People
Mark S. Blumberg, Ph.D.
F. Wendell Miller Professor
Chair, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Email: mark-blumberg@uiowa.edu
Vita (pdf)
Cassandra Coleman
Lab Manager/Research Assistant
Email: cassandra-coleman@uiowa.edu
Greta Sokoloff, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Email: greta-sokoloff@uiowa.edu
Vita (pdf)
Jimmy Dooley, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Email: James-c-dooley@uiowa.edu
Vita (pdf)
Lex Gomez
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Vita (pdf)
I received my B.S. in Biology from the University of North Texas. I am currently researching functional development in the cortical sensorimotor system, with a focus on the relationship between primary motor (M1) and somatosensory (S1) cortex.
Ryan Glanz
Psychology Graduate Student
Vita (pdf)
I received my BS in Psychology and Chemistry from the University of Iowa. I am working on training neural networks to analyze behavior in order to understand the role of spontaneous movement kinematics in early sensorimotor development. I hope to use my experience in science to start my own lab.
Kev You
Psychology Graduate Student
I am working with animal models of dystonia and autism to investigate how REM sleep behaviors are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. I'm interested in gaining insight into normal development by studying abnormal systems.
Rebecca Wen
Research Assistant
I recently graduated with a BA in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. I am currently working in the Blumberg lab, studying twitching during sleep in human infants and how it contributes to early development.
Rikki Laser
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am an undergraduate in the neuroscience program who intends to become a professor of neuroscience. Currently, I am assisting with projects regarding twitching in the Tor1a mouse model of dystonia and twitching in the 16p11.2 mouse model of autism. In addition, I am beginning to examine the divisions of somatosensory cortex in the 16p11.2 mice.
Meredith Hickerson
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I aspire to become a physician within a trauma level 1 hospital. Through volunteering, serving on leadership committees, purposeful engagement, and learning through my position as an undergraduate assistant in the Blumberg Lab, I continue to satisfy my natural curiosity while striving to leave a positive imprint on everything I do.
Elizabeth Janey
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am currently working on a variety of projects in the lab. I will graduate with a BS in Neuroscience and hope to then attend medical school.
Laura Evans
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am an undergraduate seeking a BS in neuroscience on a pre-med track with an interest in sleep and sleep disorders. I am working on tracking twitching in developing infants as they sleep, as well as recording their brain activity.
Haley Laughlin
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am a Psychology major that aspires to do go to graduate school in child clinical psychology. In the lab, I am working on tracking twitches in human infants and recording their brain activity as they sleep.
Grant Hurt
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am an undergraduate double majoring in Biology (Neurobiology) and French. After graduation, I plan to attend medical school. In the lab, I’m currently examining neural activity in rats to see how neurons respond differently to sleep- and wake-related movements.
Julianna Start
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am an undergraduate seeking a BS in Neuroscience on a pre-med track. I hope to attend medical school and work with children in a neurological field. Currently, I help in a variety of tasks around the lab, with a focus on tracking myoclonic twitches in infant rodents.
Ellie Moon
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I am an undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience and I am considering attending medical school upon graduation. In the lab, I provide support with genotyping and analyzing twitch and wake movements in infant mice and rats.
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Jimmy Dooley, Alex Tiriac, and Lex Gomez at the Iowa Neuroscience Institute event at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, SfN, October 2019
Reunion of some past and present lab members at SfN in Chicago in October 2019. From left: Greta Sokoloff, Alex Tiriac (UC-Berkeley), Rikki Laser, Mark Blumberg, Trey Todd (University of Wyoming), Adele Seelke (UC-Davis), Jimmy Dooley, and Lex Gomez.
Lab party at Jimmy and Michaela's, Iowa City, September 2017
Lab reception, Iowa City, May 2016. From left: Alex Yonk (Rutgers University), Nick Sattler (University of Washington), Didhiti Mukherjee (University of Maryland), Jimmy Dooley, Greta Sokoloff, Alan Plumeau, Alex Tiriac (UC-Berkeley), and Carlos Del Rio-Bermudez.
Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC, 2011. From left: Alex Tiriac (UC-Berkeley), Adele Seelke (UC-Davis), Andy Gall (Hope College), Karl Karlsson (University of Reykjavik, with Nana), Greta Sokoloff, Mark Blumberg, Trey Todd (University of Wyoming), Brandt Uitermarkt, and Ethan Mohns (Yale University).
At Shorts, Iowa City, 2011. From left: Andy Gall (Hope College), Trey Todd (University of Wyoming), Cassie Coleman, Alex Fanning (Stanford University), Alex Tiriac (UC-Berkeley), Brandt Uitermarkt.
Former Graduate Students
Carlos Del Rio-Bermudez, Ph.D.
Postdoc, University of Bern, Switzerland
Didhiti Mukherjee, Ph.D.
Postdoc, University of Maryland, College Park
Alex Tiriac, Ph.D.
Postdoc, University of California, Berkeley
Trey Todd, Ph.D.
Postdoc, Harvard Medical School
Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming
Andy Gall, Ph.D.
Postdoc, Michigan State University
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Hope College
Ethan Mohns, Ph.D.
Postdoc, HHMI, Janelia Farm
Postdoc, Yale University
Adele Seelke, Ph.D.
Postdoc, University of California, Davis
Research Associate II, University of California, Davis
Karl Karlsson, Ph.D.
Postdoc, UCLA
Professor, Reykjavik University, Iceland
Co-Founder, 3Z Pharmaceuticals
Joy C. Kreider, Ph.D.
Postdoc, University of Texas
Greta Sokoloff, Ph.D.
Postdoc, Indiana University—Bloomington
Research Associate (Assistant Professor), University of Chicago
Research Scientist, University of Iowa