The Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Karen Safaryan
Project Scientist
Polo Morales
Research Assistant
Daniel Leal
Undergraduate Intern
Nicole Clarin
Undergraduate Intern
Parker Kuo
Undergraduate Intern
Maddie Donahue
Undergraduate Intern
Alexis Raquino
Engineering Consultant
Sonia Pollock
Undergraduate Intern
Chiagoziem Nduka
Undergraduate Intern
Sisam Bhattarai
Undergraduate Intern
Austin was raised in New Jersey. His goal is to provide a better understanding of depressive-like behaviors and explore alternative treatment options. Austin is committed to mentoring and teaching in his laboratory. He provides professional and career development assistance for at all levels. He is also an advocate on making a more diverse research environment.
Favorite authors: Michael Crichton, Blake Crouch
Favorite team: Los Angeles Lakers
Favorite shows: The Wire, Below Deck
Karen Safaryan, Ph.D., earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, where he investigated pattern recognition in large-scale network models of the cerebellar cortex. He then completed his postdoctoral research in UCLA’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, studying hippocampal neural dynamics during virtual reality navigation. As a Project Scientist in UCLA’s Department of Neurology, he explores local and extended brain network mechanisms underlying adaptive decision-making and cognitive flexibility in dynamic environments, using large-scale neural recording techniques (Neuropixels probes) in rodents.
Favorite hobbies: Hiking and Traveling, Poker and Chess
Favorite team: Liverpool FC
Polo graduated from UCLA in June 2024 with a B.S in Psychobiology. He was an undergraduate in the Churchland lab working on understanding decision-making in a genetic mouse model for autism, Neurexin1alpha. He utilized a standardized behavioral task from International Brain Laboratory, a two-choice task to probe how priors influence visually-guided decisions.
Favorite artists: Feid, Rels B
Favorite hobbies: Architect and landscape photography, hiking, and exploring the city
Daniel is an undergraduate student intern majoring in Neuroscience at UCLA
Fun Fact: He likes to play drums during free time
Favorite Soccer Team: Tottenham Spurs
Nicole is an undergraduate student intern majoring in neuroscience at UCLA. She has a strong passion for neuroscience research and hopes to pursue a career in research in the future.
Favorite Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Favorite shows: The Good Place, Brooklyn 99
Parker is an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience and Statistics/Data Science at UCLA. He is very passionate about neuroscience research, especially when connected to mental health disorders. He hopes to pursue a career in medicine in the future.
Favorite Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Favorite Artists: One Direction, Pitbull, Imagine Dragons
Maddie is a UCLA computer science undergraduate with industry experience in full-stack and AI-agent development. She’s committed to applying her CS background to analyzing mouse behavior and to exploring how computational insights can advance mental health.
Favorite Team: Philadelphia Flyers
Interest: Reading, running, coffee
Alexis is a 4th year bioengineering major and data science engineering minor. She mostly helps with hardware and camera automation in the lab.
Outside of engineering, she's passionate about graphic design and digital art, and always has a doodle or two in progress.
Sonia is an undergraduate student intern majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Computational Structural Biology at UCLA. She is very interested in neuroscience research, specifically understanding neural pathways through advanced imaging techniques. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine in the future.
Favorite Artists: Tame Impala, Malcolm Todd, The Strokes, Peggy Gou, Daniel Caesar
Hobbies & Interests: Cafe and restaurant hopping, traveling, crocheting
Chiagoziem is an undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Psychobiology with a minor in African American Studies. She is interested in neurobiology and behavior, particularly how social and environmental factors shape mental health. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine in the future.
In her free time, she loves to dance, coach gymnastics, and watch reality TV with her friends.
Sisam is an undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Neuroscience and Physiological Sciences. She is very passionate about making tangible efforts to understand of neural aspects that cause certain developmental disorders and mental disorders, especially depression to aid advancement of treatment options. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine!
Favorite artists: Olivia Rodrigo, Daniel Caesar, & Olivia Dean
Hobbies & Interests: Pilates, painting, & pursuing other spontaneous/random hobbies that last only 3 months
Summer Interns
Bella Lingel - UC Berkeley (2025)
Millie Auslender - Wellesley College/Amgen Scholar (2025)
Lab Alumni
Maleeha Amir - UCLA (2025)