Suzanne Lewis (Postdoc): Suzanne joined the Franks lab in 2023. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington, where her work in David Gire’s lab explored how plume dynamics found in natural odor environments impact odor representations at the first relay of olfactory processing. In the Franks lab, she is excited to study how distinct features of plume dynamics, including recent history, are processed in the early olfactory system. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing and reading fantasy books.

Robin Blazing (Graduate Student): Robin is a Neurobiology student who joined the program in 2018. She graduated from Duke University in 2017 with degrees in Biology and Spanish. She is broadly interested in the neural computations underlying sensory perception and learning. In the Franks lab, she is studying the transformation of olfactory information from the olfactory bulb to piriform cortex. In her free time she enjoys trail running in Duke Forest, going to all of the Durham restaurants, and teaching her cat new tricks.

Fernando Santos Valencia (Graduate Student): Fernando is from Oaxaca, Mexico, and received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Universidad La Salle in Mexico. As a research assistant at the Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatria in Mexico City, he investigated the effects of deep brain stimulation on epileptogenesis. He was a research technician in the Franks Lab and has recently joined the lab as a graduate student, where he is studying the role of NMDA receptors in the formation and maintenance of cortical odor representations. He loves cats, enjoys playing the guitar, and making music with friends.

Hazel Jackson (Technician): Hazel received a B.S. in Cognitive Science from UC Irvine. As an RA there, she investigated the timing of consciousness in decision making. At the Franks Lab, she is excited to study the mouse piriform cortex and learn more about the inner workings of the brain. As a long term goal, she hopes to make strides in understanding perception and consciousness in humans. Hazel is stoked to start practicing pour painting, likes rock climbing, and of course, spends a lot of time playing Ultimate.

Maggie Hayes (Technician): Maggie is a research technician. She joined the Franks Lab in June 2022.  She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2022 with a B.A. in Physics and a B.A. in Philosophy.  In 2021, she was a Research Fellow for the Stanford Existential Risks Initiative, researching the ethics of artificial intelligence and machine learning. She's also interested in meditation.

Lab Alumni

Postdocs:
Kevin Bolding (2013-2019; Asst. Prof., Monell Center & Adjunct Asst. Prof., U. Pennsylvania)
Erica Rodriguez (2018; postdoc, Salzman lab, Columbia University)

Graduate Students:
Shiva Nagappan (2022; postdoc, Dombeck lab, Northwestern University)
Carolyn Diaz (2023; returned to medical school to finish her M.D./Ph.D.)

Honors Students:
Brendan Ryu (with distinction)

Visiting Scholars:
Benjamin Roland (2015, visiting graduate student, Collège de France)
Maryann Platt (2018, visiting graduate student, Columbia University)
David Cheng-Hao Wang (2022, visiting graduate student, Stanford Unversity)

Technicians:
Samuel Montgomery (traveling)
Brendan Ryu (medical student, Hofstra University)
Mandy Munsch (Bioengineering Ph.D. program, UNC)
Meredith Lackie (medical student, University of Vermont)
Melissa Franch (Ph.D. program, UT Health Houston)
Mark Dalgetty (medical student, University of South Carolina)
Psyche Lee (retired)

Undergraduates:
Kanav Chhabra (medical student, UT Southwestern)
Keara Darragh (medical student, UCLA)
Hannah McMullan (Pharmacology Ph.D. program at U. Minnesota)
Eric Song (Software Engineer, Amazon)
Sade Abiodun (Neuroscience Ph.D. program at Princeton U.)
Surabhi Beriwal (medical student, Emory U.)
Katherine Kim (Duke undergraduate)