Please note – this page is under development. We’re working on reformatting the page and need to add many of our outstanding new team members, undergraduate research assistants, and recent graduates. Check in soon for more updates.
PI – David Moorman
David Moorman – Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Neuroscience and Behavior program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. PhD in the Department of Neuroscience and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at the University of Pittsburgh (with Carl Olson). Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania (with Laura Peoples) and the Medical University of South Carolina (with Gary Aston-Jones).
Graduate Students (All graduated! See News for details. Looking for new students soon)
John Hernandez – PhD student in the Neuroscience and Behavior program at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Bachelor’s in Pre-Professional Biomedical Sciences and Master’s in Biology from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. PhD focus: 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, playing volleyball, and hiking at local trails.
Jessica Caballero – PhD student in the Neuroscience and Behavior program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
B.A. in Psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez.
PhD focus: the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in fear and addiction.
Jessica enjoys traveling and spending time in the beach.
Beata Kaminska – PhD student in the Neuroscience and Behavior program at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Bachelor’s in Developmental Neuropsychology and Spanish from the University of Connecticut- Storrs.
PhD focus: 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.
Postdocs, Research Trainees, and Staff
r. 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 frontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and orexin/hypocretin system in motivation and action control.
Ariel Burman – Fulbright Fellow and Research Assistant PhD Student at the University of Buenos Aires Engineering Wizard
Undergraduate Students *** Updates in progress ***
Alumnae/Alumni *** Updates in progress ***
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
Kerrin Bersani. UMass Amherst Undergraduate RA 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position: AmeriCorps
Rachel Siegal. UMass Amherst Undergraduate RA 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position:
Olivia Mallari. Smith College Undergraduate RA 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position: Dymecki Lab, Harvard Medical School followed by UMass Medical School
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
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.
Ifeyinwa Arinze, Lab Manager and Lab Founder 2014-2016. Post Moorman Lab Position: Research Assistant at University of Michigan
