Lab Members — Richard Lab

Jocelyn M. Richard, PhD, Assistant Professor

Jocelyn received her BA in psychobiology from Occidental College, where she worked in the lab of Nancy Dess, and completed her PhD at the University of Michigan in Kent Berridge's laboratory. Jocelyn conducted her postdoctoral work with Howard Fields at UCSF, and Patricia Janak at Johns Hopkins University, where she focused on dissecting the functional contributions of activity in ventral pallidal neurons to reward seeking behavior. She is particularly interested in how the brain generates signals related to learning, affect and motivation, and how these signals are altered in models of addiction and neuropsychiatric disease. These questions are the focus of her lab's work at the University of Minnesota.

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Ankit Sood, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate

Ankit obtained his B.S. in Microbiology from Delhi University, India. He then completed his PhD with Prof Vidita Vaidya at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India where he worked on understanding sexual dimorphism in stress response. Currently, he is working on using in-vivo electrophysiological recordings from the ventral pallidum to tease apart neuronal populations responsible for coding expected outcome value and/or incentive value of cues. In his free time, Ankit likes to play various sports, read books, cook, watch movies and listen to music.

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Meredith Bauer, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate

Meredith’s research interests center on understanding the neurobiology of compulsive alcohol drinking. She received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire where she worked in the lab of Dr. Doug Matthews investigating alcohol’s effect on aging. Meredith received her Ph.D. from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis where she worked in the labs of Dr. Stephen Boehm and Dr. Christopher Lapish. Her research there focused on compulsive alcohol drinking and the dorsal striatum. In her free time, Meredith enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening, and taking advantage of the trails and parks in Minneapolis.

Jonathan I. Aguirre, BS, Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics PhD Student

Jonathan is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics Program (MPaT). He was awarded a Bachelor of Science with honors in Chemistry and minors in Mathematics and English from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. His research interests are in neuropharmacology, substance use disorders, and drug addiction. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, baking, watching tv/movies, traveling, and listening to music. Feel free to contact him to talk about cooking, research or the MPaT Program.

Klaiten Kermoade, BS, Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics PhD Student

Klaiten is a first year Ph.D. student in the MPaT program at UMN. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Washington. He is interested in the neurobiological basis of psychiatric illnesses, such as addiction, anxiety, and depression. In his free time, he likes to rock climb, play piano, travel, and sleep.

Paige Remde, MA, Research Technician

Paige received her B.S. in biology from the University of North Dakota. She then obtained her M.A. in psychology from the University of Chicago where she studied human visual perception and memory. Paige plans on continuing her education through a PhD in neuroscience. In her free time, she enjoys video games and playing D&D.

Anika Paulson, MS, Research Technician

Anika received their B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Morris. Anika just finished their M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Western Illinois University, where they studied anxiety. Anika plans to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience or Psychology in a few years. In their free time, Anika likes to read books, listen to music, garden, and learn new things.

Bailey Newell, BA, Research Technician

Bailey is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota with a major in Biology, Society, and the Environment. As of now, she’s trying to decide between pursuing a career in healthcare, or going to graduate school so that she can one day conduct her own research. Now that she’s done with her undergraduate studies, she wants to spend more time reading, hiking, trying out new recipes, and going out with friends.

Margot Lortie, BS, Research Technician

Margot received her B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. She has academic interests in cognitive science and neuropsychology, and plans to pursue a PhD in one of these fields in the near future. In her free time, Margot likes to spend time outside, go to concerts with friends, and practice photography.

Preethi Muruganandan, Undergraduate Researcher

Preethi is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in French. She hopes to go to medical school upon graduating to become a pediatrician or neurologist. Outside of school, she enjoys baking, reading, learning languages, finding new cafés in Minneapolis.

Tommy Tran, Undergraduate Researcher

Tommy is a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Computer Science. After graduating he plans to attend medical school. Outside of class, he enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies/tv shows, find new places to eat, or sleeping.