Michael N. Economo, PhD                        mne@bu.edu

Mike is a Greek-Canadian southerner who grew up in North Carolina.  Mike got his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and Boston University and completed postdoctoral training at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus.  Mike enjoys biking, basketball, and photography in his free time – despite being mediocre at all of them – and loves the outdoors.  Mike was voted by his lab “most likely to have an entire wardrobe of funky socks.”

Maria ‘Vicky’ Moya, PhD                    mvmoya@bu.edu

Vicky was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Boulder, CO and Austin, TX.  Vicky completed her undergraduate degree in Neurobiology at The University of Texas and her PhD at the Rockefeller University in Neuroscience.  Vicky is an aficionado of coffee, Star Wars, breakfast tacos, and was voted “best cook” by her peers.

Yujin Han, PhD                                            yujinhan@bu.edu

Yujin was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. He earned B.S. in biology and Ph.D. in neuroscience at the Seoul National University. He joined the Economo lab to understand how the brain controls movements so flexibly. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters. Yujin was voted “most organized” by his peers.

Sarah Shaykevich, PhD                                    sshayk@bu.edu

Sarah grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Bioengineering and minor in Electrical Engineering. Sarah received her Ph.D. at NYU, where she worked on the implementation of optoacoustic tomography for functional neuroimaging in the lab of Dr. Shy Shoham. In the Economo and Mertz labs, she is applying advanced optical tools and developing techniques to image and gain insight into patterns of neural and neuromodulatory activity. Outside the lab, she can be found engaging in outdoor activities or indoor puzzles.

Munib Hasnain                                    munibh@bu.edu

Munib is a native of Houston, TX and received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Houston.  Munib is an avid basketball player and was voted by his peers “most likely to be found cuddling a mouse.”

Jaclyn ‘Jackie’ Birnbaum                     jackieb1@bu.edu

Jackie grew up on Long Island and graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience and a minor in Ethics. In the Economo Lab, Jackie’s work has focused on trying to understand the separability of cognitive and motor neural dynamics in the motor cortex and downstream circuits. Outside of the lab, Jackie can usually be found on a mountain or a beach as she loves to rock climb, hike, and attempt to surf. Jackie was voted by her peers “best person to share a deserted island with.”

Jack Vincent                                           jackv@bu.edu

Jack grew up in California and North Carolina, and has a BS in Biomedical Engineering from UNC Chapel Hill and a MS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Arizona. He enjoys jazz, reading (and talking) about World War 2 and old American presidents, playing badminton, and doing the New York Times crossword. Jack was voted by his peers “most likely to have their own reality TV show.”

Will Cunningham                                williamc@bu.edu

Will is an easy-going, music(al) loving nerd. After receiving dual degrees (Mathematics and Computer science) from University of Rochester, he worked for two years as a software developer at Epic Systems. Realizing he was too intellectually curious to work solely as a programmer, he joined GPN (Graduate Program for Neuroscience) in 2021. His current goals in the Economo lab are to investigate and better understand the mechanisms that control plasticity, including dopamine, in the motor cortices. Outside of his professional life he loves rock climbing, hiking, sharing music, playing board games and geeking out with passionate people. Will was voted by his peers “most likely to break into song randomly.”

Tudor Dragoi                                        tdragoi@bu.edu

Tudor grew up in Houston, Texas and completed his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at Brandeis University. After graduating from Brandeis, Tudor joined the lab of Mriganka Sur at MIT as a research associate for 3 years. At Boston University, Tudor is a PhD student and part of the graduate program for Neuroscience. Outside of science, Tudor enjoys soccer, cooking and traveling. Tudor was voted by his peers “most likely to overfill the research drive.”

Phoenix Chen                                        phoenixc@bu.edu

Phoenix, born and raised in Brooklyn, graduated from Brandeis University with a BS in Biology and Studio Arts. In the Economo Lab, she investigates whether brainstem nuclei have distinct processing layers or are multiplexed for different descending inputs, aiming to define their cellular and circuit architecture. Outside of research, Phoenix enjoys painting, gardening, going to the gym, and hosting dinners for friends. Her peers voted her “most artistic.”

Sarah Zylka                                     szylka@bu.edu

Sarah received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Bard College. She spent some time in the invertebrate world in the labs of Leslie Vosshall and Vanessa Ruta before joining the Graduate Program for Neuroscience at BU in 2023. Outside of the lab, Sarah enjoys swimming, running, and working on her embroidery. She was voted by her peers “most likely to have a collection of rare and exotic plants.”

Zachary Loschinskey                                     zfl@bu.edu

Zach grew up outside of Memphis, TN and completed his BS in Biomedical Engineering-Bioinformatics at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Before coming to BU he studied artificial minichromosomes with Dr. James Birchler and the long term effects of radiation therapies on sleep electrophysiology with Dr. Ranganatha Sitaram. At BU, Zach is co-advised with Dr. Brian DePasquale and is interested in multiregion brain communication and state space modeling. Outside of lab, he enjoys playing soccer and tennis, listening to reggaeton, and playing DnD. Zach was voted by his peers “most likely to memorize pi to 100 decimals.”

Omar El Sayed                                        oelsayed@bu.edu

Omar grew up in Cairo, Egypt and received his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. Omar is interested in multi-region communication and brain machine interfaces. Outside of work, he enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and tennis, traveling with family and friends, and playing Pro Clubs and COD. Omar was voted “most athletic” by his peers.

Mike Wallace                                       mswallac@bu.edu

Mike grew up in Massachusetts and holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University. He enjoys fishing expeditions, climbing, and reading fantasy books. Mike was voted by his peers as “most likely to talk your ear off” (probably about fishing).

 Juan Luis Ugarte Nunez                                jugarte@bu.edu

Juan Luis is curious and willing to put in the legwork to explore the sciences. After working as an undergraduate in the Boas lab and getting his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University, he wanted to get more involved with real-world experience in the field. Neuroscience sparked his interest, and he’ll strive to learn all he can through his work in the Economo Lab. Professional and academic matters aside, he’s an avid fan of naps and reading along with enjoying an innumerably long list of other miscellaneous activities. Juan-Luis was voted by his peers “most likely to help you with an experiment.”

 Sam Krick                                              samkrick@bu.edu

Sam was born outside Chicago and grew up around the Midwest, before moving out to the Northeast. He is currently a senior majoring in Neuroscience and joined the Economo Lab to investigate the motor and premotor circuits of the brain stem. In his free time, Sam loves to play basketball and listen to music, and is always up for some outdoor activities, especially if it involves a mountain. Sam was voted by his peers “most likely to brighten your day.”

 Dylann Palmer                                  dylannp@bu.edu

Dylann grew up in Albany, New York and is a sophomore studying Biomedical Engineering. In his free time, Dylann enjoys playing the saxophone, tennis, video games, solving New York Times puzzles, and exploring Boston with friends. Dylann was voted by his peers “most likely to secretly be a magician.”