Principal Investigator
Vikaas Sohal, MD PhD
Vikaas has always been fascinated by how complex behavior emerges from systems composed of seemingly simple units or rules. He grew up in Idaho, studied Applied Mathematics as an undergrad Harvard (where he worked with Mike Hasselmo) then completed Part III of the Maths Tripos at Cambridge. He did his MD/PhD at Stanford, working in the lab of John Huguenard. Vikaas stayed at Stanford to complete residency training in psychiatry. During this time, he worked in the lab of Karl Deisseroth, and published one of the early papers using optogenetics to study cortical circuits. This study showed that feedback inhibition from parvalbulmin interneurons is sufficient to generate gamma oscillations, and that gamma oscillations can enhance the flow of information through cortical circuits. Vikaas arrived at UCSF and started the lab in 2010. He is also a board-certified psychiatrist and continues to see psychiatric outpatients. In his ample free time, Vikaas enjoys watching TV with his daughters, yelling at referees during his son's soccer games, and debating the relative merits of various take-out options with his wife.
Research scientists and Postdoctoral fellows
Ruchi Malik, Ph.D.
Ruchi obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Delhi. She did her Ph.D. research in Shona Chattarji’s lab (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore), where she studied how enriched rearing environment affects the physiological and synaptic properties of hippocampus and amygdala neurons. Before joining the Sohal lab, she did a postdoc in Dan Johnston’s lab at UT Austin, where she investigated the dorsoventral heterogeneity in physiological properties and dendritic integration mechanisms of hippocampal excitatory neurons. Ruchi’s current research is aimed at uncovering the circuit function and disease susceptibility of mPFC inhibitory neurons. She is also investigating how mPFC inhibitory neurons mediate long-range communication between mPFC and hippocampal circuits. Outside the lab — Ruchi enjoys hiking, reading high-fantasy novels and cooking (mostly Indian food).
Aarron Phensey, Ph.D.
Aarron received his B.S. in computer science and Ph.D. in Cognition and Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Dallas. During his graduate work Aarron investigated how oxidative and mitochondrial stress contribute to parvalbumin+ interneuron dysfunction and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of NMDAR-hypofunction. He is now a postdoctoral fellow in Vikaas Sohal’s lab studying the cellular and circuit components responsible for the generation of neural oscillations during cognitive processing and how this may be disrupted in mental illness.
Xiyu Zhu, Ph.D.
Xiyu received his B.S. with dual majors in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, where he continued to complete his PhD in Neuroscience with Dr. Anthony Grace. His graduate research investigated how adolescent stress affects midbrain dopamine system activity, as well as putative prophylactic approaches for dopamine dysregulations in a neurodevelopmental rat model to study schizophrenia. As a postdoctoral scholar in the Sohal lab, Xiyu is broadly interested in how experiences affect circuit components involved in cognition, and his current work aims to reveal circuit mechanisms underlying stress-induced cognitive inflexibility. When he is free, Xiyu enjoys going to concert, reading urban dictionary, and dreaming about becoming a rapper someday.
Christine Liu, Ph.D.
Christine received her B.S. with dual majors in Biology and Psychology at the University of Oregon before pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of California Berkeley. Broadly, she is interested in how drugs affect neural circuits -- her PhD research revealed how the dose dependent effects of nicotine were encoded in the brain's dopamine system. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Sohal Lab, she aims to understand mechanistically how psychedelic drugs alter neural plasticity and cognitive flexibility.
Graduate Students
Marc Turner
I am a 4th year student in the Neuroscience Program, joining the lab in 2017. I am originally from Massachusetts, and studied Engineering and Biochemistry at Tufts University. Before graduate school, I worked on cancer genetics and signaling pathways. Currently, I am studying the roles that different neuronal subpopulations of the mPFC play during social behavior. By measuring activity in these neurons using in vivo calcium imaging, my goal is to gain an understanding of how clinically relevant perturbations alter activity in the mPFC, and how this relates to alterations in behavior.
Less scientific interests include being outdoors, baking, tennis, and Ruchi’s masterful punnery (although this is often quite scientific).
Carlos Johnson-Cruz
Carlos earned his B.A. from Amherst College in Neuroscience, studying neuro-modulatory influences on risk-based decision making. As a doctoral candidate in the Sohal lab, he studies how GABAergic interneuron dysfunction affects cognitive processing in the prefrontal cortex. In his free time, he DJs and analyzes memes through the lens of literary theory.
