Team members
Principal investigator
Robert R. ROZESKE, PhD
Short CV
robert dot rozeske at utoronto dot ca
I received my BA in Psychology at St. Olaf College and my MA and PhD in Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of Colorado-Boulder. During my graduate work in Steven F. Maier’s lab I focused on how behavioral control over stress produced enduring trans-situational resilience. I investigated how the medial prefrontal cortex interacted with the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus to confer stress resilience.
As a postdoc, I joined Cyril Herry’s lab at INSERM located at the University of Bordeaux. I investigated a circuit composed of the medial prefrontal cortex and periaqueductal gray that regulates contextual fear discrimination behaviour. I later joined Mark P. Brandon’s lab at McGill University to study how the hippocampus represents different contexts to produce fear discrimination using calcium imaging techniques.
Outside of the lab I enjoy cooking, playing ultimate, running, hiking, and playing music.
Lab members
Emily WONG
CGS master’s fellow
emilyhiuyuet dot wong at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I completed my BSc at the University of Toronto St. George as a Neuroscience Specialist and Psychology Major. During that time, I participated in research which fostered my interest in the neuroscience of psychological disorders and investigating their treatments. Currently, I am pursuing a MSc at the Rozeske Lab, using a mouse model of PTSD to investigate neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex during fear behaviour and experiential factors that may modulate fear extinction. Beyond the lab, I enjoy reading psychiatry/neurology case studies, rock climbing, and the great outdoors.
Liv ENGEL
Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Sex and Gender doctoral fellow
liv dot engel at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I received my BA in Psychology at Reed College and am now a 1st year PhD student in the Psychology department at the University of Toronto. In my undergraduate research I examined the role of estrogen receptors in ethanol withdrawal-induced anxiety. I then became a lab manager in the Saunders lab at the University of Minnesota and investigated how distinct dopamine projections from the midbrain to the dorsal or ventral striatum conferred different motivational properties to Pavlovian cues. In my graduate work, I will be focusing on hippocampal and prefrontal circuits of contextual fear expression and extinction. Outside of the lab I enjoy biking, film photography, and brewing beer.
Nawal AFZAL
Undergraduate student
nawal dot afzal at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I am a second-year undergraduate student double majoring in neuroscience and molecular biology, immunology, and disease and a minor in astronomy and astrophysics. I am interested in behavioral neuroscience and neural networks involved in cognitive functions. My free time is spent working at a pharmacy and studying pharmacy on the side, and playing with my kitten and budgies.
Ameen SALIM
Undergraduate student
alameen dot salim at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I am currently a second-year student completing a Specialist in Cognitive Neuroscience and a Minor in Psychology. I am interested in the neural mechanisms behind perception, intrapersonal and interpersonal behaviour, and both chemical and psychological methods of altering or improving cognitive function. Outside of school and the lab, I spend my time reading, writing, and working out. I also love learning about human history, sociology, music, and evolutionary biology.
Megan Lozzi
CGS master’s fellow
megan dot lozzi at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I completed my BA in Psychology at Concordia University. Throughout my degree I worked in the Iordanova lab, studying the neural substrates underlying various forms of Pavlovian fear and reward learning. I later joined the Fulton lab at the University of Montreal as a research assistant, contributing to projects examining the interaction between nutrition, neural processes, and affective behaviour. During my PhD, I will look at how the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and periaqueductal grey contribute to contextual fear learning and the generation of defensive behaviours in mice. In my free time I like being outside, cycling, and learning about paleontology.
Harine THAYANANTHARAJAH
Undergraduate student
harine dot thayanantharajah at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I am a second-year student majoring in Neuroscience and Human Biology. I am interested in using different neuroimaging techniques to explore neuronal circuits involved in defensive behaviours. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, watching historical movies, and listening to music.
Shaghayegh SHAHIN FAR
Undergraduate student
shaghayegh dot shahin dot far at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I am a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a co-op specialist degree in cellular & molecular neuroscience. I am interested in cellular mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases and the application of calcium imaging recordings and optogenetics to investigate on neural circuit-dysfunction-related diseases like Parkinson’s. Outside of school, I enjoy doing my workout routine, cooking, swimming, and playing music!
Krit GROVER
Undergraduate student
krit dot grover dot far at mail dot utoronto dot ca
I'm a second-year student at the University of Toronto Scarborough, specializing in Software Engineering and Majoring in Mathematics. Currently, I am working on a thesis project revolving around detecting fear stimuli in mice using recurrent neural networks. I am also working as a Teaching Assistant for first-year Computer Science courses at UTSC. In my free time, you’ll find me reading, talking about soccer, blasting heavy music into my ears, and petting all the good dogs.
Lab alumni
Brian WU: currently pursuing a Master’s degree in psychology at Western University
Kaili WU: currently pursuing a Master’s degree public health at Johns Hopkins University
Jahmar HEWITT: Pursuing medical degree
Mahnoor KHAN: Pursuing medical degree