Current Lab Members

Jacqueline Barker, PhD

Principal Investigator

she/her/hers

Jacqui earned her BA in Psychology at Ohio Wesleyan University. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at Yale University, in the lab of Jane Taylor before moving to the Medical University of South Carolina to complete her postdoctoral training with Judson Chandler. Jacqui started her lab in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Drexel University College of Medicine in the fall of 2017.

jmb893@drexel.edu

Lauren Buck (Plyler), MS

Lab Manager

she/her/hers

Lauren completed her Master's in Neuroscience in 2018 where she developed expertise in the use of mouse models to investigate neural function.

lap352@drexel.edu

Christina Curran-Alfaro, MS

PhD Candidate, Neuroscience

she/her/hers

Christina completed her MS in biology, with a concentration in neurobiology, at Rutgers-Camden in 2020. Her MS thesis work explored circuitry involved in spatial memory utilizing a teleost model. In her doctorate, she is currently using a rodent model to investigate the effects of chronic low-dose ethanol exposure on value-guided decision-making, glutamate receptor subunit expression, and neural correlates which may contribute to aberrant reward seeking.

cc3862@drexel.edu

Laura Giacometti, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

she/her/hers

Laura completed her PhD with Dr. Ramesh Raghupathi in 2018, where her dissertation focused on sex differences in long term behavioral alterations following adolescent mild traumatic brain injury. She is building on her expertise in sex differences to investigate sex-specific effects of chronic ethanol exposure on astrocyte activity and its role in regulating reward seeking and depression-related behaviors.

llk34@drexel.edu

Sam Goldberg, MA

Research Assistant

Sam completed his BA in psychology and neuroscience at Denison University and his MA in Applied Psychological Science at Pacific University. He plans to pursue graduate school for neuroscience and explore the integration of neurobiological research with clinical work. He is interested in research involving the neurological impact of substance use disorder.

sg3856@drexel.edu

Mark Namba, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

Mark completed his PhD in Neuroscience under the mentorship of Drs. Janet Neisewander and Foster Olive at Arizona State University, where his primary focus was unraveling neuroimmune mechanisms of motivated behavior and the impact of HIV on cue-induced drug seeking. As a postdoctoral researcher in the lab, Mark is building upon his expertise in behavioral pharmacology and addiction neurobiology by examining the role of glutamatergic and neuroimmune mechanisms in cocaine craving using translational rodent models of comorbid HIV and cocaine use disorders.

mdn54@drexel.edu

Mitch Nothem, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

Mitch completed his PhD with Dr. James Barrett in 2020, where his dissertation focused on the effects of peripheral nerve injury and gabapentin on cortical pain processing. His postdoctoral work focuses on the interaction between chronic pain and substance use disorders.

man83@drexel.edu

Christine Side

Research Assistant

Christine completed her BS in Biochemistry and BA in Psychology at Rowan University. She aspires to get her Ph.D in Neuroscience and is interested in research involving the neural substrates of substance use disorder.

cms838@drexel.edu

Qiaowei Xie, MS

PhD Candidate, Pharmacology and Physiology

Qiaowei completed her MS in Drug Discovery and Development in Drexel University. Now as a PhD candidate in thelab in Drexel Pharmacology and Physiology program. Her research focuses on the effects of HIV infection on cocaine locomotor sensitization and relapse-like seeking behaviors using the EcoHIV mouse model and complemented by investigation into EcoHIV-associated neuronal and peripheral inflammatory mechanism underlying neurobehavioral outcomes of HIV infections

qx33@drexel.edu

Interns and Undergraduate Researchers

Ashly
Reyes

Ashly is a medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine. She is interested in specializing within the field of pediatrics. Ashly joined the lab through the T32 NeuroAIDS Summer Research Training Fellowship program.

NeuroAIDS T32

Julia
Wiafe-Jackson

Julia is a rising junior at Drexel majoring in Global Studies on the premedical track. She joined the lab in 2023 as a STAR Scholar, a faculty-mentored research program which strives to encourage students to partake in research early on in their undergraduate career. Julia has been awarded undergraduate research mini-grant in recognition of her work in the lab. During her time at Drexel, Julia plans to explore global health and aspires to attend medical school in the future.

Drexel STAR Program

Ankith
Alluri

Ankith is a junior undergraduate researcher completing his Biology degree at Drexel University. Ankith is in the 4+4 BS-MD program at Drexel and plans on attending Drexel University College of Medicine after graduating.

Drexel BS+MD Program

Sana
Amin

Sana is a junior completing her Bachelor's in Biological Science with a concentration in Organismal Biology and Physiology at Drexel University. Sana is in the BS/MD and Honors program at Drexel and plans to pursue medical school after her undergraduate career.

Drexel BS+MD Program

Donna
Dalere

Donna is completing her master's degree in the Interdisciplinary Health Science (IHS) program at Drexel University. Donna Received her BS from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. Following her master's, Donna plans to pursue medical school.

Drexel IHS Program

Rohan
Dasari

Rohan is an undergraduate Drexel student with a Biological Sciences Major and a Philosophy Minor. Rohan works under the supervision of Qiaowei, and his work focuses on cocaine-seeking behavior in Eco HIV mice. Rohan has presented his research at Mid-Atlantic Pharmacology Society and Drexel's Discovery Day, where he has won 1st and 2nd place in the Undergraduate Poster Presentation, respectively.

Drexel BS+MD Program

Abhiram
Yadlapalli

Abhiram is a sophomore undergraduate student at Drexel University currently pursuing his B.S. in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Organismal Biology and Physiology. As a member of Drexel’s BS/MD program, Abhiram plans to attend Drexel University’s College of Medicine post-graduation.

Drexel BS+MD Program