People

Mike Sidorov is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children’s National Research Institute. He also is an Assistant Professor at George Washington University and a trainer in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences PhD program, with a dual appointment in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology. Mike received his Ph.D. in neuroscience at MIT, where he studied mechanisms of plasticity in Fragile X syndrome. He did postdoctoral training at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he studied neural circuits and biomarkers in Angelman syndrome.

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Caleigh received her PhD in Psychology at UW Madison. Her dissertation explored the role of neuropeptides on ultrasonic vocalizations and social behavior in California mice. She received her master’s from Western University of Health Sciences where she studied induced-pluripotent stem cells as a therapy for Parkinson’s disease. She received her BS in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior and her BA in Psychology at UC Davis. In her free time, Caleigh loves running outside, playing board games, listening to podcasts, eating good food, and hanging out with her husband, son, dog, and two cats.

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Ayse received her Ph.D. degree in Neurobiology from the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg (Germany) in 2021. During her Ph.D. thesis, she investigated the participation of PMCA-Neuroplastin complexes in neuronal calcium regulation, signaling and plasticity. She obtained her M.Sc. degree in Molecular Life Sciences from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (Germany) in 2016. She completed B.Sc. degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul University (Turkey) in 2013. In the Sidorov lab, she is interested in monitoring in vivo neuronal activity by using cutting-edge fluorescence imaging techniques. Outside of the lab, she likes spending time with books, music and red wine.

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Nishu graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2021 where she received her Bachelor of Science in Physiology & Neurobiology with a minor in Mathematics. She is primarily interested in examining sleep patterns in neurodevelopmental disorders and aims to pursue a career as a physician scientist.

Devante Kerr graduated from Howard University in 2022 as a Biology major and Psychology and Chemistry double minor. He is interested in one day obtaining his MD-PhD and practicing as a psychiatrist or neurologist while doing research on neurodevelopmental diseases. As an undergrad, Devante created a MATLAB GUI to facilitate the process of multidimensional analysis.

Sapphire Bowen-Kauth graduated from Howard University in 2022, majoring in Biology and minoring in Painting, Chemistry, and Psychology. Sapphire hopes to learn more about in vivo functional connectivity and plasticity in neural circuits implicated in a mouse model of Angelman Syndrome. She plans to pursue a career as a child psychiatrist and neuroscientist. Outside of the lab, Sapphire enjoys running and painting.

David is a senior at the University of Maryland, where he is majoring in Physiology & Neurobiology and minoring in Human Development. He hopes to pursue a career as a physician and is interested in learning more about neural circuitry, motor functioning, and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Angelman Syndrome.

Grace is a freshman at the University of Maryland, where she is majoring in Neuroscience. She is currently studying behavior in a mouse model of Angelman syndrome. She plans to pursue a career in medicine, specializing in Addiction Psychiatry in low-income areas. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading the NYTimes and long walks outdoors.