Gabriel Mateo Semidey (joint with Kheirbek lab)
Gabe grew up in Puerto Rico and received his B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. He completed a postbac at NIDA/NIH under the guidance of Marisela Morales. At NIH, Gabe explored the implications of serotonin in reward by studying the projections from dorsal raphe to VTA. He also conducted research on VTA neurons co-releasing glutamate and GABA. He joined Vikaas Sohal’s and Mazen Kheirbek’s labs as a doctoral student to study neuronal networks implicated in anxiety.
Caitriona Costello
Caitriona received her B.S. in Biological Engineering from Cornell University. As a doctoral student in the Sohal lab, she studies how activity in the prefrontal cortex supports cognitive flexibility.
Lara Hagopian
Lara first received her AA in Liberal Arts with an Emphasis in Math and Science from MiraCosta College. She transferred to the University of California, San Diego to receive her BS in Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience. After finishing her degree, she worked in two different labs, performing behavioral manipulations to study human brain function in one lab and investigating molecular mechanisms that support learning in another. This experience helped her become a doctoral student at UCSF where she joined Vikaas Sohal’s lab. Here, Lara studies how the body affects the mind by observing how brain areas that receive bodily input can alter cognitive function in the mPFC.
Alex Enos
Alex earned a B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics with a minor in Neuroscience from UCLA, where he studied the effect of antidepressants on prefrontal circuits. He is broadly interested in understanding the neural bases of mood disorders, and in the Sohal lab, he studies how limbic structures communicate anxiety-related states. Outside the lab, Alex enjoys anything sports-related, being outdoors, and cooking.
Technicians
Lena Shindy
Lena received her B.S. in Human Biology and Society and minored in Biomedical Research at UCLA. She is interested in the unsung heroes of glial cells in the brain, particularly in how they affect cognition and learning within psychiatric disorders. She likes going on long walks (very long, she has walked the length of the city) and playing with her two cats.
Kira Wallquist
Kira received her B.S. in Pharmacology at UCSB. Broadly, she is interested in understanding the brain's chemistry and its relationships to psychiatric disorders. Within the Sohal Lab, Kira explores the role of dopamine in cognitive flexibility within the prefrontal cortex. Outside of the lab, Kira enjoys cooking, thrifting, and going to concerts in the city.
Teagan Bullock
Teagan attended San Francisco State University where she completed her BA in Psychology and Philosophy, BS in Biology, and MS in Biochemistry. During this time, she conducted systems neuroscience research in the Gunaydin Lab at UCSF studying the neural circuitry underlying maladaptive behaviors seen in anxiety disorders and PTSD. Her current research in the Sohal Lab is part of a larger collaborative project aimed at elucidating the neural mechanisms of sex differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), where she is using computational modeling to study mPFC encoding of social behavior in the Shank3 genetic mouse model of ASD. Outside of the lab, Teagan spends her time writing poetry, reading fantasy novels, and watching sunsets on the beach.
Alumni
Ian Ellwood, faculty - Cornell University
Steven Gee, Research Scientist - Sage Therapeutics
Francisco Luongo, Postdoc - Caltech
Audrey Brumback, faculty - UT Autsin
Anthony Lee, Neurosurgery resident - UCSF
Tobias Marton, faculty - UCSF
Vikram Rao, faculty- UCSF
Celia Hansen, postdoc - U. Copenhagen
Clio Korn, California state legislative analyst / science policy
Karuna Meda, science writer - Jefferson School of Medicine
Sarah Robinson, science policy - NINDS
Jiggy Athilingam, political advocacy / organizing
Margaret Cunniff, sports analytics - Carolina Hurricanes
Lowry Kirkby, Innovation Fellow - Berkeley Institute for Data Science
Derek Southwell, faculty - Duke
Jillian Iafrati, postdoc - Berkeley
Sattar Khoskhoo, Epilepsy fellow - Harvard
Sahana Kribakaran, MD/PhD student - Yale
Varun Wadia, PhD student - Caltech
Cooper Grossman, PhD student - Johns Hopkins
Helia Seifikar, PhD student - Johns Hopkins
Tosha Patel, Biotech
Yi Li, Biotech
Scott Wilke, Faculty, UCLA
Kathleen Cho, Faculty, Ecole des Neurosciences, Paris Ile-de-France
Nick Frost, Faculty, U. of Utah
Carl Shi, PhD student, Columbia
Carlene Partow, MD student, UCSF
Kara McBurnett, MD student, USC
Kevin Donohoe, MD student, UCSF
Alyssa Li, Master's student, UCL
Adam Jackson, Product Specialist, Scientifica