# Alumni ## Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) [### Ryunosuke Amo ](/people/ryunosuke-amo)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech ![Ryu](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/Ryo-Amo_5274.jpg?itok=gSvPowqE) [### Benedicte Babayan ](/people/b%C3%A9n%C3%A9dicte-babayan)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Editor at Neuron ![benedicte_1.jpeg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/benedicte_1.jpeg?itok=YrXQ6zdz) [### Jeremiah Cohen ](/people/jeremiah-cohen)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Principal Scientist, Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics - Affiliate Associate Professor, Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, University of Washington - Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine ![jcohen.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/jcohen.jpg?itok=T7NuapVR) [### Cristina Domnisoru ](/people/cristina-domnisoru)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Postdoc, Champalimaud Institute of Unknown, Portugal ![c](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/images.jpg?h=d9859dd4&itok=hsiPy663) [### Rafi Haddad ](/people/rafi-haddad)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor at Bar-Ilan University, Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center ![rafi_haddad.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/rafi_haddad.png?itok=Zotmex9v) [### Sebastian Haesler ](/people/sebastian-haesler)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Director Neuroelectronics Research Flanders, Associate Professor Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven ![sebastian_haesler.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/sebastian_haesler.jpg?itok=wVDEcFY4) [### HyungGoo Kim ](/people/hyung-goo-kim)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea ![Hyunggoo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/Hyung-Goo-Kim-Uchida-768x512.jpg?h=9f8f24b1&itok=vUCEYI72) [### Ding Liu ](/people/ding-liu)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor, Westlake University ![ding](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/IMG_0332.jpg?h=7aa52889&itok=p2FqV6Z-) [### Athar Malik ](/people/athar-malik)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor, Brown University ![Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/malik_athar_0476crop.jpg?itok=zbIrWWFU) [### Paul Masset ](/people/paul-masset)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor, McGill University ![paul](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/masset_paul_square.jpg?h=e99518ff&itok=7zJhX7jf) [### Hideyuki Matsumoto ](/people/hide-matsumoto)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor at Osaka City University ![hide](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/2011-05-28%2015.30.28.jpg?h=03e8604a&itok=DYOzF265) [### Keiji Miura ](/people/keiji-miura)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Professor at Kwansei Gakuin University ![keiji](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/IMG_5091.jpg?h=69c70919&itok=ZeResTL8) [### Sachie Ogawa Kitamura ](/people/sachie-ogawa-kitamura)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center ![sachie](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/2014-09-05%2007.17.33.jpg?h=a3490106&itok=DpQeZBOn) [### Vinod Rao ](/people/vinod-rao)Psychiatrist at MGH McLean Hospital (Alumni) - Medical Director, Adult Ambulatory Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital ![vinod_rao.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/vinod_rao.jpg?itok=Wloh74Oz) [### Nacho Sanguinetti-Scheck ](/people/nacho-sanguinetti-scheck)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Assistant Professor at University of Pennsylvania ![photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/unknown.png?itok=noLICMQ5) [### Yasuyo Tanaka ](/people/yasuyo-tanaka)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Syneos Health - Consultant ![Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/yasuyo_tanaka_uchida2.jpg?itok=AdTutkb8) [### Iku Tsutsui-Kimura ](/people/iku-kimura)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Division of Biopharmceutical Sciences and Pharmacy, Hokkaido University ![iku](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/iku-kimura_2038_0.jpg?itok=71hmPPhU) [### Takahiro Yamaguchi ](/people/takahiro-yamaguchi)Visiting Scientist from TOYOTA (Alumni) - TOYOTA ![Takahiro Yamaguchi](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/1517830819468.jpg?itok=JUWacLm5) [### Mengxi Yun ](/people/mengxi-yun)Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni) - Senior Scientist at Washington University in St. Louis ![photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/profile.jpg?itok=IWf7Ti_S) ## Graduate student (Alumni) [### Korleki Akiti ](/people/korleki-akiti)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Philadelphia Outward Bound School ![akiti_korleki_crop](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/akiti_korleki_crop.png?itok=U0gnc9J8) [### Michael Bukwich ](/people/michael-bukwich)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Postdoc at University College London ![mike](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/2019-05-25%2013.11.05-1.jpg?h=fd911bbf&itok=tsf8egqF) [### Kevin Cury ](/people/kevin-cury)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Postdoc at Columbia University ![kevin-cury.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/kevin-cury.jpg?itok=yeM53jJo) [### Yurika Doi ](/people/yurika-doi)Graduate Student (Alumni) ![doi](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/dscf3334_cropped.jpg?itok=-iziKfNy) [### Neir Eshel ](/people/neir-eshel)MD/PhD student (Alumni) - Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences ![neir_eshel.