Program Directors

Glenn Schafe, PhD. 
Professor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY​

Dr. Schafe's Lab studies the neurobiological substrates of emotional learning and memory, with particular emphasis on Pavlovian fear conditioning. Its potential relevance for understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

​​Chiye ​Aoki, Ph.D.
​Professor of Neural Science & Biology, New York University​

Dr. Aoki's Lab current research uses electron microscopic techniques to examine the cellular bases of interaction between transmitters and receptors that are thought to have important roles in synaptic plasticity. By using the electron microscope, they have observed that neurotransmitter receptors are brought to the pre- and postsynaptic membrane in an activity-dependent manner.

Nesha ​Burghardt, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY​

Dr. Burghardt's Lab focuses on understanding abnormalities in the neural circuits that underlie different psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and anorexia nervosa. Their approach involves using behavioral neuroscience to model features of these disorders in rodents and modern molecular tools to identify changes in relevant brain regions. ​

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Staff

Kizzy Vazquez, M.S.  

Kizzy is the BP-ENDURE Program Administrator and Adjunct Lecturer at Hunter College for Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology. She believes cultivating students’ mind is the most crucial component of mentorship. Her neuroscience research expands from neurodevelopment to epigenetic.

Previously, Kizzy conducted research in Dr. Junaid's lab at the NYS Institute for Basic Research. She investigated folic acids effects on the GABAergic system and related proteins. She also researched spinal injury with Dr. Z. Ahmed and Fragile X syndrome with Dr. El Idrissi at the College State Island, CUNY. Her NSF LSAMP graduate fellowship afforded her the opportunity to research at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.