Members

Dr. Maithe Arruda Carvalho
PI
I did my undergraduate BSc in biomedical sciences and a MSc in cellular neurobiology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I then moved to Canada in 2007 for my PhD from UofT at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, with Dr. Paul Frankland, where I studied how neurons born in the adult brain contribute to memory formation and expression. I moved to New York City in 2013 for a postdoc at Mount Sinai Hospital with Dr. Roger Clem to study synaptic plasticity within selective brain microcircuits supporting emotional memory. I relocated to Toronto in 2016 to start my own lab at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
Why Science?

Science feeds my need for asking questions and for debate. I really enjoy the freedom and unpredictability within the scientific process.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

My other career choices going into university were cinema and particle physics.
Favourite place in Toronto?

Kensington Market
Favourite movie/book?

Impossible to choose. First that come to mind:
Movies: Three colours: Blue; Resnais (Hiroshima mon Amour), Haneke, Vinterberg (Festen), Wong Kar-wai, Almodovar, Kitano (Dolls), Ozon (8 women)
Books: Marguerite Duras’s La Douleur (War: a Memoir); Rimbaud, Hilda Hilst, Wisława Szymborska, Dostoievski

Arely Cruz-Sanchez
PhD student
I was born in St. Michael's hospital in Toronto and have lived in Canada my whole life. Spent part of my childhood in Scarborough but have been living in the little town of Ajax for the past 18 years. I am a proud Salvadorian o Salvadoreña para aquellos que hablan Español. I obtained an Honors Bachelor of Science, double majoring in biology and neuroscience at the University of Toronto Scarborough and am currently a Cell and Systems Biology Doctoral Student at UTSC. My research as a PhD student in the DevSneuro Lab focuses on the maturation of brain circuits and how it relates to the development of specific behaviours and types of memory.
Why Science?

Good question. I got interested in science during high school. The one subject I found most fun and exciting was biology and the journey started from there.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

A film composer, even though my musical talent is limited to playing the recorder or a stunt woman.
Favourite place in Toronto?

My backyard
Favourite movie/book?

There are way too many to choose from! But my go-to movies would be Stephen Sommers' The Mummy or any Harry Potter Film.

Hanista Premachandran
PhD student
I am a first-year MA student in the DevSneuro lab at UTSC. I completed my undergraduate thesis project with Dr. Arruda-Carvalho and decided to continue my project through the MA program. Currently, I am investigating how early life stress influences emotional learning, both at the circuit and behavioural level.
Why Science?

Science allows us to continuously learn and ask questions. It allows for a better understanding of the world and ourselves. Science also encourages us to be better consumers of research.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

Maybe a landscape painter.
Favourite place in Toronto?

The Royal Ontario Museum & Art Gallery of Ontario
Favourite movie/book?

Movie: October Sky
Book: The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks

Jennifer Wilkin
PhD student
I’m born and raised out here in the Toronto area, the fourth kid of three brothers! I have my BSc. in Neuroscience Specialist Co-op and a minor in biology. I joined the DevSneuro Lab as a thesis student after doing my co-op work term in schizophrenia research at CAMH, and am going on to do my Master’s here in the lab. I’m interested in the role of circuit maturation in affective learning.
Why Science?

The brain is the most complex piece of matter in the known world, what else could be more exciting to study?
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

I would be an artist; I would probably go into video game concept art or character design. I’ve been doing concept art for many years and have actually commissioned a few character designs for things like D&D and other RPGs!
Favourite place in Toronto?

Koreatown! It has everything I love: tons of fantastic Korean food, a bunch of stores with Rilakkuma plushies and kpop posters, and an internet cafe to play Dota 2.
Favourite movie/book?

My favourite movie is Shrek 2, and my favourite book is The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Abdessattar Khlaifia
Postdoc
I received my B.Sc. in biology from Aix-Marseille University (France) in 2010 and then my master’s degree in 2012 and PhD in 2015 in neuroscience from the same University. During my PhD, I studied long-term synaptic plasticity in the nucleus of tractus solitarius and the modulation of synaptic transmission/plasticity by the nutritional status using ex vivo patch-clamp and pharmacology. In 2016, I joined the University of Montréal (Canada) as a postdoctoral fellow under the co-supervision of Pr. Jacques Michaud and Jean-Claude Lacaille, where I investigated interneurons dysfunction in a mouse model of intellectual disability using electrophysiology and optogenetics.
Why Science?

In addition to be fascinated by the super-power of our neurons and the complexity of the brain at the anatomic and functional levels, I believe that doing research is a big privilege and the best way to feed the brain by new knowledge through the questions we’re addressing and the research avenues we’re investigating. It is also an easy way to communicate science and to meet scientists from all over the world.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

Before going in this direction (neuroscience), I was attracted by biomedical and agricultural engineering
Favourite place in Toronto?

