Members

Alekseichuk's Precision Neuromodulation lab focuses on integrating human electrophysiology and neuroimaging with transcranial brain stimulation for causal understanding of cognitive and affective processes in human brain. Further, the lab develops personalized therapeutic interventions in mental health.

Contact: ivan.alekseichuk@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=54054

Augustin is particularly interested in the flow of information through the cortico-basal ganglia circuits and how this flow is disrupted with alcohol and substance use disorder. The lab uses an integrative approach combining physiology, behavior and optical imaging techniques.

Contact: shana.augustin@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=54054

Kynon Jade Benjamin's research as the leader of the Health Equity for Advancing Research and Technology using Genomic Neuroscience (HEART-GeN) lab addresses critical health disparities in neurological disorders, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. We use computational tools and disease-relevant models such as postmortem brain tissues, brain organoids, iPSC-derived glial cells to uncover how genetic ancestry impacts complex traits in the brain. This integrative approach provides insights into the interplay between genetic and environmental factors in complex brain disorders.

Contact: kynon.benjamin@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=64439

Anis Contractor's Lab investigates synaptic development and plasticity in mouse models of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. We focus on how disruptions in neural circuit development lead to changes in cognitive and sensory behaviors. Our mechanistic studies aim to uncover signaling pathways that could serve as targets for treating symptoms of otherwise intractable diseases.

Contact: a-contractor@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=64439

Dong's laboratory has focused on a continuous and integrated program of investigating genetic alterations and environmental effects on neurodevelopment and aging, and their relevance to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. The group's ongoing NIH-funded projects aim to discover novel molecular genetics and epigenetic mechanisms underlying neuropsychological disorders, using human antemortem clinical assessments and postmortem tissues, as well as animal models. The findings from the translational work will help in the development of new therapeutic strategies to slow disease onset and prevent progression.

Contact: h-dong@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=18086

The Guemez-Gamboa Lab aims to understand how neural circuits form during development and how this process is disrupted in disease. By integrating human genetics, next-generation sequencing, and disease modeling, we uncover the molecular and cellular pathways that underlie brain connectivity defects. These models not only reveal the mechanisms driving disease but also lay the foundation for developing new therapeutic strategies.

Contact: alicia.guemez@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=36264

John Kessler's lab studies how environmental stimuli shape socio-affective behaviors, with a focus on the roles of neurogenesis and growth factor signaling in the hippocampus. We aim to uncover how stress and other environmental factors influence brain function and behavior, with the ultimate goal of understanding the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder and developing new biochemical and pharmacological treatments.

Contact: john.kessler@nm.org

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=12433

The Kozorovitskiy Lab aims to advance our understanding of neuromodulation and neural plasticity, with the long-term goal of enabling therapeutic strategies that reconfigure—and in some cases, rewire—neural circuits. We explore how neurohypophyseal peptides interact with other neuromodulatory systems, how these mechanisms integrate across motor circuits, and how centrally released peptides regulate brain function. Our research also investigates how neuromodulation influences synaptogenesis during development and adulthood, and how it reshapes the neural proteome.

Contact: yevgenia.kozorovitskiy@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://ibis.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/kozorovitskiy.html

The Lerner Lab studies the neural circuit basis of motivation, reward learning and decision-making. The group is interested in how individual differences in neural circuits compel different types of interaction with the world. They are particularly interested in the neural circuits driving the release of neuromodulators such as dopamine and serotonin, as these chemical systems are the targets of many drugs of abuse as well as of many psychiatric medications.

Contact: talia.lerner@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=35766

Dr. Letkiewicz’s research focuses on the role of cognitive functions—such as executive function, learning, and decision-making—in internalizing psychopathology. Using neuroimaging and computational modeling, she aims to identify risk markers and neurocognitive mechanisms of depression that can be targeted to improve outcomes and prevent recurrence.

Contact: allison.letkiewicz@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=59081

Li completed his PhD in neuroscience with Thomas Jhou, PhD, at the Medical University of South Carolina, studying circuit mechanisms underlying punishment processing. In 2019, Li started his postdoctoral training with Kay Tye, PhD, at the Salk Institute, focusing on how neurotensin guides valence assignment in the amygdala during associative learning.

Contact: haoli@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.psychiatry.northwestern.edu/faculty/profile.html?xid=57460

The Martina Lab’s research centers on two primary questions. First, we investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying chronic pain, with a particular focus on its emotional and cognitive dimensions. Second, we explore how dysfunction in the cerebellar cortex contributes to disease manifestations, including cognitive and emotional symptoms.

To address these questions, we use a range of advanced techniques, including circuit dissection with optogenetic and chemogenetic tools, as well as microscopic, electrophysiological, and behavioral analyses. We are especially interested in how specific ion channels and transporters—expressed in select neuronal populations—affect brain function in both healthy and diseased states.

