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
2nd-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.
Paul Cunningham
Post-Doc
Paul obtained his PhD from Utah State University in experimental psychology. Since graduating, Paul has been on a long-winded journey to understand how neural systems represent and manipulate information to guide decisions in both human and non-human animals. His non-work related interests include music, soccer, horror movies, and his furball family.
Blair Vail
PhD Student
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
Research Professional
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
PhD Student
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.
Maddie Mendlen
Neurosurgery Resident
Maddie Mendlen, MD is a current neurosurgery resident at the University of Minnesota, and alumni of the University of Colorado Medical School. She is a former member of the Neural Engineering Research and Design (NERD) lab run by Dr. Kramer and Dr. Thompson in Colorado, where she applied deep learning video analysis tools to intraoperative DBS recordings for Essential tremor. She’s excited to continue applying machine learning tools to functional neurosurgical research here at the University of the Minnesota. She is the founder of the Neurological Surgeons Pride Alliance and is very passionate about advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. In her free time, she loves spending quality time with her wife, their dog, and their cats, and getting out to explore new restaurants and book stores across the Twin Cities.
Shanti Kazemi Johnson
Master's Student
Shanti is a master’s student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He graduated from Oregon State University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and has 10 years of industry experience. His interests include neuromodulation, electrophysiology, and data science.
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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Rebecca Hayes
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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