Meet the folks that make it happen

Research Technician

Hello! My name is Zeynep and I’m the research technician for Markowitz Lab. I graduated from Georgie Tech with my B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Computer Science in 2022.

I’m planning on starting my PhD in a couple of years, again in Neuroscience! In my free time, I like to hang out with my friends. We like to explore new cafes, restaurants, beaches, and forests. We’re always on top of any festivals or concerts going around in the city! Some of my hobbies are working out, dancing, listening to music, playing violin, and playing boardgames.

Strange but true: I like eating plain pasta with ketchup or turkish cheese or yogurt! I also like putting ketchup on pizza.

PhD student (Emory Neuroscience)

I graduated from Smith College with a degree in Neuroscience and Statistical and Data Science. Currently, I’m a graduate student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Emory University. I came from a prairie vole lab and a marmoset lab with a background focus in behavior, physiology, and data analysis. Currently, I’m interested in studying the underlying mechanism of neuromodulation in rodent behavior with molecular and computational approaches.Outside of lab I’m interested in exploring different restaurants, watching standup comedy, and singing karaoke.

Strange but true: I wrote and acted in a musical about hair loss and Trichotillomania for drama class in high school

PhD student (Georgia Tech Machine Learning)

Jingyang is a Machine Learning PhD student at Georgia Tech. He received his BS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech in 2023. He has broad interests in machine learning and computational neuroscience, and is particularly passionate about developing ML modeling approaches to understand how the brain controls behavior. Outside of research, Jingyang loves hiking and traveling.

Strange but true: Jingyang once booked a flight to London, ON for his UK trip.

Undergraduate research assistant (Georgia Tech)

I am a 4th year Neuroscience major in Georgia Tech’s College of Sciences. I am interested in exploring the use of optogenetics to induce behaviors, as well as the development of new biosensors to track calcium and dopamine levels within cells. In the future, I plan to obtain my PhD and pursue research. Outside of the lab, I like to create nature ink drawings and crochet.

Strange but true: I’ve been keeping a diary since I started elementary school. Ten years ago, I wrote, “I hope to be a scientist when I grow up.” Each day I get closer to making that come true!

Undergraduate research assistant (Georgia Tech)

Hi! My name is Samara Doshi and I’m currently a second year neuroscience major at Georgia Tech. I am hoping to successfully minor in biomedical engineering by the end of my degree, and work on cutting edge research through labs such as the MarkoLab. I also try to involve myself in extracurricular activities and research projects on campus during my time here, such as the VIP’s and different clubs offered by Georgia Tech.

Strange but true: I was almost cast as an extra in a bollywood movie when I was 10 years old, by a producer who spotted me walking across the street!

Principal Investigator

I graduated from Johns Hopkins University and majored in philosophy. I then turned from philosophy to…motor coding in the songbird and neural engineering! I completed my PhD in Computational Neuroscience with Timothy Gardner at Boston University (now at the University of Oregon). Next, I found myself studying the humble laboratory mouse in the labs of Sandeep Robert Datta and Bernardo Sabatini at Harvard Medical School for my post-doc.

Strange but true: I like old French movies so much I got “FIN” tattooed on my back even though I speak zero French.

Research Technician

Tomo graduated with a B.S. in neuroscience from Muhlenberg College. During his undergraduate studies, he conducted research focused on the impact of environmental toxins on the behavior and odor detection sensing mechanism of bumble bees. This involved employing electrophysiology techniques, utilizing hand-made electrodes to investigate the neural activity of bumble bee brains. His academic pursuits are centered around the integration of electrophysiology and optogenetics, aiming to attain precise insights into neural mechanisms. Beyond his academic endeavors, Tomo’s interests encompass basketball, American football, chess, video games, and fitness activities.

Strange but True: Back in my elementary school days, my parents surprised me with a DS Pokemon game and I couldn’t wait to rush home every day and dive in. Little did I know, my dad shared the same passion and ended up taking the game to a whole new level. While I was at school, he was busy raising every single Pokemon to  level 99. Thanks to his dedication, I maintained an unbeaten record during that time among my friends.

PhD Student (Georgia Tech Machine Learning, BME home)

My name is Tiernon and I am a Machine Learning PhD student at Georgia Tech through the BME home department. I graduated from the University of Kansas in 2021 with a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Mathematics. In 2023, I completed my M.S. in Statistics and Data Science at Yale University. I have participated in a diverse set of research prior to joining the Marko Lab ranging from predicting the popularity of memes to building a processing pipeline of scRNA-seq data from human brain samples. My research experience with biological data has influenced me to leverage my background in computation to solve prevalent problems in neuroscience. My broad research goals are to develop models of human brain behavior. Outside of my studies, I enjoy going to concerts, watching movies, cooking, playing guitar, and taking photos with my film camera.

Strange but true: Years ago, I made a short film called “Truck Dynasty” about two brothers who find out that their mother is a truck.

Master's student (Georgia Tech Computer Science)

Hi. I am a Master’s student in the Georgia Tech College of Computing, specializing in Machine Learning. I graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science in 2023 from here as well. I have a strong interest in A.I., specifically with deep learning, generative A.I., and NLP. In the MarkoLab, I am a research assistant working with Professor Markowitz and Jingyang Ke to create semantic segmentation datasets and train models that capture mouse motion, with the long-term goal of understanding how the brain controls behavior. Outside of my work, I play Overwatch, listen to bands like Greta Van Fleet and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and drink too much caffeine.

Strange but true: As I was graduating high school, a movie was released called Bad Education (2019) detailing the true story of how our superintendent embezzled millions of dollars in the early 2000s. Hugh Jackman starred in it!

Lab Manager

In 2022, I received my B.S. in Psychology with a specialization in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Florida. At UF, I was a part of the UPLOAD-2 study, under Dr. Kimberly Sibille and Dr. Jared Tanner, that researched the biopsychosocial involvement in chronic knee pain and helped determine a predicted brain age gap for our participants. 

My research interests revolve around understanding and mitigating neurodegenerative diseases while incorporating neuroimaging techniques and machine learning. I intend to obtain my PhD to continue studying neurodegenerative diseases. Outside of research, I enjoy cooking, playing video games, and playing with my cat, Nixto.

Strange, but true: I have watched almost all of Gordon Ramsay’s series; however, I have yet to try making one of his recipes!