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/neir_eshel.jpg?itok=LPRy0stA) [### Isobel Green ](/people/isobel-green)MD/PhD Student (Alumni) ![isobel](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/IMG_9935.jpg?h=4da28963&itok=jHq-X7kj) [### Vivian Hemmelder ](/people/vivian-hemmelder)Graduate Student (Alumni) ![1.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/1.png?itok=6KXt9VzM) [### Adam Lowet ](/people/adam-lowet)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Postdoc at UC Berkeley ![photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/adam3.jpg?itok=sdcGhPBd) [### Mackenzie W. Mathis ](/people/mackenzie-amoroso)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Rowland Jr. Fellow 2017-2022 - Assistant Professor, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) ![mackenzie](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/mackenzie_amoroso_3.jpg?itok=UTXldKRy) [### Will Menegas ](/people/will-menegas)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Postdoc at MIT ![will](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/2017-10-15%2010.30.20.jpg?h=9431500c&itok=jRSfuffQ) [### Selina Lechen Qian ](/people/selina-qian)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Data Scientst at Meta ![qian](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/selina-qian_sent-in_5784_cr-300x300.jpg?itok=q2kOqXDG) [### Sandra Romero Pinto ](/people/sandra-romero-pinto)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Postdoc, Columbia University ![photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/photo_1.jpg?itok=ZO_xKQ_A) [### Clara K. Starkweather ](/people/clara-starkweather)MD/PhD Student (Alumni) - Resident in Neurological Surgery at University of California San Francisco ![clara](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/uchida_neuron_6865.jpg?h=ffe9ada0&itok=0GRgRGL3) [### Ju Tian ](/people/ju-tian)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Facebook - Senior Data Scientist at Airbnb ![ju](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/2012-08-14%2010.45.09.jpg?h=955c98a3&itok=OyqYM55m) [### Momchil Tomov ](/people/momchil-tomov)Graduate Student (Alumni) ![photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/momchil.jpg?itok=-1pQsrVQ) [### Alice Y. Wang ](/people/alice-wang)Graduate Student (Alumni) - Postdoc at Harvard Medical School - Spotify ![alice](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/uchida_4-15-2013.jpg?h=c2e2f4ce&itok=uSqrgWGW) ## Undergraduate Student (Alumni) [### Taiga Abe ](/people/taiga-abe)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: A computational study of adaptive behaviors in a mouse model of motor control (2017) - Grad student at Columbia University ![screen_shot_2016-03-21_at_1.15.48_am.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/screen_shot_2016-03-21_at_1.15.48_am.png?itok=qKimcHhE) [### Daina Anhalt ](/people/daina-anhalt)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: The neurobiology of economic decision making: The influence of risk on delay discounting in rats (2010) person [### Lena Awwad ](/people/lena-awwad)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Investigating the role of the lateral habenula in reinforcement learning (2013) ![Lena](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/lena1.jpeg?h=9c835196&itok=TSpUUQBw) [### Jennifer Bi ](/people/jennifer-bi)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: The role of the anterior dorsal striatum, dorsolateral striatum, and posterior tail of the striatum in the execution and memory of learned motor skills (2018) ![img_0893.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/img_0893.jpg?itok=25Midp90) [### Kristen Fang ](/people/kristen-fang)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Senior Product Manager, Attentive ![Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/unnamed.jpg?itok=2OswAhR9) [### Emmanuel Garrison-Hooks ](/people/emmanuel-manny-garrison-hooks)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Mouse foraging behavior in a dynamic virtual environment (2021) - Candidate for Dual MSc in Brain & Mind Sciences University College London & Sorbonne University (2024–2026) ![photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/img-2985_1.jpg?itok=W7QvyQjt) [### Ryan Huang ](/people/ryan-huang)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: The role of the pedunculopontine tegmentum in signaling reward prediction error to dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (2016) - Medical student at Duke University Medical Center ![ryan.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/ryan.jpg?itok=SlJw7nAU) [### Dabin Hwang ](/people/dabin-hwang)Undergraduate (Alumni) ![dabin_picture_0.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/dabin_picture_0.jpg?h=0ae2e725&itok=tAhW-TEa) [### Audrey Kang ](/people/audrey-kang)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Of mice and monsters: Projection-specific roles for mesostriatal dopamine neurons in reward approach and threat avoidance (2023) - Master's student, Oxford University ![Audrey Kang](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/audreykang.jpg?itok=xesmGyBc) [### Nataša Kovačević ](/people/natasa-kovacevic)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Uncertainty and impatience: The effect of reward certainty on delay discounting in rats (2010) person [### Adam Kundishora ](/people/adam-kundishora)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania person [### Melissa Meng ](/people/melissa-meng)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: A deep dive into distributional reinforcement learning in the mammalian brain (2023) - Graduate student, Yale University ![Melissa