Current lab member

Background
I am interested in the mechanisms and differential effects of various neurotransmitters (i.e. dopamine and serotonin) in leeches that have recovered from nerve cord transections. In the lab, I have been working on extracellular recordings using dopamine in control leeches and in leeches recovering from transactions to discover how patterns of firing activity differs between the two groups. I will be graduating in Spring 2026, and plan to advance towards medical school after a gap year.

Background
I am interested in research that explores how stress impacts the physiological processes of the body. In the lab, I have been doing microdissections of the leech nervous system and filling nerves with tracers to characterize the morphology of peripheral proprioreceptors in control animals and in animals that have recovered from nerve cord transection. I will be starting starting my master's in counseling psychology in the Fall of 2026.

Education
B.S. in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota (2025)

My Research
I am a neuroethologist broadly interested in how neuromodulatory mechanisms contribute to variation in animal behaviors. In the Mesce Lab, I am primarily investigating the neural mechanisms that mediate recovery of locomotion following nerve cord transection in medicinal leeches. I am also interested in the physiology underlying observed individual differences in recovery timeline.

Principal Investigator

Education
Ph.D., University of Oregon
B.A., University of California San Diego

Other Websites
My Faculty Page, UMN Dept. of Entomology
My Faculty Page, UMN Dept. of Neuroscience