching movies, baking, and playing video games.