Principal investigator

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Jeremy Day
Jeremy Day

Director, UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center
Michael J. Friedlander Heersink Endowed Professorship
Professor, Vice Chair for Strategic Planning & Recruitment
Department of Neurobiology, UAB

Adjunct Faculty, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

B.A., Auburn University
Ph.D., University of North Carolina

jjday@uab.edu | Google Scholar

Dr. Day is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he is the Director of the UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center and holds the Michael J. Friedlander Heersink Endowed Professorship. Dr. Day received his B.A. from Auburn University and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina prior to conducting postdoctoral training at UAB. He joined the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2014. The Day laboratory uses gene editing, single cell sequencing, electrophysiology, and behavioral approaches to explore how experience modifies gene expression to shape neuronal function, with an emphasis on the brain circuits that regulate motivated behavior. Work in Dr. Day’s lab is currently funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the McKnight Foundation.

Postdoctoral Fellows and staff

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Emily Jorgensen
Emily Jorgensen

Postdoctoral Fellow

Emily received her double BS from Kansas State University and her PhD from the University of Wyoming, where she used behavioral and physiological tools to investigate the role of extracellular matrix structures in cortical plasticity and cocaine-associated memories. In the Day Lab, she plans to continue studying substance abuse and build on her previous work using molecular techniques to examine how changes in gene expression and corresponding changes in intrinsic excitability and synaptic plasticity, contribute to drug-seeking behaviors. Outside of the lab, EmJ enjoys skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and beach bumming. Dr. Jorgensen’s projects in the lab are supported by an NRSA F32 award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Katelyn Varden
Katelyn Varden

Lab manager

B.S., University of Alabama at Birmingham

kvarden9 [at] uab.edu

Cathy Newman
Cathy Newman

Data Scientist

Cathy is a bioinformatics specialist interested in application of computational tools to understand sequencing-based datasets. Cathy received bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Alabama prior to completing her PhD in Biology at LSU, where she studied the evolutionary genetics of salamanders in the southeast United States.
Cathy's website

Emily Morring
Emily Morring

Researcher III

B.S., University of Alabama at Birmingham

Graduate students

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Kasey Brida
Kasey Brida

MD/PhD student (Genetics theme)

Kasey is a dual-degree MSTP student in the GBS Genetics program. She received a B.S. in Integrative Neuroscience from Binghamton University prior to joining UAB. Kasey is interested in understanding the role of the extracellular matrix protein Reelin in striatal function. Kasey’s research in the lab is supported by an Emerging Scholar Award from the Civitan International Research Center and an F30 NRSA from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Dalton Fitzgerald
Dalton Fitzgerald

MD/PhD student (Neuroscience theme)

Dalton is an MSTP student in the GBS Neuroscience program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of the South in 2018, and completed post-baccalaureate studies at Yale University prior to joining the MD/PhD dual degree program at UAB. Dalton is interested in the molecular and cellular mechanisms that contribute to motivated behaviors, and the complexity of dopamine neuron subtypes. Her work in the lab is supported by the NINDS T32 program in the Neurobiology of Cognition and Cognitive Disorders and an F30 National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Olivia Drake
Olivia Drake

MD/PhD student

Olivia is an MSTP student in the GBS Genomics, Genetics, and Bioinformatics theme. She received a B.S.. in Neuroscience from Juniata College in 2020 and was selected for a Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award from the National institute on Drug Abuse prior to enrolling at UAB. Olivia is interested in understanding the brain mechanisms that regulate opioid reward, as well as the circuits that contribute to opioid withdrawal behaviors.

Guy Twa
Guy Twa

Genetics PhD student

Guy is a student in the GBS Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics theme. He received an undergraduate degree from UAB prior to enrolling in graduate school. Guy’s main interest in the lab is using computational approaches to understand large single cell sequencing datasets.
Guy's website

Undergraduate Students

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Tanner Caton
Tanner Caton

UAB, Undergraduate Neuroscience Program

Lydia Slocum
Lydia Slocum

UAB, Undergraduate Neuroscience Program

Melissa Mercer
Melissa Mercer

UAB Bioinformatics Major

Stephen Binu
Stephen Binu

UAB, Undergraduate Neuroscience Program

Lab Alumni

  • Nathaniel Robinson, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow from 2021-2024)
    AAAS Science Policy Fellow

  • Angela Cleere (Undergraduate Student from 2022-2024)
    PhD student at Medical College of Wisconsin

  • Ethan Wan (Undergraduate Student from 2021-2024)
    Medical student, UAB Heersink School of Medicine

  • Jennifer Tuscher, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow from 2017-2023)
    Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin
    Jen is recruiting! See her lab website for more details.

