Meet Our Members

Principal Investigator

Current Members

Julio Chapeton, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow
julio.chapeton@nih.gov

Julio received bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics from the University of South Florida and earned his physics Ph.D. from Northeastern University in Boston. He joined the lab as a postdoc in October 2014 and his current work is focused on analyzing functional and effective connectivity using intracranial EEG and micro-array recordings. The main focus of his research at the NIH is to gain a better understanding of the architecture of human brain networks and the propagation of information through these networks. Other projects involve developing quantitative measures of epileptiform activity which may be useful for seizure detection, prediction, and localization.

Weizhen Xie, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow
weizhen.xie@nih.gov

I completed my doctoral training in Cognitive Psychology at Universtiy of California, Riverside in 2018. Previously, I received undergraduate training at Renmin University of China (Beijing), Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), and Universtiy of California, Davis. I study human brain and behavior to understand representations and processes of memory and cognition, including questions regarding the quantity and quality of memories, interaction across different states of memory representations, and compromised memory functions in neurological and psychiatric disorders, etc.

Kelsey Sundby, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow
kelsey.sundby@nih.gov

I received my PhD in Experimental Psychology with an emphasis in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience from the University of California San Diego in 2021. I am interested in understanding how top-down control processes affect memory representations and how memory helps guide behavior. In one line of research, I seek to better understand the role of frontal-basal ganglia networks in memory-guided decisions. Outside of the lab, I enjoy running, hiking, and exploring new restaurants.

Uma Mohan, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow
uma.mohan@nih.gov

Uma received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Math & Statistics from Johns Hopkins University followed by a M.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University. After briefly working as a software engineer, she completed her PhD at Columbia University in Dr. Joshua Jacobs’ Electrophysiology, Memory, and Spatial Navigation Lab. She explored the electrophysiological effects of direct electrical brain stimulation in humans and spatiotemporal patterns of brain oscillations during memory. She joined the lab in 2022 and is investigating in more detail the neural signals related to memory and the effects of brain stimulation on those signals. Outside the lab, she enjoys dancing, running, and traveling.

Ian Bright

Postdoctoral Fellow
ian.bright@nih.gov

Ian grew up outside of Philadelphia, PA and received a B.S. in mathematics and a B.A. in psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2016. He joined the lab in 2023 after completing a psychology Ph.D. at Boston University. His research aims to better understand the neural processes that enable episodic memory storage and retrieval, focusing on the role of time and context. Outside of the lab, he enjoys watching movies, hiking, and having the Philadelphia 76ers break his heart.

Samantha Jackson

Data Engineer
samantha.jackson@nih.gov

Samantha grew up in Silver Spring, MD and graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Biological Engineering. After graduation, she spent a year as a post-bac at NIH focused on image processing and deep learning for MRI in acute stroke research. Her current area of work is advancing the intracranial EEG data processing pipeline and codebase. Outside of the lab, she enjoys going to concerts, playing soccer, and traveling

Oceane Fruchet

Lab Manager
oceane.fruchet@nih.gov

Oceane grew up in France and became a licensed Physical Therapist. She then earned her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology and a master's degree in Computer and Information Technology from the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining the lab in 2022, she spent 2.5 years at Penn studying traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic epilepsy. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and her dog.

Jiali Zhang

PhD Student, NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program
jiali.zhang@nih.gov

Originally from China, I grew up in Seattle, Washington and studied Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins. During my undergrad, I explored a wide range of neuroscience research before finding my niche in computational cognitive neuroscience. I am currently pursing my PhD through the NIH-OxCam program and plan to attend medical school thereafter. I love hiking, skiing, and exploring new places, and enjoy cooking up a good meal with friends.

