Theresa M. Desrochers, Ph.D.
Position: Rosenberg Family Assistant Professor of Brain Science,
Departments of Neuroscience; Psychiatry and Human Behavior (courtesy),
and Carney Institute for Brain Science
Email: theresa_desrochers@brown.edu
CV: https://vivo.brown.edu/display/tdesroch​
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/DesrochersLab
Mastodon: https://neuromatch.social/@DesrochersLab
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/desrocherslab.bsky.social
(Photo credit: Stephanie Ewens Photography)

Katherine Conen, Ph.D.
Email: katherine_conen@brown.edu

Overview:I am interested in understanding how neural circuits represent the structure of behavior across time. Using approaches from systems neuroscience, I study how neurons in prefrontal areas encode information about sequence progression, focusing in particular on transition points in the task structure. Ultimately, this work will provide insight into the hierarchical and sequential relationships the primate brain uses to link percepts and behaviors into complex actions and predictive models.

M. Vanessa Rivera Núñez, Ph.D.
Email: maria_nunez@brown.edu

Overview: I am a post-doctoral research fellow investigating memory deficits associated with anxiety. My research utilizes neuroimaging, psychophysiological, and behavioral methods to explore shifts in neural circuits related to anxiety. I am particularly interested in the functional interplay between the prefrontal cortex, the nucleus reuniens of the thalamus, and the hippocampus, with a focus on anxiety-related phenomena such as memory overgeneralization and sequence memory impairments.

Matthew Maestri
Email: matthew_maestri@brown.edu

Overview: Prior to managing the Desrochers Lab, Matthew was a Research Assistant in a neuroscience lab at Augusta State University, formerly the Medical College of Georgia.

Hannah Doyle
Position: Neuroscience Graduate Student
Email: hannah_doyle1@brown.edu

Overview: I am broadly interested in using primate and human fMRI to study cognitive control mechanisms that dictate our day to day lives. In particular I aim to better understand brain areas involved in sequential processing and how these neural mechanisms might go awry in people with obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.

Defne Buyukyazgan
Position: Neuroscience Graduate Student
Email:defne_buyukyazgan@brown.edu

Overview: I am interested in understanding how neural representations relate to the production of goal directed behaviors in the prefrontal cortex. I am particularly interested in learning to answer this question by combining a fixed paradigm with multiple methods.

Aiai Calmer ’26
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Email: aiai_calmer@brown.edu

Overview: I am a neuroscience and history concentrator interested in researching how disorders impacting executive function can affect the neural mechanisms behind abstract sequencing. In the lab, I look forward to using human fMRI to study working memory in sequential tasks.

Nami Kaneko
Email:nami_kaneko@brown.edu

Overview: I am broadly interested in investigating the evolutionary origins of cognition. Eventually I hope to analyze the differences between the human and primate neural mechanisms involved in various abstract cognitive processes. Previously I worked in the field as a research assistant in the Cognitive Evolution Group at the University of Michigan.