  • Emma Andraka, MS (Master’s student from 2021-2023)
    PhD student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai

  • Adi Maese (PREP scholar from 2022-2023)
    PhD student at University of Utah

  • Robert Phillips III, PhD (PhD student from 2018-2023)
    Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Keri Martinowich at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development

  • David Reid (SURE-GM summer student in 2022)
    Medical student, UAB Heersink School of Medicine

  • Nicholas Southern (Undergraduate student from 2018-2021)
    PhD student with Dr. Dominik Niopek at Heidelberg University

  • Saige Thompson (SURE-GM summer student in 2021)
    Research Associate, Chroma Medicine

  • Abhi Kamanth (Undergraduate student from 2019-2021)
    Medical student, UAB Heersink School of Medicine

  • Jenna Hinds (Undergraduate and Research Technician from 2018-2021)
    Lab technician, Nubad LLC

  • Saakshi Thukral (Undergraduate student from 2018-2021)
    Healthcare consultant, Impact Advisors

  • Tanvee Sinha (Undergraduate student from 2018-2021)
    Medical student, UAB Heersink School of Medicine

  • Nancy Carullo, PhD (Graduate student from 2015-2020)
    Postdoctoral Fellow, Roche Switzerland

  • Salomon Roman (Undergraduate student from 2018-2021)
    Medical student, UAB Heersink School of Medicine

  • Allie Bauman (Lab Manager 2017-2020)
    Lab manager for Dr. Amy Nelson, University of South Alabama

  • Morgan Zipperly, MD PhD (Graduate student from 2015-2020)
    Research-track Psychiatry Residency, University of Colorado-Denver

  • Corey Duke, MD PhD (Graduate student from 2015-2020)
    Resident, Harvard University/Boston Children’s

  • Svitlana Bach, PhD (Postdoc from 2015-2019)
    Staff Scientist with Dr. Keri Martinowich at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development

  • Darya Hosein (Undergraduate student from 2017-2019)
    Clinical Research Coordinator, Emory University School of Medicine

  • Katherine Savell, PhD (Graduate student from 2014-2019)
    Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Bruce Hope, National Institute on Drug Abuse

  • Jasmin Revanna (Undergraduate student from 2015-2019)
    PhD student with Dr. Rusty Gage, UCSD/Salk Institute

  • Miguel Hernandez-Rovira (UAB SPIN student, Summer 2018)
    Medical student, Washington University in St. Louis

  • Kendra Bunner, PhD (Postdoc from 2016-2017)
    Assistant Professor, Indiana University

  • Faraz Sultan, MD PhD (Postdoc from 2014-2018)
    Residency, Rush University

  • Mika Guzman-Karlsson, MD PhD (Postdoc in 2018)
    Residency, Baylor College of Medicine

  • Michael Vivian (Undergraduate student from 2016-2017)
    PhD student, Brandeis University

  • Will McLean (Undergraduate student from 2013-2015)
    Laboratory Technician, UAB

  • Jordan Brown, PhD (PREP scholar from 2014-2015)
    Medical Writer, Meditech Media

  • J.J. O'Malley, PhD (Technician from 2014-2015)
    Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Mario Penzo, National Institute of Mental Health

  • Rhiana Simon, PhD (Undergraduate student from 2013-2016)
    Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Corey Harwell, UCSF

  • Roxanne Robidoux (Undergraduate student from 2015-2017)
    MD student, Université Laval

  • Andrew Brane (Laboratory technician from 2015-2017)
    PhD student, UAB

  • Guan-En Graham (Undergraduate student from 2015-2018)
    PhD student with Dr. Kasia Bieszczad, Rutgers University

  • Aaron Salisbury (Undergraduate student from 2016-2018)
    PhD student with Dr. Keri Martinowich, Johns Hopkins University and Lieber Institute

  • Julia Burke (SPIN student, summer 2017)
    IRTA/Researcher at National Institute of Mental Health