Masters Candidate
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Ian graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Japanese at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. During undergraduate he worked in the lab as an undergraduate research assistant and has since moved on up the food chain. Currently he researches how gonadal steroid hormones affect the development of the genital cortex of the somatosensory cortex. Next Fall he will be starting his PhD at the University of California, Riverside!

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Alivia is a junior double majoring in biology with a concentration in BCMB on the pre-medicine track and neuroscience and plans to graduate in the spring of 2025. She has assisted in imaging several regions of the brain for the hormone monster project alongside graduate student AJ Castenada. After graduation she hopes to attend medical school with plans of becoming a neurosurgeon.

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Micah started working in the lab in July 2021. She graduated in 2023 with a Bachelors in Neuroscience and a minor in psychology. She has been studying the effects of pubertal timing on neuroplasticity in brain regions associated with social behavior. She has presented data at Eureca, NCUR, and the Psychology Department’s Spring Celebration. She is now hoping to find a job.

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Moneera is a 2023 graduate who got her Bachelors in Science, with a major in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. She has presented data at the Psychology Departments Spring Celebration and EUReCA. She won an Achievement Award in the College of Arts and Sciences, Natural Sciences department for her research presented at EUReCa. She is hoping to become a Physician Assistant in the future.

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Kaitlin graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology and a minor is Spanish. At UTK, she studied how hormones affect neuroplasticity in the medial prefrontal cortex during adolescence. Kaitlin hopes to attend medical school and is currently working on her applications.

Zoe was a member of the Schulz lab from 2021 to 2022. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor of science in psychology and statistics. Currently, she works at Vanderbilt university as a Research Analyst in a computational neuroscience lab that studies vision. Since then, she has been given the opportunity to travel to places such as Vienna, Austria, to collect research data for the lab and work closely on projects with other lab members and researchers. She is hoping to pursue a career in the field of analytics.

Colin graduated in 2019 with a dual degree in neuroscience and psychology. Currently he is working on cholinergic receptor function as well as PNN development in rats. In the future Colin plans on attending a graduate school program in neuroendocrinology or a similar field of study.

Carinne joined the lab in 2018, she is a Microbiology major with a minor in Psychology. Her work focuses on the effects of prenatal stress on the development of brain extracellular matrix structures called PNNs. She will be graduating in May 2021 and hopes to go into medical school after.

Ashton is a neuroscience major expecting to graduate in Fall 2020. She is currently working on PNN development in the medial amygdala of mice and rats. She is looking to be accepted into an interdisciplinary graduate program for Fall 2021 , and would like to become involved with neurophysics

Tyler is majoring in neuroscience with a minor in Africana studies, graduating December of 2020. Currently he is working on imaging the VMH for PNNs, and is applying to medical schools in the spring after graduation.

Jacob is a neuroscience major and a psychology minor expecting to graduate in the spring of 2022. He is currently assisting in research on the effects of gonadal steroid hormones during adolescence on cognitive and emotional behavioral functions in adulthood. He aims to go to dental school so that he can open his own dental practice

Raneem is a psychology major expecting to graduate in 2023. She is currently imaging brain regions to identify the presence of the PNN’s. Her goal is to pursue an MD/PhD program.

Gabi graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior and a BA in Psychology. She is working remotely to assist the lab in brain region identification, software use, and helps in the organization of ongoing research projects. She is currently applying to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology for 2021.

Josh Jones is a BCMB major with a neuroscience minor who plans on graduating in the Spring of 2021. In the future, he would like to go to medical school and specialize in neurology.

Macie is majoring in neuroscience with a minor in American Sign Language. She plans to graduate in the Spring of 2021. Currently she is looking at the effects of prenatal stress in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis on PNNs. She plans to apply to med school after college with hopes of becoming a neurologist.

Zoey Forrester-Fronstein was the Schulzlab Manager from 2017-2020. She is currently a graduate student at SUNY Buffalo in the laboratory of Matt Paul. Zoey made innumerable contributions to the SchulzLab, and we miss her terribly!

Chris Finotti was one of the first undergraduate RAs n the lab and also a technician following his graduation (2018). Chris investigated whether dietary choline mitigates the effects of adolescent stress on working memory performance using the T-maze task. He also made many contributions to our laboratory organization and procedures as a research technician.

Rob Ledbetter joined the lab in the spring of 2017. He investigated whether perinatal dietary choline mitigates the effects of prenatal stress on levels of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor levels in the basolateral and central amygdala. Rob is currently a medical student at Wake Forest University.

Courtney Huntley made many research contributions to the lab. She graduated with a degree in Psychology in 2019, and we wish her all the best!

Chad Owens

Gulsah Onar

Shana Oltmann

Madonna Riyad

John Lawrence III

Cameron Midgette

Maddi Peterman

Ebony Miller was in the lab from 2015-2017 and was a major asset to the project investigating whether choline mitigates the effects of adolescent stress, and contributed to both brain and behavial assays. Ebony recently received Biology and Chemistry degrees from Metropolitan State University in Denver, and is currently pursuing graduate work at Metropolitan State University.

Drew Strosnider was in the lab from 2015-2016 and was a major contributor to our project investigating whether dietary choline mitigates the effects of adolescent stress. Drew is currently a Biology major at Metropolitan State University in Denver.

Ashley Ellmaker was in the lab from 2015-2016 and provided valuable assistance on the project investigating whether adolescent dietary choline supplementation counteracts the effects of adolescent stress on adult behavior. Ashley recently graduated with Biology and Chemistry degrees from Metropolitan State University in Denver.

Danelle Whisenhunt was in the lab from 2015-2016 and made numerous contributions to our project investigating whether adolescent dietary choline supplementation ameliorates the effects of adolescent stress. Danelle recently received her Biology degree from Metropolitan State University in Denver.

