Lab Members
Seth Tomchik
Senior Research Associate
Email: stomchik@scripps.edu
Seth graduated from the University of Miami in 2005 with a Ph.D. in Biology. His research there involved the functional role of efferent feedback in the auditory system and the role of cell-cell communication in the gustatory system. Seth is studying the dynamics of signaling pathways and neuronal circuits underlying learning in Drosophila using functional imaging, behavior, and optogenetic approaches.
Ayako Tonoki-Yamaguchi
Research Associate
Email: ayamaguc@scripps.edu
Ayako graduated from the University of Tokyo in 2009 with a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her dissertation work with Professor Masayuki Miura involved the relationship between the age-onset of neurodegeneration and age-dependent attenuation of the proteasome. Ayako is currently exploring the age-dependent memory impairment in a Drosophila model system.
Germain Busto
Research Associate
Email: gbusto@scripps.edu
Germain graduated in 2009 with a Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the University of Lyon with Dr. Anne Didier’s team. His dissertation work with Professor Jourdan and Dr. Marcel involved the study of the cellular and molecular processes underlying olfactory associative learning in the mouse main olfactory bulb. Germain is currently exploring project ideas to study learning and memory processes using Drosophila as a model system.
Isaac Cervantes-Sandoval
Research Associate
Email: isandova@scripps.edu
Isaac graduated in 2009 with a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Science in The National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico. His dissertation work with Dr. Shibayama involved the study of immune natural response against the human parasitic amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Isaac is currently exploring reward learning memory traces.
Ilaria Drago
Research Associate
Email: idrago@scripps.edu
Ilaria graduated in 2009 from the University of Padova in Italy with a Ph.D. in Cellular Biology. Her previous research with professor Tullio Pozzan laboratory dealt with peroxisomal and mitochondrial calcium homeostasis by the use of FRET-based calcium probes. Ilaria is currently investigating the role of mitochondria in memory formation in Drosophila.
Tugba Guven Ozkan
Research Associate
Email: tguven@scripps.edu
Tugba obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Bilkent University, Turkey in 2004. She moved to Dallas, Texas and graduated from UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2009 with a Ph.D. in Genetics and Development. In her graduate work, she used model organism C. elegans in Dr. Rueyling Lin’s lab to investigate transcriptional and translational regulation of oocyte maturation and germline formation. She joined the Davis lab in September 2010 and is currently focusing her studies on ERK/MAPK signaling pathways in learning and memory.
Yunchao Gai
Research Associate
Email: ygai@scripps.edu
Yunchao Gai received his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in May 2009, under Professor Linsheng Song’s guidance. During that period, he had been investigating invertebrate innate immune system at the cellular and molecular level. After graduation, he worked as a research assistant in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, CAS, to develop clinical diagnostic reagent until 2010 May. Before joining the Davis Lab, he studied on the immune genes and signaling pathways as a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Missouri- Kansas City. He is currently involved in RNAi screen project identifying genes that play roles in Drosophila learning and memory.
Jacob Berry
Graduate Student
Email: jaberry@scripps.edu
Jacob Berry graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in Computation Physics from the University of Texas at Austin. After working for two years in breast cancer research at Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center, he entered the Developmental Biology Program at BCM and completed his first year of his graduate studies. Jacob is currently exploring memory using functional imaging techniques in Drosophila.
Sonal Harbaran
Research Assistant III
Email: sharbara@scripps.edu
Sonal graduated from the University of Georgia, Athens in 2001 with a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She then spent 6 years in the Department of Gene and Cell Medicine at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York where she worked as a Research Coordinator in Savio Woo’s Lab. Her projects involved studying the replication cycles of oncolytic viruses in tumor cell lines and mouse models. Recently, she spent 8 months at the Klinikum rects der Isar (TUM) Munich, Germany as a visiting research assistant in the Ebert Lab. Sonal joined the Davis Lab at Scripps Florida as a Research Assistant in July 2009. Her current project involves the MAPK/ERK pathway and making FRET constructs that will allow her to visualize ERK activation during learning in Drosophila.
Courtney "Cori" MacMullen
Research Assistant IV
Email: cmacmull@scripps.edu
Cori graduated from Cedar Crest College in 1999 with a Bachelor’s degree in Genetic Engineering and minor in Chemistry. She went on to work for 11 years at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she searched for novel, disease-causing mutations in children with Hyperinsulinism. Cori is currently using these techniques to search for novel mutations in bipolar disorder patients whose shared genetic haplotypes link them to genes involved in memory and learning.
Kyle Vick
Research Assistant II
Email: kvick@scripps.edu
Kyle graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2009 with a Master's Degree in behavioral neuroscience. His thesis work with Dr. Robert Stackman's lab focused on the role of small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK channels) in discrete brain regions associated with learning and memory. Kyle is currently investigating the role of integrin signaling for working memory using genetic techniques on a mouse model.
Caitlin DeStefanis
Research Technician
Email: cdestefa@scripps.edu
Caitlin graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2010 with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology. She joined the Davis Lab as a Research Technician in March 2011 and is currently involved in identifying genes associated with olfactory learning and memory in Drosophila.
Daniel Richter
Research Technician
Email: drichter@scripps.edu
Daniel graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology. He joined the Davis Lab in May of 2011 as a Lab Assistant. Daniel was promoted to Research Technician in October, 2011 and is currently involved in identifying genes associated with olfactory learning and memory in Drosophila.
Jennifer Verriotto
Research Technician
Email: jverriot@scripps.edu
Jennifer graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2011 with a Master’s degree in Biology. Her study focused on the effects of mitochondrial dysfunction, methionine oxidation, and oxidative stress in both the aging process and neurodegenerative diseases. Jennifer is currently performing large- scale screens to determine olfactory learning and memory genes in Drosophila.
Erica Walkinshaw
Research Technician
Email: ewalkins@scripps.edu
Erica received her Bachelor's degree in Biology from Boston University in January 2011. She joined the Davis Lab as a Research Technician in February 2011. Erica is currently involved in a screen identifying genes that impact olfactory learning and memory in Drosophila.
Helen Burns
Lab Assistant
Email: hburns@scripps.edu
Helen joined the Davis Lab in August 2009 as the fly food chef. She attended San Francisco State University and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York and is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Psychology. Prior to joining the Davis lab, she worked in the yachting industry as a chef for 18 years.
Trina Kemp
Administrative Assistant Sr
Email: tmiles@scripps.edu
Trina Kemp joined the Davis Lab at Scripps in July 2009 as Administrative Assistant. She supports Dr. Ronald L. Davis, Professor and Chair for the Department and Dr. Damon Page, Assistant Professor in the Department. Trina’s background includes more than 15 years of professional support experience.