Lab Members — Richard Lab

Jocelyn M. Richard, PhD, Assistant Professor

Jocelyn received her BA in psychobiology from Occidental College, where she worked in the lab of Nancy Dess, and completed her PhD at the University of Michigan in Kent Berridge's laboratory. Jocelyn conducted her postdoctoral work with Howard Fields at UCSF, and Patricia Janak at Johns Hopkins University, where she focused on dissecting the functional contributions of activity in ventral pallidal neurons to reward seeking behavior. She is particularly interested in how the brain generates signals related to learning, affect and motivation, and how these signals are altered in models of addiction and neuropsychiatric disease. These questions are the focus of her lab's work at the University of Minnesota.

CURRICULUM VITAE // BIBLIOGRAPHY // GOOGLE SCHOLAR // TWITTER // ORCID

Ankit Sood, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate

Ankit obtained his B.S. in Microbiology from Delhi University, India. He then completed his PhD with Prof Vidita Vaidya at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India where he worked on understanding sexual dimorphism in stress response. Currently, he is working on using in-vivo electrophysiological recordings from the ventral pallidum to tease apart neuronal populations responsible for coding expected outcome value and/or incentive value of cues. In his free time, Ankit likes to play various sports, read books, cook, watch movies and listen to music.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Meredith Bauer, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate

Meredith’s research interests center on understanding the neurobiology of compulsive alcohol drinking. She received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire where she worked in the lab of Dr. Doug Matthews investigating alcohol’s effect on aging. Meredith received her Ph.D. from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis where she worked in the labs of Dr. Stephen Boehm and Dr. Christopher Lapish. Her research there focused on compulsive alcohol drinking and the dorsal striatum. In her free time, Meredith enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening, and taking advantage of the trails and parks in Minneapolis.

Jonathan I. Aguirre, BS, Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics PhD Candidate

Jonathan is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics Program (MPaT). He was awarded a Bachelor of Science with honors in Chemistry and minors in Mathematics and English from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. His research interests are in neuropharmacology, substance use disorders, and drug addiction. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, baking, watching tv/movies, traveling, and listening to music. Feel free to contact him to talk about cooking, research or the MPaT Program.

Klaiten Kermoade, BS, Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics PhD Candidate

Klaiten is a Ph.D. candidate in the MPaT program at UMN. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Washington. He is interested in the neurobiological basis of psychiatric illnesses, such as addiction, anxiety, and depression. In his free time, he likes to play piano, travel, and sleep.

Paige Remde, MA, Research Technician

Paige received her B.S. in biology from the University of North Dakota. She then obtained her M.A. in psychology from the University of Chicago where she studied human visual perception and memory. In her free time, she enjoys video games and playing D&D.

Seth Weir, BS, Graduate Program in Neuroscience PhD Student

Seth received his B.S. in neuroscience from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and is currently a graduate student in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience (GPN). In lab, he uses in vivo electrophysiology to study the neural circuits and behaviors involved in motivation and reward learning. In his free time, he enjoys reading, hiking, and exploring the city with friends.

Tommy Tran, Undergraduate Researcher

Tommy is a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Computer Science. After graduating he plans to attend medical school. Outside of class, he enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies/tv shows, find new places to eat, or sleeping.

Preethi Muruganandan, Undergraduate Researcher

Preethi is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in French. She hopes to go to medical school upon graduating to become a pediatrician or neurologist. Outside of school, she enjoys baking, reading, learning languages, finding new cafés in Minneapolis.

Paola Azuaje, Undergraduate Researcher

Paola is a senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Biotechnology. After graduating she would like to work at a research lab and hopefully work for a technology company in the future. In her free time, she loves being with her dog, cooking, and going out with my friends.