How neurons control behaviors is a major research interest for me. Specifically, I am interested in investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in cognition such as learning and memory, decision-making and perception.

In my PhD career at the University of Houston I characterized the role of serotonergic (5-HT) signaling in novelty habituation, a form or learning and memory, in the Drosophila brain. My findings from pharmacological and transgenic (including circuit-breaking optogenetic and thermogenetic) experiments identified distinct 5-HT secreting neurons that may modulate specialized circuits that regulate habituation to novelty.

I am also interested in the translation of basic science research to novel clinical applications and therapies to mitigate the impact of neurodegenerative diseases. As a result, in the lab of Dr. Kokovay at UTHSCSA I investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms that may, in an age-dependent manner,  regulate neurogeneis in the mouse ventricular-subventricular zone and hippocampus.