Our Team
Co-Founders and Co-Directors
Dr. Nancy Padilla-Coreano is an assistant professor in the department of neuroscience at the University of Florida. Her lab studies the neural mechanisms underlying social competence using mice as a model. For Stories of WiN, Nancy does general management, interviews women neuroscientists and occasionally writes.
Dr. Megan Kirchgessner is a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Robert Froemke at New York University School of Medicine, where she is studying how early-life social and sensory environment and neuromodulators shape the development of the auditory system for vocal processing. She completed her Neurosciences PhD at UC San Diego, working with Dr. Edward Callaway at the Salk Institute. Megan conducts interviews and writes profiles for Stories of WiN.
Dr. Catie Profaci is a postdoc in Dr. Ardem Patapoutian’s lab at Scripps Research where she studies mechanosensation. Catie interviews and writes for Stories of WiN. During graduate school, she was a frequent contributor to NeuWriteSD.
Current Members
Inge E. Guerrero is a Neuroscience PhD student at Florida State University. She is studying the neural circuits associated with ingestive behavior, anxiety, and reward in rodent models. She is a translator for Stories of Win.
Dr. Meenakshi Asokan is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Annegret Falkner’s lab at the Princeton University where she studies neural circuits and computations that drive flexible state-dependent social behaviors. She conducts interviews and manages the Stories of WiN website.
Dr. Hannah Reiley recently completed her PhD at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio under the mentorship of Daniel Lodge. Her dissertation work focused on orexin receptor antagonists as a novel therapeutic treatment for psychosis. Next, she will begin a postdoctoral fellowship with Erin Calipari at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She helps with social media posting for Stories of WiN.
Dr. Melissa Franch is postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Benjamin Hayden’s lab with the Neurosurgery research team at Baylor College of Medicine. She investigates neural correlates of social cognition and language in humans and has a passion for cultivating a belonging and prosperous environment for underserved individuals in STEM. At Stories of WiN, she is one of our interview audio editors.
Dr. Cecilia A. Hinojosa is a Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at Emory University. Dr. Hinojosa's research focuses on understanding the neural correlates of co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). For Stories of WiN, Dr. Hinojosa edits audio and helps with social media posting.
Ivette Martorell-Serra is a second year PhD student in the Neurosciences Graduate Program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She is part of the Trotti lab at the Weinberg ALS center. For her thesis, she is studying how neuroinflammation spreads in ALS and FTD. She is a translator for Stories of WiN.
Dr. Margarida Pinto is a postdoctoral fellow at the Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center in Paris. Her research in the lab of Dr. Mathieu Beraneck focuses on brainstem circuits involved in spatial orientation. Margarida conducts interviews for Stories of WiN.
Ali Rigby is a third year PhD student in the Neurosciences Graduate Program at UC San Diego. She works with Drs. Terry Jernigan, Anders Dale, Carolina Makowski, and Brad Voytek to study developmental brain and behavioral trajectories in infants and adolescents, utilizing extensive longitudinal multimodal datasets. She manages the Stories of WiN website.
Dr. Yolanda Gómez-Gálvez is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Lorraine Iacovitti’s labs at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Her work focuses on understanding how stem cell-based therapies help functional recovery after stroke. In the past, she has studied the potential of cannabinoids to treat inflammation in Parkinson’s disease, as well as the implications of aging increasing the vulnerability of dopamine neurons during this neurodegenerative disease. She is a Spanish translator for Stories of WiN.
Gates Schneider is a research technician at the Salk Institute. She currently works in Kay Tye's lab and studies social homeostasis. She hopes to pursue a PhD in neuroscience in the near future with interests including but not limited to fear learning and memory, microcircuits, and behavioral endocrinology. Gates helps with audio post-production and editing the podcasts.
Leslie Sibener is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Columbia University Neurobiology and Behavior Graduate Program working with Dr. Rui Costa at the Zuckerman Institute. For her thesis, she is studying how animals learn, maintain, and execute motor skills. Leslie interviews and writes profiles for Stories of WiN. She also is the Head of Curriculum Development for Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach and a group leader for NeuWrite.
Sheila Steiner is a first-year Neurosciences PhD student at UCSD. She works in Dr. Martin Hetzer lab studying long-lived histone proteins in Alzheimer’s disease. Sheila writes profiles for Stories of WiN.
Dr. Sarah Winokur is a postdoctoral fellow in lab of Dr. Robert Froemke at the New York University School of Medicine where she studies the neuroscience of maternal behavior. She completed her PhD at UMass Amherst, working with Dr. Mariana Pereira. Sarah works as an editor for Stories of WiN.
Dr. Eileen Collyer is an Associate Health and Safety Specialist with Temple University’s EHRS. With a background in neuroscience, she previously studied axon regeneration and recovery after spinal cord injury and stroke. She currently works with the Biosafety Team to support safe and compliant research. Eileen is a Spanish translator for Stories of WiN.
Dr. Harsha Gurnani is a postdoc in Cristina Savin’s lab at New York University (NYU) and an incoming Faculty Fellow at the Center for Data Science, NYU. She combines theory and data-driven approaches to understand how we adapt quickly and flexibly in complex environments, leveraging prior knowledge. Harsha conducts interviews and writes profiles for Stories of WiN.
Dr. Maria Jose Olvera is a postdoctoral researcher at Concordia studying neural circuits underlying memory and learning. At Stories of WiN, she is part of the translation team and leads Spanish-language social media initiatives, working to make scientific stories more accessible and to connect with broader audiences.
Diana Maria Gilly Suarez is a research assistant in the Froemke Lab at NYU Langone where she studies maternal behavior. She completed her undergraduate degree at Columbia University where she majored in neuroscience and behavior and studied social memory in the Siegelbaum Lab. This fall she will be joining Cold Spring Harbor’s School of Biological Sciences for her PhD. Diana is a Spanish translator for Stories of WiN.
Omaris Vélez Acevedo is a Neuroscience graduate student at the University of Michigan. Her research interests consist of understanding the mechanisms by which systemic hormones interact with neural circuits to influence cognitive processes and behavior. Omaris is a translator for Stories of WiN.
Past Contributors
Dakota Blackman (Co-Founder)
Daniela Cassataro (Co-Founder)
Marley Rossa (Co-Founder)
Dr. Elena Blanco-Suárez
Mia Borzello
Dr. Rianne Campbell
Rosa Chen
Sabrina Santos
Dr. Cristiana Vagnoni
Dr. Sydney Smith
Lesley Guarena
Gabriela Rash
Megan Anderson
Caitlin Ashcroft