Eitan Schechtman
eitans@uci.edu

Eitan completed a BA in Psychology and an MSc and PhD in Neural Computation, all at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He then completed his postdoc at Northwestern University. Eitan is passionate about understanding the neural underpinnings of human cognition, and specifically the manner in which the sleeping brain supports cognitive function. Outside of the lab, he enjoys spending time with his husband and two kids, hiking, reading, and listening to music. His passions include LGBTQ+ advocacy and scientific outreach, especially with school-aged kids..

CV ● BlueSky ● Google Scholar ● Namedrop

Matthew Cho
matthewcho9577@gmail.com

Matthew has graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. in neurobiology. He joined the Cognitive Neuroscience of Sleep Lab to learn more about reactivation of memories, and apply what he learned during his studies as an undergraduate. In the future, he hopes to join a PhD program and further a career in neuroscience. Outside of lab work, he enjoys tennis, weightlifting, and watching movies.

Sarvia Aquino
ssaquino@uci.edu

Sarvia graduated from the University of Southern California in 2017 with a B.S. in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and an M.S. in Neuroimaging and Informatics. Sarvia is passionate about understanding how memory is formed and kept especially for traumatic memories that affect systemic disenfranchised communities (eg. Immigrants, veterans, unhoused communities). In the future, she hopes to one day run a lab. She is excited to see where neuroscience takes her. Outside of lab work, she enjoys swimming, surfing, hiking, and spending time with her dogs. 

Nicholas Lew
njlew@uci.edu

Nick is a Master’s student at UCI majoring in neurobiology. This is his first lab opportunity and he is looking forward to working and learning with the Cognitive Neuroscience of Sleep Lab! He is specifically interested in memory manipulation of memory, especially the deterioration of memories and applying them towards PTSD. In the future, Nick hopes to attend medical school. Outside of the lab, he enjoys going to the beach, lifting, and reading, and watching anime. 

Neda Morakabati
nmorakab@uci.edu

Neda completed her B.S. in Psychology on the Neuroscience Track at UMass Amherst, and continued her pursuit of research at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA. Boston born and raised, Neda (and her service dog Arlo) has swapped coasts for the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program at UC Irvine, where she’s pursuing her PhD. Coming from a rodent and postmortem human tissue background, she will be rotating in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Sleep Lab in the Spring to learn about the importance of sleep to our cognition. Outside of lab work, Neda enjoys playing video games, writing music, and exploring the area. Her passions include outreach to marginalized youth, and advocacy for inclusive and accessible learning environments. 

Gautam Narayan
narayag1@uci.edu

Gautam is a graduate student at UCI. He graduated from UC San Diego in June 2022 with a B.S. in neurobiology. Gautam is interested largely in learning about the potential for sleep manipulation to improve wellbeing in humans. He is interested in using the targeted reactivation of memory in sleep to better understand the role of context in memory consolidation. When not in the lab, Gautam really enjoys going to the beach, running, and being a part of the UCI club tennis team. 

Ebelin Gomez Salcedo
gomezsal@uci.edu

Ebelin Gomez, a first year undergraduate majoring in Biological Sciences. I plan on specializing in Neurobiology in the future and potentially minoring in Psychology! This is my first time in a lab. I am excited to be a part of the CogNos lab and can’t wait to learn more about the role sleep plays in memory consolidation, as well as its cognitive and emotional impacts. I am also curious about TMR and the process behind it. In the future, I plan on going to graduate school, hopefully in neurobiology. Besides research, I love reading, watching cartoons, and listening to music. 

Andrea Gutierrez
asgutie5@uci.edu

Andrea Gutierrez is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Psychology, with minors in Biology and Political Science. This is her first experience working in a research lab, and she is excited to learn more about how insomnia, poor sleep habits, and other sleep difficulties affect memory over time. She plans to attend medical school after completing her undergraduate studies. Outside of the lab, she loves reading, cafe hopping, and is currently getting into running as a new hobby. 

Ria Karve
rkkarve@uci.edu

Ria is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Cognitive Sciences, with a minor in Hearing and Speech Sciences – this is her first lab experience! She is passionate about understanding and addressing cognitive decline, especially through neurodegenerative mechanisms and their impacts on memory consolidation and overall brain health. After undergrad, she plans on obtaining her master’s and PsyD, to eventually become a neuropsychologist. Outside the lab, Ria is a part of SPOP, Active Minds, and ASUCI, and enjoys spending time with friends, playing the piano, and exploring cute cafes. 