Because I’m new in the city, I’m still discovering it and so far the few places I visited in Toronto are charming.
Favourite movie/book?

Movies: I really liked Django unchained, les intouchables, bienvenue chez les ch’tis, the fugitive. Books: Si c'était à refaire (Marc Levy), L'Étranger (Albert Camus), the Attack, the Sirens of Bagdad (Yasmina Khadra)

Ashutosh Patel
Postdoc
I was born in a small town in India and immigrated to Canada with my family in 2006. I completed my HBSc from the University of Toronto Scarborough and subsequently received my MSc and PhD degrees in biomedical sciences with a specialization in neuroscience from the University of Guelph. For my doctoral thesis, I studied the effects of endogenous neurosteroids on nicotinic signalling and synaptic plasticity in the rodent prefrontal cortex using patch-clamp electrophysiology and pharmacology.
Why Science?

Science is the way I can satisfy my natural curiosity about anything and everything from a microscopic to a macroscopic scale.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

If not a neuroscientist, I would have pursued astrophysics to study the fundamental workings of the universe.
Favourite place in Toronto?

Toronto botanical gardens
Favourite movie/book?

How to train your dragon movies, the Harry Potter series, and the Hobbit trilogy.

Ryan Appings
Lab Technician
I am currently in my final year at UTSC and doing a thesis project that is investigating the role of the dorsal peduncular cortex in mice anxiety behavior. My interest in neuroscience began after I read “The Brain That Changes Itself” where I first learnt about neural plasticity and mirror therapy. My research interests include plasticity and its effects on pain and addiction as well as neurodegenerative disorders.
Why Science?

The scientific method is the best way to investigate questions and settle arguments. Also, there is nothing more exciting that using information you learnt to innovate and come up with something new.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

Engineering or computer science, creating things from code makes you feel like a god.
Favourite place in Toronto?

Don valley bike trails
Favourite movie/book?

Interstellar and Perks of being a Wallflower

Anna Canella
Lab Technician
I was born and raised in Brazil in a suburban area of São Paulo. I moved to Canada in 2016 for my BScH. at the University of Guelph where I majored in Biomedical Sciences and minored in Neuroscience. I have always been one to keep myself super busy. So, in undergrad, I was involved from advocacy and governance on campus, especially representing fellow international students, to peer support volunteer work and community outreach. I also loved to stay active and played competitively Quidditch for 2 years (Fun fact 😊). Mid the pandemic onset, I also completed my Master’s focusing on the role of M3 muscarinic receptors in inducing and modulating neuronal excitability.
Why Science?

I have always been a very inquisitive person and loved to solve puzzles and figure out how everything worked. I guess science allows me both!
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

Although I am still working towards being a physician scientist, which includes also pursuing training as a physician, if not neither of the two I would probably have been a pharmaceutical lawyer.
Favourite place in Toronto?

The Scarborough Bluffs
Favourite movie/book?

That’s a hard one, I am always watching something new and have way too many favorites. I guess a couple of my top choices are the Harry Potter series, Hidden Figure, The Imitation Game and Sherlock Holmes (the TV Show).

Anusha Abdusalom
UG Student
I graduated UTSC in November 2021 with an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree, majoring in Neuroscience and Theatre and Performance Studies. I love learning about the brain and spinal cord and wish to enter medical school in a couple of years to pursue neurological surgery. As for my personal background, I am the second of four sisters and immigrated to Canada from Tajikistan at the age of 10!
Why Science?

? Science helps us understand ourselves, other humans, and our world in a factual and practical way. I love being able to apply a thoroughly studied concept to my personal life and obtaining real results, which can often be explained by scientific phenomena.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

Most likely a Yoga Teacher with Isha Foundation.
Favourite place in Toronto?

Any Tim Hortons line :P
Favourite movie/book?

Favorite book is "The Essential Rumi" by Rumi, and favorite movie, for now, is "Silver Linings Playbook."

Francesca Violi
UG Student
I am a fifth-year student pursuing a neuroscience specialist, major in human biology and a minor in psychology. I’ve been interested in how the brain works since I was a young child, but my passion for neuroscience really started after my high school science teacher introduced the neurotransmitter dopamine. My research interests lie in the intersection of trauma and early childhood adversity on the developing brain and how changes in the relevant circuitry contribute to the onset of addiction and mental illness.
Why Science?

Everyone’s brain is unique and shaped by individual experiences. No two people experience their external or internal world the same. This makes the brain the coolest thing in the entire world, and it’s both an honour and a privilege to have the resources to study it. More generally, understanding science equips us with the necessary information to make informed decisions about practically everything. Nothing is more empowering than our ability to independently understand the world around us.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

I would go into medicine or train as a chef and open a restaurant!
Favourite place in Toronto?

