Doctoral student in Integrative Neuroscience
Background
Joe is a NSF Graduate Research Felllow in Integrative Neuroscience working with Sarah London. They received degrees in Integrative Biology and Psychology with a focus in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Illinois in 2015. Following graduation, they worked as a laboratory technician with Justin Rhodes, studying the neurobiology of parental behavior and sex-change behavior in a marine fish species Amphiprion Ocellaris, and assisted in the development and validation of mouse models for both ADHD-like behavior and chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits.
Research Interests
In general, Joe is interested in how the brain interacts with and learns from its external environment, and how the genome/epigenome can bias or modify (and be modified by) these abilities. Specifically, they are investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying sexually-dimorphic vocal learning in a zebra finch model, and how age and experience can alter the ability to modify neural circuitry and behavior. Their current work focuses on discovering meaningful connections between genes, molecules, and behavior in this critical period model.
