Lab Members
Dr. Devon Graham - Faculty
Devon hails from Pittsburgh PA and has a love for the word “yunz” (which we prefer to “y’all”), all things Steelers, and all things pickled. She is a behavioral pharmacologist, toxicologist and craft beer lover. Devon works on several projects, including the regulation of interneuron differentiation how the neuropeptide GLP-1 contributes to the development of substance use disorders. She is also now funded by NIDA to establish a mouse model of transplacental exposure to fetanyl and study how prenatal opioid exposure alters brain and behavioral development. We just wish she wouldn't be so enthusiastic all the time.
Nella Delva - Graduate Student (BMS program)
Nella was born in Haiti but grew up mostly in south Florida. She received a BS in Biology from Barry University, and a MS in Biological Sciences at the Univ. of South Carolina before working for several years at Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa. Nella joined our PhD program in 2018 and quickly discovered an interest in neuroscience. Nella is working on a project where elimination of a particular gene (D1 dopamine receptor) selectively in a subset of cerebral cortical interneurons appears to produce resiliency phenotypes in behavioral models of mood disorders. Nella recently received an award from the Bryan Robinson Endowment at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Foundation to support her research. Nella is also intensely active as a peer mentor and has a leadership role in Graduate Student Government at FSU. She is STEM-AZING!
Yasmeena Thabet - Graduate Student (BMS program)
Yasmeena is originally from Cairo, Egypt and got her Bachelors degree in Biomedical Sciences at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. She joined our program in 2020 and the Stanwood lab in 2021. Yasmeena is becoming a skilled neuroanatomist and cell counting expert. We are still developing her thesis project, but most of her work currently centers around roles for important signaling proteins during neurodevelopment in the prefrontal cortex, including a neurexin and a modulator of Rho kinase.
Alicia Hellman - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Alicia is studying Behavioral Neuroscience and Chemistry at FSU. She has contributed to multiple projects, doing everything from PCR-based genotyping of mutant mice, cutting brains, and analyzing human saliva samples for cortisol. We think she's grand! She just took over as research assistant on a collaborative Rural Children's Health Study and now also needs to "herd" multiple faculty members and their staff.