Probably Ossington, so many great restaurants!!
Favourite movie/book?

Movies, probably Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Ratatouille. My favourite books would be the Harry Potter Series and The Gene: An Intimate History.

Danyal Zaidi
UG Student
I am a fourth-year undergraduate student currently pursuing programs in neuroscience and psychology with a minor in philosophy. I fell in love with neuroscience in high school when I took introductory psychology and came to an understanding that the human experience, whether that be emotions, thoughts, or behaviour, can be investigated at a mechanistic level. My research interests include the circuitry underlying stress, fear, and anxiety related behaviours, stress susceptibility, and the hippocampus at large.
Why Science?

Science helps us make sense of ourselves and the natural phenomena that surrounds us. We are by nature curious beings, and this curiosity is pursued through science in a methodical way that benefits everyone. Through science, I am able to feed my curiosity and when I think I’m at the end, there is always more to discover!
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

I loved studying history when I was younger and still do it in my free time, so maybe a historian.
Favourite place in Toronto?

My room when it is dimly lit and accompanied by my harmonium.
Favourite movie/book?

Movie - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Book - The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Ana Gonzalez
UG Volunteer
I’m a third-year undergraduate student here at UTSC and I am pursuing a specialization in behavioural neuroscience. As a child, I was always interested in learning more about the human body and as I grew up and learned about the brain I became even more fascinated. Once I started university, I grew to love psychology as well, particularly more in behavioural psychology and clinical psychology. As for my background, I was born here in Toronto but my parents are Colombian (I am also fluent in Spanish).
Why Science?

I have always been interested in exploring new ways in which our knowledge on the human system and more specifically the neurological system to help us in our daily life and or to help acquire knowledge in a specific field of science.
If not a scientist, what would you have been?

If not a scientist, I would have been a translator as I am bilingual and want to learn many different languages.
Favourite place in Toronto?

My favourite place in Toronto has to be Toronto Island because you get to see the city skyline from afar with the view as well as Lake Ontario.
Favourite movie/book?

My favourite movie is Saving Private Ryan

Past Members

Justin Botterill, Postdoc, 2020-2022 Current: Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan

Christabel Eileen, Undergraduate Volunteer Student 2022

Asa Kanani, Undergraduate Thesis Student and lab technician 2021-2022

Maryam Dadabhoy, Undergraduate Thesis Student and Volunteer 2019-2022 Current: Graduate school at Harvard

Junior Steininger, PhD Student 2020-2022

Unza Mumtaz, Lab Technician 2021-22

Melina Matthiesen, Postdoc 2019-2022

Julia Naus, Undergraduate Supervised Study Student 2021-2022

Parjanya Parikh, Undergraduate Thesis Student 2021-2022

Charlotte Romain, Undergraduate Thesis Student 2021-2022

Kanza Naveed, Thesis Student 2020-2021 Current: Med school at UofT

Arya Zarrinbakhsh, Thesis Student 2018-2020 Current: MSc Student at UofT

Mudi Zhao, MA student 2018-2020 Current: PhD Student at UBC

Agarsh Satheesh, Thesis Student 2019-2020 Current: Med School at McMaster

Radu Gugustea, Lab Technician 2019-2020 Current: PhD Student at UofT

Helen Chasiotis, Lab Technician/Manager 2018-2020 Current: Imaging specialist at Nikon

Rojina Samifanni, Thesis Student 2018-2019 Current: MSc student at University of Guelph

Nicole Odenwald, MA Student 2018-2019 Current: Project Manager at Stanford University

Shadini Dematagoda, Thesis Student 2018-2019

Ridda Ahmed, Thesis Student 2018-2019

Bhairavei Gnanamanogaran, Thesis Student 2018-2019 Current: Research Assistant at Toronto General

Sadia Riaz, PhD Student (Outside Project, Supervisor: Dr. Rutsuko Ito) 2018

Sakhithya Mohanathaas, Thesis Student 2017-2018 Current: Dentistry at UofT

Mona Jarrah, Undergraduate Supervised Study Student 2017-2018 Current: Master's of Public Health at Johns Hopkins

Abdu Mohamud, Thesis Student 2017-2018 Current: Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology at Tulane University

Archchana Rajmohan, Undergraduate Thesis Student 2016-2017 Current: Med School in Bahrain

Rishawn Dhir, Undergraduate Supervised Study Student 2016-2017 Current: Med school at Tulane University

Life in the DevSneuro lab

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We are always interested in new talent.
Please visit our Opportunities page for any lab openings.

Opportunities