Contact: m-martina@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=12177

Meltzer's current research interests include 1. development of novel drugs for treatment and prevention of psychosis, depression, opioid abuse, and age associated cognitive impairment; 2. behavioral and neurochemical studies of antipsychotic, antidepressant, cognitive improving, and anti-suicide drugs; and 3. genetic biomarkers.

Contact: h-meltzer@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=21819

Mittal's research involves developing and applying conceptual models to work with adolescents and young adults exhibiting high-risk syndromes, as well as those who have recently developed psychotic disorders. He conducts prospective longitudinal studies to track a range of characteristics that may improve identification of these individuals, predict who among them may eventually transition to psychosis, and concurrently refine the understanding of pathophysiology. Additionally, he uses this information to develop novel, targeted treatments and interventions. He is also deeply interested in advancing understanding and intervention to earlier developmental periods and clinical phases, including the premorbid stage and childhood.

Contact: vijay.mittal@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.psychiatry.northwestern.edu/faculty/profile.html?xid=34029

To probe the neural basis of neuropsychiatric disease and neuropharmacological efficacy, Parker's research team performs large-scale recordings of striatal activity using miniaturized fluorescence microscopes and two-photon microscopy in transgenic mice to selectively record from genetically defined neuronal subpopulations. They combine these tools with viral genetic and pharmacological manipulations in healthy animals and animal models of neuropsychiatric diseases to better understand both normal and aberrant striatal function.

Contact: jones.parker@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=43245

In an effort to identify more efficacious therapeutics, the lab investigates the mechanistic impact of previously understudied contributing factors, including social stress and neuro-immune signaling on discrete neuronal circuits and how they give rise to aberrant behavioral phenotypes associated with stress-related mental health disorders.

Contact: rpatel@salk.edu

Faculty Page: https://reeshapatellab.org/

The Patel Lab believes that advances in understanding the pathophysiology of complex multifactorial diseases, such as depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, require a multidisciplinary approach. Their research group utilizes a variety of research techniques including ex vivo electrophysiology, functional anatomy, optogenetics, calcium imaging, biochemistry and animal behavior to tackle fundamental questions regarding the nature of psychiatric diseases.

Contact: sachin.patel@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=53854

The group's mission is to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms whereby neurons communicate with each other within brain circuits and how they malfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders and then to use this knowledge to develop new therapies for such disorders.

Recent developments in human genomics have uncovered mutations and variants associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. These gene sets are highly enriched in synaptic molecules, pointing to synapses as being one of the key cellular substrates in their pathologies. Hence they are investigating the synaptic functions and pathogenic mechanisms of important risk factors for autism, intellectual disability, epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease.

Epilepsy and seizure disorders often co-occur with autism and intellectual disability. Shared genetic risk factors associated with both epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders could provide an entry point into investigations of such mechanisms. Penzes' team has uncovered mechanisms whereby neurodevelopmental disorder risk factors also regulate ion channel homeostasis and excitatory/inhibitory balance in neuronal circuits.

Using proteomics, the research group has discovered that a large number of neuronal membrane proteins undergo ectodomain shedding. This "sheddome" is detectable in the cerebrospinal fluid and is enriched in synaptic proteins and disease risk factors. Unexpectedly, such ectodomains have novel biological functions in regulating properties of brain circuits. They aim to understand the biological functions of the synaptic sheddome and to develop new therapeutics and biomarkers.

Small GTPases, such as Rac1 and Ras, and their direct upstream regulators, GEFs and GAPs, control synapse development, maturation and plasticity. Genes encoding proteins in this pathway are highly enriched in mutations in intellectual disability, autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia and bipolar disease. Pharmacological targeting of these pathways could reverse synaptic deficits in these and other disorders.

Contact: p-penzes@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=16355

Rosas-Vidal is currently working on two distinct projects: 1. understanding how decreases in the endocannabinoid 2-AG lead to increased fear generalization to novel stimuli and how neurons in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex regulate this process and 2. basomedial amygdala to BNST circuit regulating fear and anxiety states, and how these are modified following stress.

Contact: luis.rosasvidal@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.nm.org/doctors/1851745269

Shankman's research focuses on the relation between depression and anxiety disorders, with an emphasis on neurobehavioral processes that are common, versus specific, between the two. Shankman is the principal investigator and co-investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects.

Contact: stew.shankman@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=42385

The Smith Lab investigates the early onset of neurodevelopmental disorders, with a focus on Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia (COS) and Very Early Onset Psychosis (VEOP). We employ both human and animal models, including neurons derived from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells and CRISPR-engineered animal models. Our research centers on identifying the earliest cellular and physiological abnormalities—particularly those emerging during the perinatal period through early childhood (under age 5). For more information, visit www.rsmithlab.com.

Contact: richard.smith@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=53994

Iris Vivancos' Lab investigates how peripheral organs influence the brain and behaviors such as sleep and substance use. By uncovering the mechanisms of inter-organ communication, our research aims to deepen our understanding of whole-body regulation of behavior and open new pathways for the prevention and treatment of complex, systemic disorders.

Contact: iris.titosvivancos@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=65003