• Herbert Zheng Wu, Ph.D

    Principle Investigator

    Herbert is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. After receiving a Ph.D in Neurobiology from Harvard University, he did his postdoctoral work at the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University. He was a Junior Fellow at the Simons Society of Fellows and an inaugural ISFS Fellow. Herbert enjoys running, hiking, literature, and a good laugh.

  • Yuan Cheng, Ph.D

    Postdoctoral Fellow

    Yuan is a Seaver Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. In his doctoral work, he studied the sensory dysfunctions in aging and autism spectrum disorder. His future work centers on the neural basis of higher cognitive functions that are impacted by autism and other brain disorders. Outside of the lab, Yuan enjoys spending time with his family.

  • Myungji Kwak, Ph.D

    Postdoctoral Fellow

    Myungji is an incoming Postdoctoral Fellow. In her doctoral work, she studied the neural mechanisms of value-based decision-making using a rodent gambling task. She is interested in understanding how the brain guides complex behavior across different contexts and aims to extend this passion into social decision-making during her postdoctoral study. Myungji loves walking, traveling, learning gymnastics, and freshly brewed coffee.

  • Tessa Spangler

    Associate Researcher

    Tessa is an Associate Researcher in the Department of Neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She studied Neuroscience and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona for her BS before moving to New York. She plans to apply to medical school in the future. When she’s not in the lab you’ll find her crafting, reading, or exercising.

  • Alvi Khan

    Undergraduate Volunteer

    Alvi is an Undergraduate Research Volunteer in the Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He currently attends Baruch College, where he is majoring in biology and minoring in mathematics. In the future, Alvi aspires to become a physician-scientist, specializing in either psychiatry or neurology. Outside of the lab, Alvi enjoys reading, hiking, and watching movies.

  • Emma Sullaway

    Undergraduate Volunteer

    Emma is an Undergraduate Research Volunteer in the Department of Neuroscience. She attends Barnard College where she is majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior. Emma is especially interested in the neural basis of decision-making and collaboration. Outside of the lab, Emma works for the college radio station and designs sets for campus theater.

  • Amy Farrah Fowler, Ph.D

    Chief Entertainment Officer

    Amy is a neuroscientist who shared a Nobel Prize in Physics with Dr. Sheldon Cooper for their work on super asymmetry, whatever that is. She is a master of the reinforcement theory and has an extraordinary ability to manipulate Dr. Cooper through rewards. Growing up with no friends, Amy enjoys sarcasm and solving puzzles. As her mother used to say: “when you’re doing a puzzle, it’s like having a thousand friends.”

  • Santiago Ramón y Cajal

    Lab Spirit

    Cajal was a Spanish neuroscientist, pathologist, and histologist. Widely considered as the father of modern neuroscience, he provided fundamental insights into the structure of the nervous system. Some of his drawings of neurons are still unparalleled till today. Cajal has some advice for a young investigator. But do not trust everything he said.

Cintia Shamsu - Undergraduate Volunteer

Alumni

Nate Tillison - Undergraduate Volunteer, Summer 2023

Collaborators

Darcy S. Peterka, Ph.D
Senior Scientist, Director of Team Science and Scientific Director of Cellular Imaging, Zuckerman Institute/Columbia University

Xin Jin, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Scripps Research

Nan Yang, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Alipasha Vaziri, Ph.D
Professor of Neurosciences and Behavior, Associate Director of Kavli Neural Systems Institute, Rockefeller University

Ashok Litwin-Kumar, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Columbia University

Xin Duan, Ph.D
Assistant Professor at Department of Ophthalmology, University of California in San Francisco

Robert Sebra, Ph.D
Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Sai Ma, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Joseph Castellano, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Scott Russo, Ph.D
Professor and Director of Center for Affective Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Angela Radulescu, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Center for Computational Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

We are actively recruiting students and postdoctoral fellows— please join us!