Hannah Kim
hhkim9@uci.edu

Hannah Kim is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Cognitive Sciences. She is curious about how the brain functions and how this affects our relationship with our environment, wellbeing, biology, and more. Specifically, she is interested in memory, such as false-memory susceptibility, how sleep enhances memory reconsolidation, how memories shape our upbringing, etc. This will be her second lab experience, as her previous lab experience was in studying how stress affects cognitive functioning in mice. Her future plans lean toward continuing education to become a neuropsychologist. Outside of the lab, she loves to draw, read, spend time with friends and family, binge-watch Brooklyn 99, and scroll on Pinterest endlessly!. 

Evelyn Le
evelyml2@uci.edu

Evelyn is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Human Biology. She is interested in learning about how targeted memory reactivation (TMR) works to improve memory consolidation during sleep. She is also curious if this technique can be applied to strengthen memory in older adults and facilitate faster learning in children. She aspires to attend medical school post-graduation. Outside of the lab, she enjoys volunteering, going to the movie theater, listening to music, swimming, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. 

Christian Piedra
piedrac@uci.edu

Christian is a third year Biological sciences major at UCI. This is his first lab experience and he is very interested in the effects sleep has on memory consolidation and how different auditory and olfactory cues can help on the retrieval of memory. Outside of the lab he intends to attend optometry school. A couple of his hobbies include playing soccer, watching anime, exploring different music genres and hanging out with friends. 

Maya Pourreza
mpourrez@uci.edu

Maya is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Psychological Science. She is interested in learning about how emotion and memory can be affected with certain sleep cues along with what neural processes control emotions. This is her first experience in a lab and she is very excited to learn the ropes. Maya plans to go to graduate school and earn her PsyD. Outside the lab, she loves reading, music, the beach, movies and spending quality time with her friends and family. 

Kara Syn
ksyn@uci.edu

Kara is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Public Health Sciences. This is her first lab experience, and she is interested in the impact of auditory cues in targeted memory reactivation. She is also interested in comparing the effects of multi-sensory cues with those of uni-sensory cues. She hopes to attend medical school after graduation. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing the piano, watching movies and TV shows, cafe hopping, and spending time with friends and family. 

Charli Taylor
charlmt1@uci.edu

Charli is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Public Health Sciences. She is interested in using her experience working in EEG and brain dysfunction (e.g. Epilepsy, Anoxic Brain Injury, Sleep Apnea) to examine how healthy brains function. Before joining the Cognitive Neuroscience of Sleep Lab, she conducted research in Antibiotic Resistance and Microbial pathogenesis. Outside the lab, she loves reading sci-fi and horror books and plays lots of games online with friends and family. 

Alyas Thomas
alyast@uci.edu

Alyas is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Software Engineering. He is interested in health informatics, and is passionate about exploring how data-driven approaches can uncover insights into the relationship between sleep and cognitive performance. He is particularly excited about opportunities to work with interdisciplinary teams to analyze and interpret health data, using advanced techniques to better understand how sleep patterns influence mental processes such as memory and decision-making. In the future, Alyas hopes to pursue a minor in health informatics as well as a potential PHD. Outside of school, he enjoys working on cars, playing video games, going to the gym, and learning from software passion projects. 

Megan Vermillion
vermillm@uci.edu

Megan is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Psychology. This is her first lab experience, and she is excited to get started! She is particularly interested in exploring new treatment approaches aimed at improving the well-being of individuals with psychiatric disorders. Outside of the lab, Megan enjoys going to concerts, learning new songs on the piano and guitar, and baking treats for her friends and family. After graduating, she plans to pursue a PsyD and become a clinical psychologist. 

Fiona Yao
flyao@uci.edu

Fiona is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Biological Sciences with the intent of concentrating in Human Biology. She is interested in learning how memory reactivation works during sleep, with an interest in the context of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or people with traumatic experiences such as refugees or prisoners of war. She plans on attending medical school after undergrad. Outside of lab, Fiona is apart of the competitive tennis club and enjoys staying active and being outdoors in beautiful Orange County. 

Isabella Zago
izago@uci.edu

Isabella is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Biological Sciences with the intent of concentrating in Human Biology. This is her first experience working in a lab and she is interested in learning about the effects of different circadian states and how they influence sleep related memory. In the future, she plans on attending medical school. Outside of the lab, Bella enjoys playing soccer, painting, going to cafes, and listening to music.  

Carl Zhang
hansenz4@uci.edu

Carl is an undergraduate student at UCI majoring in Psychology and Biological Science. His interest lies within the manipulation of memory and the biological phenomenon that allows memory manipulation to happen. He is not only interested in the “why”, but also the “how” that is going on inside the brain. The brain is always changing, and Carl is especially intrigued by the amazing organ that is the brain. This is his first experience in joining a lab, and he is very excited to learn about more amazing concepts of memory with many other amazing people with the same interest as him. Outside of lab, Carl loves to play piano, hangout with friends and family, watch anime, and read manga.