Members

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.

Maya Nesbit, Ph.D.

 

 

Antara Majumdar, Ph.D.

Antara received her B.S. in Biomedical Science at the University of Buffalo before pursuing a three-year research associate position at the lab of Dr. Jessica Cardin at Yale School of Medicine. Following this she pursued a DPhil in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford (Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics). Broadly, she is interested in studying how activity in the prefrontal cortex supports cognitive flexibility and decision-making. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Sohal Lab, she aims to understand if there is a relationship between cell-type mediated network dynamics and neural representations, and if so, how this interaction supports cognitive flexibility. Outside the lab, Antara enjoys running, photography, going to the movies, and traveling to new cities with her husband.

Graduate Students

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.

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.

Omkar Ghenand

Omkar graduated with a BS in Biological Engineering from MIT. As an undergraduate, he worked in multiple labs at MIT and Harvard, focusing on the intersection of engineering and biomedical sciences, with projects ranging from public health to systems neuroscience. Now as a graduate student in the UC Berkeley-UCSF Bioengineering PhD program and Sohal Lab, Omkar is interested in using dynamical systems to model and understand mechanisms underlying cognitive flexibility. Outside of the lab, Omkar loves outdoor activities (camping, hiking) and taking walks across SF.

Jennifer Tsai

Jenn grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and earned her B.A.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. She is currently a PhD student in the UCSF–UC Berkeley Bioengineering program, where she studies the neural circuit and network dynamics underlying neuropsychiatric disorders across both mouse models and human patients. Co-advised by Dr. Ankit Khambhati, Jenn works with patients with major depressive disorder receiving closed-loop deep brain stimulation, with the goal of translating insights across species to better understand and treat psychiatric illness. Outside the lab, Jenn enjoys exploring the outdoors, cooking, and crafting.

Christina (Tina) Li

Tina received a B.S. with triple majors in Neuroscience, Psychology, and Genetics from the University of Minnesota, where she studied sex differences in avoidance behavior and its underlying neural circuitry. She is broadly interested in how neural circuits give rise to anxiety and avoidance. As a neuroscience PhD Student in the Sohal lab, she studies how coordinated activity between the amygdala and hippocampus encodes anxiety-related states and shapes avoidance behavior. Outside the lab, Tina enjoys reading, puzzling, and crafting.

Laboratory managers

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.

Ellie Ho

Ellie received their B.A. in Psychology at USF and minored in Neuroscience and Asian American Pacific Islander Studies. She is interested in understanding how drugs affect the brain and behavior. In Sohal Lab, Ellie studies how psilocybin affects cognitive flexibility. Outside lab, Ellie enjoys doing pottery, baking sourdough bread, making/drinking matcha, and playing Minecraft.

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 / Autifony Therapeutics

Marc Turner

Carlos Johnson-Cruz

Gabriel Mateo-Semidey, Subsense

Teagan Bullock, MD-PhD program, UCLA

Lena Shindy, Clinical Research Coordinator, UCSF

Lara Hagopian