Principle Investigator

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Ph. D. Candidate
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Marcia graduated with a Master’s in Experimental Psychology from CSU San Marcos in 2017. Since the start of her PhD work at UT, Marcia has made many contributions to the lab and has been awarded the prestigious Tennessee Graduate Excellence Fellowship. Currently her work examines sex differences within stress and neuroplasticity during development, and what the underlying hormonal mechanisms are produce these differences.

Ph.D. Candidate
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Jessica graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a Spanish minor from UNC Wilmington in 2020. Here at UTK, she is working to understand how hormones affect neuroplasticity during adolescence in the medial prefrontal cortex, and how this may contribute to the development of mental health disorders later in life.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Maddie is a Neuroscience and Spanish double major with an anticipated graduation date of May 2025. Her current work focuses on how prenatal and adolescent stress alter neuroplasticity in the basolateral amygdala and central amygdala. After graduation, she plans on attending medical school to eventually work in a pediatric subspecialty.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Joseph is an undergraduate Neuroscience major and is anticipated to graduate in the Spring of 2026. His work focuses on how stress during different stages of adolescence affects neuroplasticity within the medial prefrontal cortex. After he graduates, Joseph will aim for a PhD in Neuroscience in order to research ADHD and plans on making information regarding ADHD to be more accessible.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Olivia is a junior majoring in Neuroscience and pursuing a minor in English. She has assisted with immunofluorescent imaging for the Hormone Monster project. Additionally, she has completed behavioral analysis while collaborating with the Richardson Lab at UMASS Amherst under Dr. Schulz’s supervision. Olivia is a non-traditional student and a mother of three. She plans to go to medical school after graduating and hopes to specialize in pediatric surgery while simultaneously conducting research on treatments for Glioblastoma.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Trevor is a senior from Memphis, Tennessee and joined the team in the Spring of 2023. He is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Business Management. Within the lab space he has assisted PhD student, Marcia Chavez, by tracing the BLA brain region and counting the neurons within that region to understand how different hormones affect neuroplasticity within an organism. After graduation, Trevor hopes to pursue higher education.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

ibenson@vols.utk.edu

Belle is a senior at the University of Tennessee studying Psychology and Neuroscience. She joined the lab in the spring of 2023, assisting PhD student AJ Castaneda in studying the effects of pubertal timing on social behavior. After graduation, Belle plans to apply to medical school and eventually become a plastic surgeon.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

zheyser@vols.utk.edu

Zachary is a sophomore majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in statistics. He joined the lab in spring of 2024. He currently serves as secretary in the University of Tennessee’s Melanin Mental Health Alliance where he advocates for mental health awareness and destigmatization in the African American community. He is currently working with AJ Castaneda to study the effects of ketamine on neuroplasticity. After graduation, Zachary aspires to become a clinical psychologist.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

annsunde@vols.utk.edu

Annie is a junior majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish. She joined the lab in the spring of 2024 and will be graduating in May of 2025. Annie is currently working alongside Jessica Tremblay to investigate the effects of adolescent stress on social behavior in adult rats. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school and eventually become a physician specializing in OB/GYN or neurology.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

svetterr@vols.utk.edu

Sophia is a junior double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. She earned her Associates of Science Degree at Roane State Community College and transferred to UTK in the Fall 2023 semester, where she then joined the lab. Sophia plans to continue working in the lab until her graduation in December of 2025. Sophia is currently working with PhD candidate AJ Castaneda on investigating a new method of influencing brain neuroplasticity involving the use of ketamine, as well as the effects of pubertal hormones and timing on social behavior. After her graduation at UTK, she aims to obtain her Masters and PhD in Neuroscience to continue research in cognitive and behavioral brain functioning.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

awhale13@vols.utk.edu

Alyssa is a Neuroscience and BCMB double major with a minor in Psychology. She is anticipated to graduate May 2025. Following graduation, Alyssa aims to attend an MD/PhD program in pursuits of neurosurgery and clinical research.