Current Trainees
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Heather King
The University of Chicago
Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy
Advisor: Melina HaleResearch: Heather is interested in the evolution of pedestrian locomotion in aquatic vertebrates. She studies lungfish and other fish that have pelvic fins capable of propelling the animal along the bottom, and is interested in viewing the pelvic fins in these groups as biomechanical systems to determine what strategies they have in common and how they differ. She hopes to understand constraints on evolving this behavior, and potentially compare these animals to other animals to better understand how pedestrian locomotion has arisen in a wide variety of taxa.
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Bradley Lawrence
Northwestern University
Department Neurobiology and Physiology
Advisors: David McLean and Malcolm MacIverResearch: Brad is interested in the ontogeny of sensory and motor systems and how these systems integrate during early development. He uses larval zebrafish prey capture as a behavioral model, examining developmental changes in behavior, neural circuit morphology, and neuronal activity.
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Justin Lemberg
The University of Chicago
Organismal Biology & Anatomy
Advisors: Callum Ross and Neil ShubinResearch: Justin is interested in questions of feeding biomechanics in early tetrapods and extant analogs. Presently, he is studying the cranial and mandibular sutures of Tiktaalik roseae, a Devonian sarcopterygian that predates the water-to-land transition but also shows many preadaptations for terrestriality. One question of interest concerns the functional constraints of aquatic feeding, and how that feeding regime compares to a terrestrial feeding regime.
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Joanna Mandecki
The University of Chicago
Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy
Advisor: Mark WestneatResearch: Joanna is interested in vertebrate locomotion and the use of sensory feedback in the coordination of movement. She is currently studying the integration of functional systems during pectoral fin swimming.
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Charlene McCord
The University of Chicago
Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy
Advisor: Mark WestneatResearch: Charlene is interested in the functional consequences of structural duplication in the adductor mandibulae complex of monacanthid and balistid fishes.
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Alexander Rajan
The University of Chicago
Committee on Computational Neuroscience
Advisor: Nicho HatsopoulosResearch: Alexander is interested in sensorimotor integration during naturalistic behaviors. In particular, he is investigating the communication between motor and sensory areas in the neocortex of primates during grasping.
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Christopher Schroeder
Northwestern University
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Mitra HartmannResearch: Christopher is interested in utilizing robotic and simulated models of the rat whisker system to analyze whisking behavior. He plans to use high speed video to see both how a rat moves when it is exploring an object, and how its whiskers move. He is also interested in using electrophysiological recordings to figure out how first order sensory neurons encode whisker movements and contacts.
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Thomas Stewart
The University of Chicago
Organismal Biology and Anatomy
Advisors: Michael Coates and Robert HoTom plans to study the caudal skeleton of fishes. He hopes to integrate paleontological and developmental data to understand the evolution of morphology and patterns of vertebrate diversity.
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Gregg Tabot
The University of Chicago
Committee on Computational Neuroscience
Advisor: Sliman BensmaiaGregg is interested in characteristics and functions of neurons in somatosensory cortex regarding proprioception in the hand. He is achieving this by using markers attached to the hand, the arm, and finger joints along with cameras which track three-dimensional positioning and is relating them to neural signals recorded from the brain.
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Richard Williams IV
The University of Chicago
Committee on Computational Neuroscience
Advisor: Melina HaleResearch: Richard’s research interests combine neuroscience, evolution, and behavior. He currently is examining the evolutionary and behavioral consequences in the zebra fish startle response of a genetic manipulation that has eliminated one class of spinal interneuron.
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Sarah Wohlman
Northwestern University
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Wendy MurrayResearch: I am interested in the study of human movement through the development of biomechanical models that can accurately predict human function. Specifically I am working to develop a biomechanical model of the hand in order to quantify factors fundamental to creating movement, such as muscle activation patterns and the resulting distribution of muscle forces.
IGERT Associates
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Chris Bresee
Northwestern University
Interdepartmental Neuroscience program
Advisor: Mitra HartmannResearch: Chris is interested in active sensation, and particularly in how different sensorimotor contingencies shape spatial perception. Currently he is using the rat vibrissal system as a model to investigate the relationship between whisk kinetics and timing, and cortical activity. Chris is particularly interested in behavioral and neurobiological approaches to these questions.
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Mukta Vaidya
The University of Chicago
Committee on Computational Neuroscience
Advisor: Nicho HatsopoulosMukta is interested in the representation and coordination of naturalistic movement in motor and premotor cortex, and using such encoding models to guide models for decoding movement information from neural signals. She is currently looking coordination of movement during reaching and grasping behavior.
Former Trainees
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Etienne Manderscheid
The University of Chicago
Committee on Computational Neuroscience
Advisor: Dan MargoliashResearch: Etienne is interested in questions of motor learning and control. Presently, he is examining the chronic effects of altered auditory feedback on the song of young adult zebra finches. One question of interest concerns the active mechanisms of song maintenance, and whether they are different from those of song acquisition.