Team

Principal Investigator

Professor

Stark Neuroscience Institute

Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology

Indiana University School of Medicine

Lab Manager

Stark Neuroscience Institute

Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology

Indiana University School of Medicine

Interested in cognition and currently exploring the functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and dorsomedial striatum (DMS) using dual-probe techniques.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Stark Neuroscience Institute

Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology

Indiana University School of Medicine

Katie is interested in the neural circuits that guide decision making and how they are altered as a result of alcohol drinking and associated genetic risk. She explores these questions utilizing a combination of electrophysiological, optogenetic, immunohistochemical, and computational approaches.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Stark Neuroscience Institute

Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology

Indiana University School of Medicine

I develop systems for electrophysiology and behavioral recordings by combining coding, electronics, computer-aided design, and fabrication. I am interested in understanding how individual neurons combine to perform complex network computations, but I also enjoy collaboration and utilizing my skill sets to aid other members of the Lapish lab with their projects.

Research Assistant Professor

William's Google Scholar Profile here

I apply tools from applied mathematics to model neural circuitry involved in animal behavior. I am interested in the neural dynamics of decision making as well as neuromuscular control of breathing and other rhythmic motor processes.

Graduate Student

Website: www.colleenmcgonigle.com

Colleen is a graduate student in the Addiction Neuroscience program at Indiana University Indianapolis. She is interested in the mechanisms underlying cognitive flexibility and the role that flexibility has in promoting risk for alcohol use disorder. Her current work involves analysis and computational modeling of cross-species measures of cognitive flexibility.

Graduate Student

Anna is interested in studying how emotional states affect impulsive decision making in order to better understand how increased emotional reactivity correlates with alcohol use disorder. Outside of the lab, Anna enjoys doing any outdoor activities, reading, going to the gym, and hanging out with friends.

Research Technician

Jacob Worrell is a computational neuroscience research tech who works closely with Will Barnett developing deep learning models of neural activity. In the past, Jacob has done applied and theoretical networks-science research. Outside of the science of cognition and computation, Jacob dedicates most of his attention to making music.

Research Technician

Maria received an undergraduate degree in neuroscience at the Xavier University of Louisiana in 2022 and a master's in neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen in 2024. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with dogs, crocheting, and doing yoga.

Undergradute Researcher

Aisha is an undergraduate student at IU Indianapolis pursuing a major in neuroscience with a minor in mathematics. She started here through a summer internship in 2023 and has stayed on afterwards as a volunteer working on a computational model with Will Barnett. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, going to the ballet, and recently embroidery.

Research Technician

Luqman is a post baccalaureate student interested studying the mind and body through the lens of behavioral neuroscience. He enjoys taking part in lab projects and hopes to soon work towards a PhD in a topic likely related to neural control of emotion and energy. Outside of the lab Luqman reads, exercises, spends time with family, and spoils himself with YouTube videos, often from Veritasium.

Undergraduate Volunteer

Emily is currently an undergraduate student at Indiana University Indianapolis studying Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish. She began volunteering in the lab in October of 2024. In her free time she enjoys going for runs, watching movies to prepare for The Oscars, and spending time with her sisters.

Undergraduate Volunteer

Madison Hahn is a junior at Indiana University Indianapolis and is majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in dance. She joined the lab in November of 2024. In her free time, she likes hanging out with her cat ginger and dancing in the Moving Company..

Assistant Professor

Personal Website: www.nicholastimme.com

UC Website: https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/timmens

Twitter: @NicholasTimme

Nick is a former Postdoctoral Fellow and Reseach Assitant Professor on the Lapish Lab. He is currently an Assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati. He is interested in using neural population analyses and computational approaches to understand and repair maladaptive decision-making in addiction.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Website: https://www.cherishardinger.com/

Twitter: @CherishArdinger

Cherish is former graduate student in the Lapish Lab. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Rutgers University working with Rafiq Huda. She is interested in studying the neurobiological causes of and identifying treatments for addiction. Her current research interests lie at the intersection of behavioral genetics, awake-behaving electrophysiology, and pharmacology - where she uses rodent models to study the impact of alcohol on brain and behavior.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Twitter: @neuromorning

Mitchell is former Graduate Student in the Lapish Lab. He currently is a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of New Mexico working with David Linsenbardt. He is interested in the acute, pharmacological actions of alcohol on brain and behavior, and he explores these questions utilizing a mixture of computational and experimental approaches.

Graduate Student 

Twitter: @SethWeir1

Seth was an undergraduate scholar in the Lapish Lab while pursing a B.S. in neuroscience with minors in mathematics and computer science. He is currently a gradute student at the Univseroty of Minnesota working with Jocelyn Richards.

Graduate Student IUSM

Sydney was a Research Technician in the Lapish Lab. She is now pursing a PhD in neuroscience in the IBMG program in the IU School of Medicine. 

Ressearch Coordinator

Twitter: @ShelbyMWhite1

Shelby was a graduate student in our lab studying the neural mechanisms of maladaptive decision making. Her research used optogenetic and electrophysiological approaches to manipulate and record neural activity during decision making tasks to better understand the computations that characterize maladaptive decisions.

Former: Graduate Student 

Current: Physician

Hayley was an MD-PhD student at IUSM. Her PhD project investigates neural mechanisms of impulsivity and social memory using a preclinical model of ADHD and autism. She plans to pursue a residency in pediatrics and continue research in developmental disorders.

Former: Postdoctoral Fellow

Current: Senior Research Scientist, Neuronostics, Bristol (UK)

Emanuela is a former Postdoctoral Fellow of the Lapish Lab. During her time at the lab, she investigated complex behaviors in rodents using both behavioral paradigms and high-density electrophysiological recordings from the medial prefrontal cortex. She is currently a Research scientist at Neuronostics (UK) and an honorary research fellow in the School of Mathematics at the University of Birmingham (UK). Her current research focuses on identifying electrophysiological biomarkers of neurological conditions.

Aqilah is a former graduate student in the Lapish Lab. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Oregon National Primate Research Center/Oregon Health and Science University. Her lab integrates rodent and non-human primate models to understand how changes that occur in adolescence promote aberrant motivated behaviors.

Website: mccanelab.org

Bluesky: @DrBediya.bsky.social

Former: Postdoctoral Fellow 

Current: Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, University of New Mexico School of Medicine 

Current profile is here

Former: Graduate Student

Current: Senior Medical Writer, Medical + Scientific Strategy, BluPrint Oncology

Former: Graduate Student

Current: Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health 

Current profile is here

Former: Lab Manager

Current: Retired and living the dream in the mountains of Utah.