Graduate Students

Ashton is a graduate student in the Neuroscience Training Program. She is interested in both understanding and developing novel treatments for anxiety and depression. More specifically, she’s interested in elucidating the mechanism of action of the antidepressant effects of ketamine in a non-human primate model. She’s also interested in exploring the effects of classic psychedelics in non-human primates. In addition to research, she is passionate about teaching at the collegiate level. Outside of her academic interests, she enjoys baking and playing the violin.

Rachel is a graduate student in the Neuroscience Training Program. She is interested in the neural circuitry and molecular mechanisms that are relevant to the development of anxious temperament. She is currently investigating how differences in anxiety-related behaviors during the early-life of non-human primates relate to changes in the functional connectivity of the amygdala and prefrontal cortices. She is also studing how differing behavioral and connectivity growth trajectories may be reflected in the molecular signatures of anxiety-related brain regions.