Sergio Hidalgo Sotelo, incoming assistant professor of integrative physiology and neuroscience, Washington State University
Lab start date: July 2025
What do you study? What part of your research are you most excited about?
Biological rhythms are ubiquitous, which means there is an endless array of potential research questions to explore—each one more interesting than the last. In my lab, we aim to understand the molecular origins of structural and functional differences observed in circadian circuits under different seasonal conditions. I’m particularly excited about this work because I believe it will advance our understanding of seasonal affective disorder and how circadian rhythms affect other illnesses, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Are there any traditions or practices from the labs you trained at that you will bring over and implement in your lab?
I trained in three different labs across three countries: with Jorge Campusano in Chile, James Hodge in the United Kingdom and Joanna Chiu in the United States. Each of these labs had unique practices, traditions and cultures. But one common element across all of them was that the principal investigator was always available to provide feedback—whether to celebrate successes or address challenges. They taught me that openness and clearly outlining expectations for your lab members are key parts of being a principal investigator. I plan to incorporate this approach in my lab.
Arielle Keller, assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience, University of Connecticut
Lab start date: August 2024
What do you study? What part of your research are you most excited about?
I’m particularly excited about studying attention. In my lab, we aim to understand how the brain focuses on what’s important amid constant distractions. We use noninvasive neuroimaging tools such as functional MRI and EEG to understand how attention changes in the context of mental illness, and how it develops adaptively throughout childhood and adolescence. I’m excited to use person-specific brain mapping to better understand what makes each of our individual brains unique.
Are there any traditions or practices from the labs you trained at that you will bring over and implement in your lab?
Our lab will use the “reproducibilibuddy” system, developed by Ted Satterthwaite at the University of Pennsylvania. (Satterthwaite wrote about the system and its inspiration last year in an essay for The Transmitter, “How scuba diving helped me embrace open science.”) For each new project conducted in the lab, the lead author will be matched with a reproducibility buddy who will conduct an internal replication of the key results, earning them co-authorship and ensuring that our results are replicable before new manuscripts are submitted for peer review.
Vlad Ayzenberg, incoming assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, Temple University
Lab start date: July 2025
What are your lab’s research aims?
The goal of my lab is to understand how the human brain is organized at birth to support the rapid development of cognitive and perceptual abilities, and to use this understanding to create more human-like artificial-intelligence agents.
Are there any traditions or practices from the labs you trained in that you will implement in your lab?
I’ve always worked in very tight-knit, social labs, and I hope to foster that dynamic in mine. There is already a big-screen TV and a Nintendo Switch in the lab, so I am looking forward to resolving debates over some Mario Kart. On a more technical note, our research requires increasingly more complex coding skills. So I plan to implement intermittent code reviews as a lab.
Marissa Scavuzzo, assistant professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Lab start date: August 2024
What are your lab’s aims and major research questions?
My lab is interested in understanding how a cell maintains its functional identity. The gut is a highly fluctuating and complex environment. We know glial cells are highly plastic and glia in the enteric nervous system interact with a multitude of cell types. We aim to understand how enteric glial cells in the gut function and how these functions are maintained amidst this vacillating milieu.
Are there any traditions or practices from the labs you trained at that you will bring over and implement in your lab?
I like Kara Marshall’s onboarding survey and Leslie Vosshall’s anonymous survey for lab culture feedback, so I modified these to use in my lab. Both Kara and Leslie made these surveys into freely available Google forms that others can use. I am grateful to them both. We have anonymous feedback forms after interviewing personnel or student rotations, as well as QR codes around the lab to send in anonymous feedback on how to make things more inclusive or efficient in the lab. It helps me know what is going on and make sure everyone feels their voice is heard.
Lauren Faget, assistant professor of neurosciences, Boise State University
Lab start date: August 2024
What are your lab’s research aims?
My lab’s research goals are to identify the neural basis of reward and motivated behaviors and to investigate the adaptation and dysregulation of these neural circuits in neuropsychiatric disorders associated with reward function deficits.
What part of your research are you most excited about?
I’m excited about starting my own research on brain pathways driving motivated behaviors, as this research could uncover new treatments for conditions such as addiction and depression.
I am actively hiring a full-time technician and looking for students interested in pursuing an M.S. or Ph.D. Interested candidates can reach out to me at [email protected].