Maria Burke started out as an undergraduate research assistant in 2011 and was the laboratory manager from 2012-2015. She conducted several independent research projects investigating whether prenatal stress impacts levels of alpha7 and alpha4 beta2 nAChRs in the hippocampus and amygdala. Maria has authored a paper published in Developmental Neurobiology and will co-author additional manuscripts currently in preparation. Maria recently received her Masters Degree in Biology from Miami University.

Megan Zajkowski was a professional research assistant in the lab from 2012-2015. She investigated whether adolescent stress impacts working memory performance. Megan authored a paper published in Behavioural Brain Research, and will also co-author several papers currently in preparation.

Chakeer Drake-Frazier was a laboratory assistant from 2012-2014. Chakeer's project investigated whether perinatal choline supplementation can mitigate the negative effects of prenatal stress on male social behaviors. Chakeer's work contributed to a publication in Behavioural Brain Research. Chakeer is currently taking a break from research to explore other potential career options, but we are hoping he will return soon!

Isabella Ramos was a research assistant as part of the BRAiN Program from 2012-2014. Isabella assisted with several laboratory projects, and also conducted an independed research project investigating the effects of prenatal stress on levels of alpha7 nAChRs in the hypothalamus. Isabella is currently making a difference in the Teach for America Program.

Kat Davis was a research assistant in the laboratory from 2012-2014. Her honors thesis investigated the effects of prenatal stress on alpha7 nAChRs in the basolateral amygdala. Kat is currently in PA school at Emory University School of Medicine.

Kayla Brooks, M.A. was a research assistant in the lab from 2009-2013. She worked on several projects, and specifically investigated the effects of prenatal and adolescent stress on obesity and adiposity, and presented this work at The Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN) meeting in 2013. She co-authored a paper publsihed in Behavioural Brain Research, and will also co-author a manuscript currently in preparation. Kayla recently finished her Masters Degree in Research Design and Statistics at the University of Denver.

Alison Kreisler, Ph.D. was a research assistant in the laboratory from 2009-2010. Her project investigated the effects of prenatal stress on alpha7 nAChRs in the hippocampus and this work contributed to a publication in Developmental Neurobiology. Alison recently graduated from the Neuroscience Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and is currently a postdoc at the Scripps Research Institute.

Mary Gasparrini was a research assistant in the laboratory from 2011-2012. Mary investigated whether perinatal choline mitigates the deleterious effects of prenatal stress on adult anxiety-related behaviors, and co-authored the resulting paper published in Behavioural Brain Research. Mary is currently studying in France.

Jennifer Pearson, Ph.D. started out as an undergraduate research assistant and subsequently was a PRA in the laboratory from 2008-2010. Jennifer was instrumental in developing behavioral paradigms and autoradiography protocols in the laboratory and she authored three papers in our laboratory. Jennifer received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus studying epilepsy and is currently in a postdoctoral position in the Patel laboratory at the University of Colorado Anschutz.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Veronica is a junior majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Psychology. She has assisted in tracing the genital cortex in the somatosensory cortex alongside Master’s student, Ian Warren. After graduation, Veronica wants to attend medical school in hopes of furthering her passions in psychology as a psychiatrist MD!

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Grayce Garcia is a Neuroscience and Psychology double major with an anticipated graduation date of May 2025. Her work focuses on how developmental stress affects neuroplasticity by analyzing PNNs in the hippocampus. Grayce hopes to pursue medical school after obtaining her bachelor’s, and is working to discover her passion in terms of specialties.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Erin is a senior majoring in Biochemistry and Neuroscience and will be graduating in Spring of 2024. Her current work focuses on how prenatal and adolescent stress alter neuroplasticity in the basolateral amygdala and central amygdala. After graduation she hopes to either pursue a PhD in biochemistry or go to pharmacy school.

Abby is a junior majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in English. Her anticipated graduation date is in 2025. In hopes of finding new information about stress-related neuroplasticity, she has assisted in imaging and data collection for the Hormone Monster project, focusing on specifically the hippocampus region. Along with fellow research assistants, she presented at both the Eureca Convention, where she won an Achievement Award within the College of Arts and Sciences Division, and the Psychology Department’s Spring Celebration. She is currently on the pre-med track in hopes of becoming a psychiatrist.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

mmaynor2@vols.utk.edu

Meg is a neuroscience major from Kingsport, Tennessee, and she intends to graduate a semester early in December of 2024. Currently, her work, alongside Jess, focuses on how the addition of hormones during adolescence affects the neuroplasticity of the medial prefrontal cortex. After undergrad, she intends to pursue her MD!

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Kim is a senior majoring in Microbiology and joined the team in the Fall of 2021. As a non-traditional college student, she took a break from university life to attend trade school and began working as a nurse to gain experience in the medical field, eventually returning to complete her degree at UTK. Post-graduation plans include applying to Physician Assistant programs or medical school to eventually serve patients as a trusted clinician with interests in the fields of orthopedics and neurology. Within the lab, she has been helping with imaging and data collection for the Hormone Monster and Red Light District projects under AJ’s guidance.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

mkalb1@vols.utk.edu

Madison began in the lab during the Spring of 2022. She graduated in May 2024 with a BA in Psychology and a neuroscience minor. She worked alongside Marcia Chavez to investigate the presence of perineuronal nets and parvalbumin in the basolateral amygdala of rats. She presented at the EURECA Conference and the Psychology Department’s Spring Celebration with Trevor Pounders in the Spring of 2023. She wrote her senior capstone thesis during Spring 2024 that analyzed the effects of gonadal steroid hormones on the presence of PNNs and PV in the BLA.