LAB MEMBERS

JENNIFER GELINAS, MD PHD

Assistant Professor

Jennifer obtained her MD/PhD at University of Alberta, with research focused on cellular correlates of learning and memory. She completed residency in pediatric neurology at University of British Columbia, and an epilepsy fellowship at NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC). Her postdoctoral research fellowship at NYULMC investigated physiologic and epileptic neural networks using in vivo electrophysiology.

She is interested in understanding the neurobiology of higher cognitive function, especially as it relates to neuropsychiatric disease.

SOLEDAD DOMINGUEZ, PHD

Research Associate

Soledad obtained her PhD in Neuroscience at Autónoma de Madrid University, working at the Cajal Institute in the cellular electrophysiology group of Prof. Washington Buño. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Paris Descartes University in the Brain Physiology laboratory as part of Dr. Vivien Chevaleyre’s team. She is also interested in optogenetics tools, and worked in the Neurophotonics Lab of Prof. Valentina Emiliani. Currently, her research is focused on understanding the maturation of physiologic and epileptic neural networks over the course of development.

NAUREEN GHANI, BSC

Research Technician

Naureen currently works on studying neural networks of epilepsy. She received her BSc in biomedical engineering at Columbia University. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and painting.

JOSE FERRERO LOPEZ, PHD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jose obtained his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Complutense University with research focused on metabotropic receptors role in synaptic plasticity. His postdoctoral research, supported by the pharmaceutical company Takeda, investigated the function of these receptors in brain diseases. He currently studies the use of neurostimulation to investigate memory consolidation and treat cognitive impairments associated to epilepsy.

Talia Boyers is an undergraduate at Barnard College majoring in Biology with a concentration in cell and molecular. Her prior research involved developing rapid methods for detecting and treating UTIs. In her free time, Talia enjoys reading and hiking.

TALIA BOYERS

Undergraduate Student

LAB MEMBERS

JOSE FERRERO LOPEZ, PHD

Post-Doctoral Fellow

HAN YU

Graduate Student

Han Yu is a graduate student at Columbia University. She is now pursuing her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. She received B.S. in Physics from Fudan University and M.S. in EE from Columbia University. Since she joined Translational NeuroElectronics Lab, she has been working on a couple of projects - both on electrophysiological analysis and device design for clinical use. Her current work involves studying the emergence of neural network in neonatal rodents. Han is excited about the field of neuroscience and its ability to apply all kinds of cutting-edge technologies to obtain better understanding of brain.

AHNAF RASHIK HASSAN

Graduate Student

Ahnaf Rashik Hassan is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. Ahnaf completed his MASc in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2018 and his BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2015. Ahnaf's prior research focused on applying biomedical signal analysis and machine learning for pathological state identification and computerized diagnosis. His current research focuses on neural signal processing to study the neural mechanisms of memory and spatial navigation.

LIANG MA

Graduate Student

Liang is a graduate student working towards a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He comes from Shenzhen, China. In 2018, Liang received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Tel Aviv University, Israel. For his undergraduate project, Liang joined Prof. Yosi Shacham-Diamand’s group as an researcher to perform EIS and Van der Pauw measurements on SAM-enhanced semiconductor devices. At Neuroelectronics Lab, Liang investigates brain states of neonatal rodents using neural electrophysiology, and build electronics for clinical use. Liang hopes to continue research at the intersection of Electrical Engineering and Neuroscience.

ONNI RAUHALA

Graduate Student

Onni is a graduate student in Columbia University's Electrical Engineering working towards his PhD. Originally from Finland, Onni is a graduate from the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities where he got his B.Sc. in neuroscience with a minor in anthropology. His past research experience includes behavioral studies in rodents utilizing optogenetics and electrophysiological methods as well as materials projects for improved histological procedures in neuroscience. Currently, Onni's research work is split between investigating learning and memory in spatial navigation and object recognition using rodent models, and developing biocompatible implants for neural recordings.

LAB ALUMNI

Soledad Dominguez: Post-Doc

Kimberly Hernandez: Graduate Student

Naureen Ghani: Research Technician

Talia Boyers: Undergraduate Student

JENNIFER GELINAS, MD PHD

Assistant Professor

She is interested in understanding the neurobiology of higher cognitive function, especially as it relates to neuropsychiatric disease.

ZIFANG (FRANK) ZHAO, PHD

Post-doctoral Research Scientist

Zifang Zhao received his B.Sc in Basic Medical Science and Electrical Engineering from Peking University (China). After graduation, he joined Dr. Wan's group at Neuroscience Research Institute of Peking University for his Ph.D. in neuroscience. He also completed a visiting studentship in Dr. Buzsaki's lab at New York University.

His current research focuses on the development and application of high-density miniaturized neural interfaces to study large-scale neural dynamics.