Our Team
Matt Lovett-Barron
Matt received his BSc from Queen’s University in Canada (2009), his PhD in Neurobiology from Columbia University (2014), and was a postdoctoral fellow with Karl Deisseroth at Stanford University.
Matt joined UCSD in 2020, and has been making aquatic friends ever since.
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Postdoctoral Fellows
Katie Martin, PhD
Katie got her PhD from New York University, where she studied auditory perceptual learning and neuromodulation in Rob Froemke’s lab. As a postdoc, she plans to study the influence of hunger on sensory-motor behaviors in larval zebrafish. Outside of lab, Katie enjoys throwing pottery, playing volleyball and has a newfound passion for pickleball.
Katie is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
Geoff Meyerhof, PhD
Geoff received his PhD from UC Santa Barbara in 2024, where he studied sensory biology in the fruit fly and mosquito. Prior to that, he worked at the Buck Institute studying the impact of aging on the eye. As a postdoc, Geoff is interested in identifying the genes and neurons required for schooling behavior in Danionella cerebrum. He is happy to be working with friendly fish that do not want to bite him.
Wataru Koyama, PhD
Wataru received his PhD from Nagoya University, where he studied cerebellar function and developed novel optogenetic tools using zebrafish. As a postdoc, he plans to study how Danionella recognizes conspecifics and achieve schooling behavior. He is also learning how to adapt to a new environment and catch the waves together with Danionella.
Wataru is a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow.
Rose Tatarsky, PhD
Rose earned her PhD at Cornell University in Dr. Andrew Bass's lab, where she worked with her fantastic research community to pioneer Danionella dracula as a new model system for studying the neurobiology of adult social behaviors, including acoustic communication. She then moved to France for a postdoc in Dr. Sylvie Retaux's lab at the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, investigating the evolution of olfactory-driven behaviors in blind cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) using quantitative genetics. As a postdoctoral fellow with the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), she studies how environmental change influences neurogenetics and behavior in sticklebacks. Outside the lab, Rose enjoys tracking down unusual sites on Atlas Obscura and creating large, surreal cartoon space scenes.
Rose is a Scripps Institution of Oceanography Postdoctoral Fellow.
Doctoral Students
Grace Padilla - Neuroscience PhD student
Originally hailing from Arizona, Grace graduated from Westminster College in Salt Lake City with a BS in Neuroscience in 2020. Her research interests predominantly consist of studying the neural circuitry by which organisms use sensory information to guide their behavior and how internal states modulate these responses. Her interests outside of academia include almost anything that takes you outside, swing dancing, and preforming music.
Grace is a NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Jo-Hsien Yu - Biology PhD student
Jo-Hsien is from Taipei, Taiwan, where she graduated with B.S. from National Taiwan University in 2018. She worked with túngara frogs at UNC-Chapel Hill, and studied neural circuits of light-modulated social behavior in mice at NTU before moving to San Diego in 2020. Joining Lovett-Barron Lab in 2021, she's learning new topics and making friends both in the lab and out under the sun.
Jo-Hsien is a J. Yang Scholar
Julia Napoli - Biology PhD student
Julia is originally from the SF Bay Area. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a concentration in math from Boston College in 2019. Following graduation, she worked as a postbaccalaureate fellow at the NIH studying neural correlates of decision-making in non-human primates. She moved to San Diego and joined the lab in 2022 where she will be working on visual attention to social cues in Danionella. Outside of the lab, she enjoys roller skating, visits to the farmer’s market, and a perfectly ripe avocado.
Julia is funded by an NIH F31 award
Jennifer Swindlehurst Chan - Biology PhD student
Originally from San Diego, Jennifer went to school in Connecticut at Wesleyan University, where she received her B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior and Biology in 2018. After graduating, she worked as a research specialist at UCSF and went on to join the Lovett-Barron Lab as a research technician in 2020. In 2022 she joined the lab as a PhD student, and making lots of fish friends in the lab.
Jen is a NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Matthew L White - Biology PhD student
Matt is from San Luis Obispo on California’s central coast. He received his BA in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology from Lewis & Clark College where he studied organelle biogenesis in C. elegans. He then studied human brain development at UCSF before beginning his PhD at UCSD in 2024. Matt is interested in organism-environment interactions and how the nervous system may confer adaptation. He is currently studying thermal adaptation in the brain and behavior of wild three-spine stickleback populations. Matt enjoys live music and exploring all biomes. His favorite food is an artichoke.
Matt is an NIH-T32 trainee in the Pathways in Biological Sciences (PiBS).
Research Technicians
Evelyn Dean - Lab
Research Assistant
Evelyn graduated from UCSD with a B.S. in Molecular & Cell Biology in 2024. After volunteering in the lab as an undergraduate, she joined the Lovett-Barron lab as a research technician. While in the lab, she will continue to investigate larval zebrafish hunting behavior and broaden her experience with molecular techniques. In her free time, she enjoys painting landscapes and being outside.
Ruby Munoz - Lab Research Assistant
Ruby graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. in Neurobiology in 2025. As an undergraduate, she volunteered in the lab before joining the Lovett-Barron Lab as a research technician. During her time in the lab, she plans to continue investigating how internal states influence social behavior and sensory perception in Danionella, as well as advancing her molecular biology skill set. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time outdoors, soaking up the sun, and exploring nature.
Alums
Princess Tarabishi - Staff Research Associate (2020-2023) - now Neuroscience PhD Student, University of Washington
Lisanne Schulze - Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2024) - now Group Leader at Janelia Research Campus (lab website)
David Zada - Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2024) - now Principal Investigator at Bar-Ilan University (lab website)
Jimjohn Milan - Staff Research Associate (2023-2025) - now Biology PhD Student, University of Washington
Ming Tak (David) Ngan - Undergraduate (2023-2025) - now Neuroscience PhD Student, MIT
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Join the shoal!
Contact Matt for more information about open positions in the lab