Noah Steinberg

PhD Student, Georgetown University
njs90@georgetown.edu

I grew up in New Jersey and attended Lafayette College where I got a BS degree in Neuroscience. After completing a post-bac in the NIMH studying human visual processing, I matriculated to Georgetown’s MD/PhD program in 2019. I am now in the “PhD phase” of my program, where I am co-mentored by Dr. Kareem Zaghloul at NIH and Dr. Maximillian Riesenhuber at Georgetown University and will be investigating semantic memory (ie how the brain understands that ‘d’ + ‘o’ + ‘g’ and fluffy, cuddly animals are the same thing). I'm also a huge soccer fan, love cooking with friends, and going on hikes.

David Zarrin

Medical Research Scholars Program
david.zarrin@nih.gov

I grew up in California near San Jose. After completing my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at University of California, Berkeley in 2017, I decided to switch to a career in medicine. I completed a pre-medical post-baccalaureate and master’s in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University and am now a rising fourth year medical student at UCLA. I am generally interested in linking engineering with medicine to develop medical devices and technology for neurosurgical patients. In my spare time, you might find me running, backpacking, rock climbing, or spending time with family and friends.

Ujwal Boddeti

Medical Research Scholars Program
ujwal.boddeti@n ih.gov

Hey, I’m Ujwal! I grew up in New Orleans, LA and graduated from the George Washington University in DC with a BS in Chemistry and minors in Biology and Public Health. I am interested in exploring epileptogenesis using computational approaches. Specifically, I hope to use intracranial recordings to explore what happens during seizures, and how this can inform future therapeutic interventions. In my spare time, you can find me reading, playing the piano, or spending time with family and friends.

Maxwell Lichtenfeld

NIH Post-bac IRTA
maxwell.lichtenfeld@nih.gov

I grew up outside of Atlanta, GA, and I recently graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Cognitive Studies, Public Health, and Neuroscience. At Vanderbilt, I worked with intracranial recordings in macaque to investigate the role of distinct layers of cortex, neuronal cell types, and synchronous brain rhythms in generating predictions and integrating those predictions with external stimuli. Now, I am excited to analyze neural networks responsible for memory and prediction in my current research. Outside of the lab, I enjoy going to trivia nights, playing any pickup sport (especially football), and getting out in nature.

Sabrina Nusraty

NIH Post-bac IRTA
sabrina.nusraty@nih.gov

I grew up in Potomac, Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland Honors College with a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Government and Politics. At Maryland, I investigated whether a protein speculated to be involved in seizure development was associated with the mTOR neurodevelopmental pathway. My current research explores the metabolic and inflammatory changes correlated with epilepsy and seeks to identify the signaling capabilities of cilia in the context of glioma tumorigenesis. In my free time, I love to run, hike, and spend time with friends and family!

Principal Investigator

Kareem A. Zaghloul, MD, PhD

Current Members

Julio Chapeton, PhD

Weizhen Xie, PhD

Kelsey Sundby, PhD

Uma Mohan, PhD

Ian Bright

Ryan Kirkpatrick

Joshua Diamond, MD

Samantha Jackson

Oceane Fruchet

Jiali Zhang

Noah Steinberg

David Zarrin

Ujwal Boddeti

Valerie Wang

Rachael Volkman

Maxwell Lichtenfeld

Sabrina Nusraty

Lab Alumni

John H Wittig, Jr PhD

Vishnu Sreekumar, PhD

Alex Vaz, MD, PhD

Baltazar Zavala, MD, PhD

Robert Yaffe, PhD

Tora Bonnevie, MD, PhD

Rafi Haque, MD, PhD

Danielle McAuliffe

Armin Mortazavi, MD

Mitchell Rock, MD

Anas Khan

Marcelle Altshuler, MD

Andrew Il Yang, MD

Jason Hsieh, MD

Ai Phuong Tong

Molly Baumhauer (she/her)

Audrey Phan

Ryan Carney

Nichols Faturos

Kohleman Swift

Srijan Bhasin

Courtney Battles

Jemima Olu-Owatade

Erin Schaeffer

David Youssef

Mostafa El-Kalliny

Christopher Zawora

Michael Trotta

Anthony Jang, MD

Timothy Sheehan, PhD

John Cocjin

Srikanth Damera, MD, PhD

Jian Dong, MD