Lab members
Blanca Gutierrez Guzman, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral researcher
Jesus Hernandez Perez, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral researcher
Fatemeh Farokhi Moghadam
PhD student, Bioengineering
Oliver Zheng
Lab Technician/Manager
Oliver graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience and a minor in Philosophy in 2022. In college, she participated in both cognitive neuroscience and cell biology research. In the past few years, she has worked in a variety of industries from language education to sports medicine. Oliver has great patience in working with animals and a passion for finding philosophical implications of scientific discoveries.
A little bit about me:
I was born and raised in Northeastern China and remain a fine specimen of Northeastern Chinese culture to this day. In 2018, I came to the States to pursue a degree and a career in Neuroscience. The human brain has always been the one organ that fascinates me the most because of its intricacy and its marvelous potential that awes generations after generations of scientists. When Iām not in the lab, you can usually find me wondering around in museums, talking politics in bars, or doing experiments with food in my own kitchen.
I have a pet snake.
Muhammad H. Shah
Undergrad Research Assistant
Muhammad H. Shah is pursuing a BS degree in Neuroscience with honors from the George Mason Honors College, with a minor in Computational Data Sciences (CDS), while also on the pre-med track. He began volunteering as a research assistant in Dr. Dannenberg's lab at Krasnow Institute in the Fall of 2023. In the spring of 2024, he completed an independent study in Neuroscience under Dr. Dannenberg's mentorship. He presented the findings of the study at the 13th annual College of Science Undergraduate Research Colloquium and received first place in the Life Sciences category for research in Quantifying Cholinergic Septo-entorhinal Axon Densities Across Layers of the Medial Entorhinal Cortex. From these experiences in the scientific field of neuroscience, he has been introduced to the current topics in neuroscience, developed a greater understanding of experimental techniques, and obtained skills in scientific writing. Outside of academics, he has experience as an EMT-B provider with the Loudoun Combined Fire and Rescue System and as an Emergency Room technician with Sentara Lake Ridge Hospital.
On a personal note, I was born and raised in Northern Virginia. My ethnicity is 1/4th Yemini and 3/4th Pakistani. I have a lovely orange tabby named Simba, who is an absolute joy to be around. I enjoy playing cricket, meditating, and eating out. In the future, I plan to delve further into the complexities of the brain and its cognition with the hope to find cures to neurodegenerative diseases that impact the lives of many people.
I am a current undergraduate student pursuing a degree in bioengineering. I began my career in architecture but found my way into bioengineering along the way. ( I guess this is where I needed to be š). The human body is miraculous to say the least- each system with its intricacies; the brain, however, is an enigma and one that I, like many other scientists, would like to understand. I was born and raised in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and came to the States to pursue my education. The human body is a piece of architecture and the finest example of creative design. I have always been fascinated by it. When I am not in the lab, you can find me (really early) at the gym. I also enjoy painting, staying active outdoors, and making new friends wherever I go.
Dulcce A Valenzuela
Undergrad Research Assistant
Lab Alumni
Rania Hanna
Laboratory rotation PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program for Neuroscience
Rania graduated with honors in research from Moravian University with a B.S. in neuroscience. After graduation, she taught high school honors neuroscience (with lab) to juniors and seniors, and then spent a year working as a research analyst and science writer before moving on to industry research. She earned her M.S. in human computer interaction (HCI) before continuing on to Mason's neuroscience PhD program.
A little bit about me:
My research interests are schizophrenia, learning & memory, language, and techniques that evolve my research practices. I love writing as much as research and have several novels I'm working on. I'm represented by Kaitlyn Johnson of Belcastro Agency as an author. My writing blog is called Reading Between the Dunes where I share everything bookish!