Principal Investigator
Stephanie L. Leal, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology & Physiology and Psychology, UCLA
Vice Chair, Undergraduate Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, UCLA
Editor, Scientific Reports and Learning & Memory
Contact
Email: stephanieleal@ucla.edu
Research Interests:
Dr. Stephanie Leal is an Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology & Physiology at UCLA, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rice University, and Director of the Neuroscience of Memory, Mood, & Aging Laboratory. She received her B.S. in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2011 and her Ph.D. in Psychological & Brain Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 2016 working in the lab of Dr. Michael Yassa. She completed postdoctoral training from 2016-2019 at the University of California, Berkeley with Dr. William Jagust. Her research interests focus on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying episodic memory processing and how these mechanisms are altered in aging and disease states. She develops and utilizes sensitive cognitive tasks, advanced neuroimaging techniques, and translates these methods to states of cognitive impairment. Her overarching goal is to understand the factors that modulate episodic memory processing in order to restore the system to normal function in disorders of mood and memory.
Research Coordinator
Michele Medina, B.S.
Contact:
Email: michelemedina@ucla.edu
Research interests:
Michele received her B.S. in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience from Texas A&M University in 2025 and is currently a research coordinator in the Leal Lab. During her time at TAMU, she worked in the lab of Dr. Jessica Bernard, where she studied the cerebellum’s role in age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, in the lab of Dr. Theodora Chaspari, she developed speech-based machine intelligence models for detecting depression. Her research interests include identifying biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases and investigating the neurobiological mechanisms of memory. In her free time, Michele enjoys drawing, watching the latest movies and shows, and exploring antique shops!
Post-Doctoral Student
Tania Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Contact
Email: tania1116@ucla.edu
Tania is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Leal Lab, where her research focuses on examining the psychosocial and neurobiological factors that influence cognitive aging, brain health, and Alzheimer’s Disease risk among Latino and non-Latino older adults. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the California State University, Fullerton and her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Riverside. During her doctoral studies, she developed a culturally tailored, community-based learning intervention designed to enhance cognition, functional independence, and psychosocial well-being among underserved older adults. Her overall goal is to increase research participation among populations that have been historically underrepresented in aging and dementia research to ensure that scientific advances benefit all communities. In her free time, Tania enjoys spending time with her family, going for walks, and cooking.
Graduate Students
Madelyn Castro, B.S.
NSF GRFP Fellow
Psychological Sciences
Rice University
Contact
Email: mc151@rice.edu
Research Interests:
Madelyn completed her bachelors of science in psychology and minor in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota in 2018. She is currently a fourth year doctoral student. Prior to becoming a doctoral student and working at Rice as a lab manager, she was a clinical research coordinator at the N. Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research & Care at the University of Minnesota studying Alzheimers & dementia where she learned how to utilize imaging tools such as MRI, EEG, MEG, and PET-CT. Her research interests include the neurobiological mechanisms of anti-depressants and emotional memory. Madelyn’s work is supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). In her free time, she enjoys being active, talking her lab mates ears off, and hanging out with her dog, Zeus.
Jessica Simonson, B.S.
Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program (NSIDP)
University of California, Los Angeles
Contact
Email: jessicasimonson@ucla.edu
Research Interests:
Jessica graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2022 with a degree in Psychological and Brain Sciences. She is currently a first-year doctoral rotation student in the Leal Lab. While at UCSB, Jessica worked in Dr. Michael Miller’s Memory Lab, studying memory, decision-making, and the effects of hormonal contraceptives on both. After graduation, she continued her work as a Junior Specialist/Lab Manager, contributing to research on the behavioral and neural impact of corpus callosotomy in a new cohort of split-brain patients. In 2024, Jessica began her role as Clinical Research Assistant II/III at the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, where she assisted in clinical trials evaluating continuous glucose, ketone, and lactate monitors, and contributed to studies on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. In her graduate studies, Jessica aims to use functional and structural MRI to investigate brain changes during major endocrine transitions, such as puberty and hormonal contraceptive use. Outside of research, Jessica enjoys aerial silks, walking and fostering dogs, and attempting to play guitar.
Research Assistants
Carmen Pfeil
Research Interests:
Carmen is a fourth-year, Brazilian-American undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), majoring in Neuroscience. As a research assistant, she is interested in investigating the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie memory and cognition, with a focus on hormonal and environmental risk factors in the Alzheimer’s population. Ultimately, she aspires to combine patient care and research with clinical studies in the surgical environment.Carmen also has a passion for service in underrepresented communities and plans to combine both her scientific aptitude and language skills in Portuguese and Spanish to make care more accessible to diverse populations. Outside of academics, Carmen enjoys practicing yoga, baking, and cleaning!!
Sophie Ohanyan
Research Interests:
Sophie hopes to attend medical school and pursue a career in psychiatry, potentially through an MD/PhD program. She is particularly interested in studying mood disorders, especially depression, and aims to contribute to the development of effective treatments for conditions such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. She is also passionate about expanding access to affordable, equitable healthcare. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching TV shows, traveling whenever possible, going on scenic drives, watching sunsets, and baking.