Meng](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/melissameng_0.jpg?itok=MsibS2b5) [### Vanessa Roser ](/people/vanessa-roser)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Toward a neural mechanism of associative learning: Phasic dopamine activity shifts from rewards to cues during conditioning (2021) - Graduate student, Princeton University ![roser](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/vanessa.jpg?itok=L3JB-L75) [### Aleeza Shakeel ](/people/aleeza-shakeel)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: The role of the hippocampus in dopamine ramping during spatial navigation (2020) - Lead Teacher at Success Academy Charter Schools ![a](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/Image-2.jpg?h=bd415def&itok=K_fT-V-Z) [### Lynn Shi ](/people/lynn-shi)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Mapping the brain’s connections to midbrain dopamine neurons using modified rabies virus in transgenic mice (2013) - Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medicine person [### Marissa Shoji ](/people/marissa-shoji)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Neuron type specific tracing from dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area in transgenic mice (2014) - Medical Student at Harvard Medical School - Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, University of Miami ![shojilabpic.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/shojilabpic.jpg?h=7b1b3ebc&itok=4ZCJ3Am5) [### Joshua Stern ](/people/joshua-stern)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Simplicity within complexity: Rich but generalizable representations in the prefrontal cortex during foraging behavior (2021) - Graduate student, Harvard Medical School ![Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/josh_lab_picture.jpg?itok=3N2__o4-) [### Mark Terrelonge ](/people/mark-terrelonge)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Characterization of dopamine neuron activity in category learning based on ambiguity (2010) - Associate Professor in Neurology, UCSF person [### Melody Tong ](/people/melody-tong)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: A skilled manipulandum-based task for motor learning in mice (2018) - Medical Student at New York University School of Medicine ![tong_labpicture.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/tong_labpicture.jpg?itok=mT6a02ap) [### Archana Vamanrao ](/people/archana-vamanrao)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Strategy & Ops, Reforge ![archana-vamanrao.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/archana-vamanrao.jpg?itok=vnzyXpt3) [### Jeffrey Wang ](/people/jeffrey-wang)Undergraduate (Alumni) ![11347556_1026881253996209_1601834639_o.jpeg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/11347556_1026881253996209_1601834639_o.jpeg?itok=tKr0lUhU) [### Meredith Winter ](/people/meredith-winter)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC person [### Melissa Yamada ](/people/melissa-yamada)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Dissociation of speed and reward maximization in motor skill learning (2021) - Medical Student at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ![photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/dsc_8233_copy.jpg?itok=wDfj0BrQ) [### Adjoa Yeboah ](/people/adjoa-yeboah)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Of Mice and Menstruation: An Investigation of Estradiol’s Influence on Dopaminergic Reward Pathways Through Mouse Models of Hormonal Contraceptives (2025) - Medical student at University of Connecticut School of Medicine ![adjoa Yeboah](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/adjoa_yeboah_0350.jpg?itok=hRcbRPGX) [### Lingjin Zheng ](/people/lingjin-zheng)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Neuron type specific tracing from dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area in transgenic mice (2014) - Medical student at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine ![lingjin.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/lingjin.jpg?itok=Ho5jUq7i) [### Lisa Zhu ](/people/lisa-zhu)Undergraduate (Alumni) - Thesis: Comprehensive identification of direct inputs into midbrain dopamine neurons using modified rabies virus (2011) - Medical Student at UCLA ![lisa_zhu.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/lisa_zhu.png?itok=V5MYCFaG) ## Visting Schorlar / Research Assistant (Alumni) [### Pol Bech ](/people/pol-bech)Master's Student (Alumni) - M.Sc. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland ![polbech](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/polbech.jpg?itok=oMhHVB_V) [### Célia Benquet ](/people/celia-benquet)Master's student (Alumni) - M.Sc. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland ![celia](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/IMG_6027.jpg?h=a009e51e&itok=yiYbz11E) [### Hugo May ](/people/hugo-may)Master's student (Alumni) - M.Sc. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland ![hugo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/hugo.jpeg?h=4423b580&itok=WHJ12wIf) [### Daigo Okada ](/people/daigo-okada)Visiting Student (Alumni) - Graduate student, Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience ![daigo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/1379.jpg?itok=EfZqRtJp) [### Melissa Zhiyu Tian ](/people/melissa-zhiyu-tian)Research Assistant (Alumni) - Graduate Student at Princeton University ![melissa](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/uchidalab/files/photo_melissat_01.jpg?itok=UYLsxYhm) [### Shudi Xu ](/people/shudi-xu)Research Assistant (Alumni) - Graduate student at Northwestern University ![shudi](/sites/g/files/omnuum8331/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/IMG_0466.jpg?h=38ae4364&itok=_AxlP4ol)