OUR TEAM
DR. ALEXANDER HERMAN
MD/PHD
Alexander Herman is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a member of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction. He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Francisco as part of the prestigious NIH Medical Scientist Training Program. Prior to that, he studied complex systems at the Santa Fe Institute. He obtained his B.A. in Physics with High Honors from Wesleyan University. Dr. Herman's interests include the neural mechanisms of decision making that are impaired in depression, addiction and parkinson's disease that may be amenable to treatment with neuromodulation. He combines invasive and non-invasive methods including intracranial electrophysiology, direct brain stimulation, magnetoencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation.
DR. DAVID DARROW
MD
Dr. David Darrow is an assistant professor at the department of Neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota and is the principal investigator (PI) for the E-STAND clinical trial and Co-PI on the Mood and Cognition study at the University of Minnesota. He received bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Mathematics at Texas A&M University, and then completed medical school at University of Texas Medical Branch, in addition to a master’s degree in public health with a focus on biostatistics. His interest in combining his background in mathematics and engineering with reducing human suffering led him to the University of Minnesota.
SETH KOENIG
Research Scientist
Seth Koenig obtained his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Washington. His interests include electrophysiology, data analysis, computer programing, behavior, and eye movements.
FLORA YANG
1st-year Medical School Student
Flora Yang has been in the lab since 2019. She currently a first-year medical school student at the University of Minnesota, and is a part of the 7-year BA/MD Joint Admissions Scholars Program. She majored in Human Physiology in her undergraduate studies. Her research interests lie currently in Deep Brain Stimulation, Neuralgia, and stem cells. She also serves as an EEG Monitoring Technician through MPhysicians.
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Rebecca Hayes
Researcher
Rebecca graduated from the University of Minnesota with a major in Neuroscience and a minor in computational biology. Her interests include adult neurogenesis, psychiatric disorders, and data analysis.
Blair Vail
Researcher
Blair earned a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Columbia University, followed by three years of research experience at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Their interests include cognitive and neural substrates of psychiatric disorders, invasive electrophysiology, neuromodulation, and computational modeling.
Kate Dembny
MSTP Student
Kate is a current student in the MSTP at the University of Minnesota. She earned her BS in Neuroscience and her BA in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Texas and spent 3 years doing post-baccalaureate research the NIH. Her interests include neuromodulation, computational tool development, statistics, and hanging out with her cats.
Xinyuan Yan
Post-Doc
Xin-Yuan obtained her Ph.D. in the National key lab of cognitive neuroscience and learning from the Beijing Normal University (Beijing, China). She aims to combine intracranial recording and
computational modeling to unravel the neural mechanism of exploration-exploitation dilemma. She hopes all these findings can contribute to developing neuro-modulation tools to improve patients’ mental health. Xinyuan also likes running and hiking to release stress.
Tariq Hattab
Post-Doc
Tariq Hattab is a Postdoctoral Associate with a passion for neurosurgery. He earned his medical degree from An-Najah National University in Palestine and is currently pursuing a residency in the field. Tariq's main interests lie in the areas of invasive epilepsy treatment and deep brain stimulation, where he is committed to advancing the field and improving patient outcomes.
Gabby Hernandez
Researcher
Gabby graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Psychology and minor in Neuroscience. She is interested in the biological and psychological mechanisms of impulsivity and decision-making. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and relaxing with her cat.
Mathew Maple
Lab Manager
Matthew earned his B.S. in Biology with a Neuroscience minor, and a Master of Biological Sciences degree with an emphasis in neuroscience, both from the University of Minnesota. He is interested in making life easier for people with any sort of psychiatric or neurological illness, injury, or other dysfunction.
Disa Sullivan
Researcher
Disa graduated from St. Olaf College with a B.A. in Biology with concentrations in biomolecular science & neuroscience and currently working towards a neuroscience PhD through the University of Minnesota. Her interests include spinal cord stimulation, electrophysiology and the underlying mechanisms of neuromodulation therapies. Outside of lab, you can find her at one of MN's many lakes or trying new coffee shops.
OUR ALUMNI
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Isabela Pena Pino
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Ahmed Ramadan
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Erika Kaske
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Isabella Swank
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Jeanie Pebbles
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Danielle Carlson
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Jordan Krieg
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Collin Meyer
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Dameon Harrell
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Jessalyn Dvorak