Lisette Kaya
Research Interests:
Lisette is a third-year student at UCLA, majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in English. She previously worked as a research assistant at UC San Diego, where she contributed to a project focused on detecting synchronous neural network activity related to epilepsy, as well as understanding the dangers of using recombinant adeno associated virus (rAAV) in experimental biology and gene therapy. Lisette is interested in exploring how molecular and cellular changes in the brain contribute to the development of neurological and psychiatric disorders later in life. She recently joined the Leal Lab at UCLA as an undergraduate research assistant to further pursue this interest. In her free time, Lisette enjoys reading, writing, drawing, oil painting, and watching movies.
Aashi Thakur
Research Interests:
Aashi is a second-year undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Neuroscience. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of neurobiology and behavior, with a particular focus on how genetic risk factors influence memory processes. Her previous research examined differences in spatial memory processing between neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals, as well as the relationship between incidental memory and gray matter volume in cognitively unimpaired subjects. In the lab, she is currently investigating emotional memory in individuals with and without the APOE4 allele, aiming to identify distinct cognitive and emotional profiles across groups. Outside of research, Aashi enjoys reading, running, and dancing.
Naksha Srinivasan
Research Interests:
Naksha is a 2nd-year Neuroscience student at UCLA and an undergraduate research assistant in the Leal Lab. She is interested in investigating the neural mechanisms underlying memory, cognitive aging, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Her research interests include understanding how brain networks support memory across the lifespan and identifying factors that promote healthy cognitive aging. In the Leal Lab, she assists with participant recruitment, study coordination, and data collection for research involving older adults. She also conducts research in studies examining memory and eye-tracking measures of cognitive function in other labs. After graduating, Naksha hopes to attend medical school and contribute to the advancement of neuroscience research and patient care. In her free time, she loves singing, dancing, and gaming.
Natasha Chinnagiri
Research Interests:
Natasha is obtaining her B.S. in Neuroscience at UCLA and is on the pre-med track. Her academic and professional interests lie in understanding how circumstance is a large driver of health outcomes and can have profound effects on learning and memory across a variety of populations and age groups. She hopes to learn the ins and outs of memory based research from a pre-clinical and clinical standpoint. In her free time, Natasha loves to cook fun foods, create collages/vision boards, and plan her next concert or outing with her friends!
Former Lab Members
Lorena Ferguson, Ph.D. (2020-2025) – Graduate Student (Now a Postdoctoral Fellow at USC with Dr. Teal Eich)
Fernanda Morales-Calva, Ph.D (2021-2026) – Graduate Student (Now Assistant Professor at Universidad de Monterrey)
Kayla Clark, Ph.D. (2021-2026) – Graduate Student (Now Postdoctoral Scholar at Laureate Institute for Brain Research)
Hannah Ballard, Ph.D. (2022-2025) – Postdoctoral Fellow (Now a Researcher at Kinder Institute for Urban Research!)
Jasmine Liew (2024-2024) – Research Assistant
Inés Iriondo (2023-2024) – Research Assistant
Michele Medina (2024-2024) – Visiting Summer Research Assistant
Thara Venkateswaran (2024-2024) – Research Assistant
Angie Cordova (2024-2024) – Summer NSF REU Fellow
Thomas Witherspoon (2024-2024) – Research Assistant
Ashwathi Nair (2023-2024) – Research Assistant (Now a medical student!)
Ella Zhou (2024-2024) – Research Assistant
Ivanshi Ahuja (2023 – 2024) – Research Assistant (Now a medical assistant!)
Eva Dicker (2019 – 2023) – Graduate Student (Now an Assistant Professor at Seattle University!)
Alexis Bailey (2022 – 2023) – Research Assistant (Now a medical student at Baylor!)
Sydney Bogan (2023 – 2023) – Research Assistant
Amy Lam (2023 – 2023) – Research Assistant
Michelle Sekili (2022 – 2023) – Research Assistant
Renae Mannion (2021-2022) – Summer NSF REU Fellow
Chandler Bannis (2022-2022) – Research Assistant
Gabriel Bolanos (2022-2022) – Research Assistant
Madelyn Castro (2021-2022) – Lab Manager (Now PhD student at Rice!)
Nessa Kim (2020-2022) – Master’s Student (Human Factors) (Now PhD student at Rice!)
Amritha Harikumar (2020-2021) – Lab Manager (Now PhD student at Georgia State University!)
Rishi Vas (2020-2021) – Research Assistant (Now a medical student at Columbia!)
Brandon Hayes (2020-2021) – Research Assistant (Now a PhD student at UC Davis!)
Taylor Phillips (2020-2021) – Research Assistant (Now a research specialist at UPenn!)
Lorena Ferguson (2019-2020) – Lab Manager (Now PhD student at Rice!)