Leifer Lab @ Princeton - Optical neurophysiology of behavior

Current Lab Members

Andrew Leifer, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

220 Jadwin Hall | 250 PNI
leifer@princeton.edu
(609) 258-8779
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Andrew Leifer, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Neuroscience at Princeton University. He obtained a B.S. in Physics and B.A. in Political Science at Stanford University in 2007 and earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard University in 2012 under the guidance of Professor Aravinthan Samuel. He then received a Lewis-Sigler Fellowship to form his own independent research group at Princeton University, where he subsequently joined the faculty in 2016. He is an Investigator in the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain and a recipient of the National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award and the National Science Foundation's CAREER Award.

Anuj Sharma, Ph.D.

Associate Professional Specialist and Lab Manager

aksharma@princeton.edu
(609) 258-8635

Anuj Sharma is an Associate Professional Specialist and Lab Manager in the Department of Physics. Previously, he had been a Postdoctoral Associate at University of Maryland, College Park and Cornell University, Ithaca. He received his Doctorate in Biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Other than science, he is interested in Nature Photography and Sketching.

Kelsey Hallinen, Ph.D.

NSF CPBF Fellow

Also with Zemer Gitai
hallinen@princeton.edu
Twitter

Kelsey is a Fellow in the Center for the Physics of Biological Function working on whole brain imaging and neural dynamics in C. elegans. She received her BS in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University before heading to the University of Michigan for her PhD in Biophysics in the Wood Lab, where she studied antibiotic resistance and bacterial population dynamics. Beyond lab work, she enjoys running, rock climbing, and hanging out with her 20 year old cat named Gabrielle.

Junang Li, Ph.D.

NSF CPBF Fellow

frandi@princeton.edu

Junang is a fellow in the Center for the Physics of Biological Function studying the nonequilibrium nature of the neural and behavioral dynamics of C.elegans. He received his PhD from MIT, working with Nikta Fakhri trying to understand emergent behavior of active matter through the lens of thermodynamics. Beyond research, he enjoys running, skiing and reading.

Matthew Creamer, Ph.D.

CV Starr Fellow

Joint with Jonathan Pillow
mcreamer@princeton.edu
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Matt is a C. V. Starr Fellow at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute and is jointly advised by Andrew Leifer and Jonathan Pillow. He is currently working on modeling whole-brain calcium dynamics and characterizing functional changes between neurons during learning in C. elegans. Matt received his PhD from Yale, working with Damon Clark studying how animals detect visual motion cues and use these cues to regulate their walking speed. When not in lab, he enjoys rock climbing, running, board games, dungeons and dragons, and video games.

Kevin Sean Chen

Graduate Student

Jointly advised with Jonathan Pillow.
kschen@princeton.edu
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Kevin is a graduate student in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, interested in systems/computational neuroscience and biophysics. He attended National Taiwan University for undergraduate studies, where his research focused on the neural code in retina. After coming to Princeton, he was fascinated by worms and wants to study neural dynamics and behavior. Outside of lab, Kevin enjoys jogging in the woods, jazz, sketching, and sweet, colorful American snacks.

Sandeep Kumar

Graduate Student

sk35@princeton.edu

Sandeep is a graduate student in Neuroscience. He wants to understand how sensory cues (such as touch) are processed by the brain. He has a B.S-M.S. in Physics from University of Hyderabad and an M. Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University. Coming from a first-generation low-income background, he is passionate about teaching and mentoring opportunities. When not in the lab, he enjoys playing tennis, hiking, trying new food, and exploring New York city.

Sophie Dvali

Graduate Student

sdvali@princeton.edu
Twitter

Sophie is a graduate student in the Physics program and is interested in studying the dynamics of the C. elegans nervous system. She grew up in Munich Germany, before heading to New York University where she graduated with a B.A. in Physics. It was there that she became interested in studying biophysics and computational neuroscience while working on navigational decision making in Drosophila larvae. Beyond research, she enjoys rock climbing, skiing, playing music, and being outdoors.

Emily Osborne

Graduate Student

eo9231@princeton.edu

Emily is a graduate student in the Physics department. She attended The Ohio State University for undergraduate studies, focusing on the physics of motion in magnetic bacteria. After arriving at Princeton, she became interested in neuroscience, with a focus on understanding the neural dynamics of learning in C. elegans. Alongside research, she enjoys hiking, playing tennis, music, and exploring new restaurants.

Wayan Gauthey

Graduate Student

wgauthey@princeton.edu

Wayan is a graduate student in Neuroscience and is jointly advised by Andrew Leifer and Mala Murthy. He is interested in the neural basis of brain-wide dynamics underlying behavior in C.elegans and Drosophila. He received his M.S in Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics from the University of Zurich where he studied the mechanisms controlling synaptic nano-architecture in Drosophila. Outside of the lab he plays ice hockey.

Abdul-Bassit Fijabi

Senior Thesis Student

afijabi@princeton.edu

Abdul-Bassit (Bassit) is a senior in the Neuroscience department pursuing certificates in Applied Math and Quantitative Biology. For his senior thesis, he is exploring theories of criticality for the nonlinear C. elegans neural network using methods from statistical mechanics and field theory. When not in the lab, he is involved in DEI efforts and progressive activism on campus, and enjoys writing music, reading, and exploring the surrounding community.