Originally from the North East part of France, I grew up in a small town surrounded by nature. I've always been interested in animal behavior, biology and genetics. During my PhD with Michael Reber at the University of Strasbourg in France, I studied the development of visual maps in the mouse superior colliculus. This study triggered my interest in the superior colliculus and with this in mind, I decided to join Jianhua Cang's lab (JC) for a post-doc to investigate the physiology of this structure at Northwestern, then at the University of Virginia.  Since then, I've been working towards reconciling physiology with development and adaptation using a comparative approach in my own lab at the University of Michigan since 2023. 

Contact: esavier@med.umich.edu

Abdullah Masri, originally from Iowa, graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Biology and obtained a Masters in Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan. He plans to pursue medical school in the near future. Outside the lab his hobbies include kayaking, attempting to cook, and adventuring around Ann Arbor.

 Meghan is an undergraduate studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Her current research focuses on innervation of the extraocular muscles in mice and tree shrews. In her free time, she enjoys swimming laps, reading, and creative writing. 

Nicholas received his BS in Chemistry from the University of Michigan, where he became fascinated by how the natural world emerges from chemical phenomena. Motivated by this, he pursued undergraduate research in Professor Robert Kennedy’s lab, differentiating sources of glutamate within the brain extracellular space using LC-MS/MS. He continued by investigating sex- and phenotype-dependent neurochemistry underlying addiction-related behaviors. Currently, Nicholas is interested in understanding the genetic and molecular foundations of the brain’s visual circuits. He plans to pursue a PhD focused on advancing neuroscience by leveraging the molecular dynamics of the brain.