David Moorman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Neuroscience and Behavior program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He received his PhD in the Department of Neuroscience and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at the University of Pittsburgh (working with Carl Olson). He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania (working with Laura Peoples) and the Medical University of South Carolina (working with Gary Aston-Jones), where he stayed on as a Research Assistant Professor until 2013. In his new position at UMass Amherst, he is working with a dynamic team of brilliant young scientists to investigate neural systems underlying motivation, learning, and decision-making. In his free time he enjoys data analysis, manuscript revisions, grant applications, and experimental design.

John Hernandez is a Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience and Behavior program at University of Massachusetts – Amherst. He received his Bachelor’s in Pre-Professional Biomedical Sciences and Master’s in Biology from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. At Texas A&M, John examined the biophysical mechanisms underlying learning, memory, and decision-making in the marine mollusk, Aplysia Californica. For his Ph.D., he is interested in understanding how innate propensities for addiction contribute to changes in motivation, learning, memory and decision-making. In his free time he enjoys cooking and eating a wide-variety of foods, playing volleyball, and hiking at local trails.

Jessica Caballero is a a Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience and Behavior program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (starting Fall 2015). She received her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. Jessica did undergraduate research using Neuropsychological assessment tools to investigate cognitive processes in children with specific learning problems and the relationship between working memory and planning in college students. She also worked in Psychiatry labs investigating racial differences in emotion processing and how men and women experience different degrees of empathy as a function of age. She is currently working in Dr. Moorman’s lab investigating the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in fear and addiction. Other than Neuroscience, Jessica enjoys traveling and spending time in the beach.

Beata Kaminska is a Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience and Behavior program at University of Massachusetts – Amherst. She received her Bachelor’s in Developmental Neuropsychology and Spanish from the University of Connecticut- Storrs. At UConn, Beata looked at sex differences between animals with candidate dyslexia genes and their underlying behavioral and anatomical differences. For her Ph.D., she is interested in how reward and punishment influence motivation and impulsivity. In her free time she enjoys camping, crafting, eating, and volunteering for the Polish Girl Scout Org.

Dr. Christopher Perk joined our lab after receiving his PhD from the University of Otago. There he studied the role of the mesostriatal dopamine system in motivation and attention using behavioral neurophysiological techniques. In the Moorman Lab he is investigating the role of the orexin/hypocretin system in motivation and addiction.

Samantha Rios is a post-bac PREP student, Research Assistant, and Lab Manager in the Moorman Lab. She graduated from Mount Holyoke in 2017. We will be filling this space with more info soon!

Peter Chiknas is a research assistant who graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a BS in Psychology and a focus on neurobiology. Peter has spent much of his time at UMass assisting research in the fields of addiction and dependence; and hopes to apply this knowledge in a clinical environment someday. In his spare time Peter is an avid chess player and an amateur painter.

Olivia Mallari. Smith College Undergraduate RA 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position: Dymecki Lab, Harvard Medical School

Ifeyinwa Arinze, Lab Manager and Lab Founder 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position: Research Assistant at University of Michigan

Rachel Siegal. UMass Amherst Undergraduate RA 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position:

Alice Morgunova, Hampshire College Undergraduate RA 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position: National Institute on Drug Abuse Postbaccalaureate Research Training Program followed by Graduate Student at McGill University

Carlos Johnson-Cruz. Amherst College Undergraduate RA 2015-2017. Post Moorman Lab Position: Graduate Student at University of California San Francisco

Kyra Schapiro. Amherst College Undergraduate RA 2014-2015. Post Moorman Lab Position: Graduate Student at University of Pennsylvania

Julie Factor. Mount Holyoke College Undergraduate RA 2014-2015. Post Moorman Lab Position: National Institute on Drug Abuse Postbaccalaureate Research Training Program

David Nikom, UMass Amherst Undergraduate RA 2015-2017. Post Moorman Lab Position: TBD

Kathy Tran, UMass Amherst Undergraduate RA 2015-2017. Post Moorman Lab Position: Lab animal research tech and pre-veterinary training.

Kerrin Bersani. UMass Amherst Undergraduate RA 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position: AmeriCorps