Current RAT Neuro Lab Team
Nuanxi (Sissi) Feng (‘24)
Honors Project Researcher (Neuroscience)
I am a Neuroscience major and Chemistry minor on the pre-med track at Bowdoin College. This is my fourth semester working in the Honeycutt Lab, and I am particularly interested in the role of hormones in causing sex difference in neurodevelopment, and alternative therapeutic options for psychiatric disorders. My ongoing honor’s project focuses on how pubertal hormones affect female rats’ behavioral and cellular responses to acute ketamine treatment following early-life adversity. After Bowdoin, I wish to attend medical school and specialize in women’s health.
In my free time, I enjoy theater, hiking, and astrophotography. I also love cooking, trying out new recipes, and I am an expert in dumpling making (from scratch)!
Eshani Baez (‘25)
Research Assistant
I am a Neuroscience major and Computer Science minor from North Andover, MA. My research in the lab revolves around the impact of Early Life Adversity on behavior, with a strong focus on utilizing deep neural networks to understand this relationship. My ongoing project involves the use of the deep neural network, DeepLabCut, to track rat facial expressions in response to ultrasonic vocalization playbacks.
In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors, as well as painting and photography!
Anju Chenaux-Repond (‘25)
Research Assistant
I am a neuroscience and sociology double major from Hong-Kong. This is my second year working in the Honeycutt lab and I am particularly interested in how Early Life Adversity induces neuroanatomical changes. After Bowdoin I hope to work with patients with various psychopathological and neurological disorders to investigate various alternative treatments for these disorders.
In my free time I enjoy rowing, cycling, swimming, and being in the outdoors in general! I hope to get my scuba diving license sometime during my lifetime!
Cassy Scott (‘25)
Research Assistant
I am a Neuroscience major and Gender and Women’s studies minor at Bowdoin College. I’ve enjoyed being a research assistant in the Honeycutt RAT Lab, and hope to eventually pursue an honors project in this lab.
I’m particularly interested in how early life adversity causes physiological changes in the brain and what those specific pathways are.
Zack (Cash) Reynolds (‘24)
Honors Project Researcher (Neuroscience)
I am a First-Generation student from Holly Pond, AL currently researching the impacts of Early Life Adversity on the corticolimbic connections in both male and female rats. I use stereotaxic surgeries to stimulate the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and immunohistochemistry to visualize and quantify cellular activity in response to the stimulation.
In the future, I hope to conduct Neural Engineering research about using biomedical technologies to aid the recovery of nervous system function following injury.
Quinn Battagliese (‘25)
Research Assistant
I am a Neuroscience major and Computer Science minor from Kennebunkport, Maine, and this is my second semester working in the Honeycutt Lab. The work I have done so far focuses on the implementation of deep neural networks to analyze behavioral and USV data.
In my free time I enjoy surfing, playing soccer, and spending time outside!
Yanevith Peña (‘25)
Research Assistant
Currently Studying Abroad
Lilly Curtis (‘26)
Research Assistant
I’m a sophomore and prospective Neuroscience major from Boothbay Harbor, Maine! This is my first semester in the Honeycutt Lab. I am especially interested in the behavioral impacts of early life adversity and the specific neural pathways that underlie those impacts. I hope to take what I learn from the Honeycutt Lab and approach medicine through a holistic lens.
In my free time, I enjoy drawing, journaling, and pilates!
Alena Lemeshova (‘26)
Research Assistant
I am a future Neuroscience and Asian Studies double major from Yaroslavl, Russia. My current research interests are rat ultrasonic vocalizations and how we can use them to study affective disorders such as major depression and generalized anxiety. One of the projects I work on involves the usage of the conditioned place preference box to investigate affective stimuli in novel ways – for example, without pairing the studied stimulus with a drug. After graduating from Bowdoin, I plan to pursue PhD in Neuroscience and focus on researching affective disorders with their possible treatments.
Outside of the lab, I volunteer in animal shelters, advocate for mental health issues on campus and beyond, and enjoy creative writing.
Piper Wilson (‘26)
Research Assistant
I am a sophomore and prospective Neuroscience major from Rochester, NY. This is my first semester working in the Honeycutt Lab, and I am particularly excited to learn about how sex differences impact behavior.
In my free time, I enjoy dance, playing the piano, and coxing for the crew team!
Kaya Patel (‘26)
Research Assistant
I am a current sophomore and prospective Neuroscience and potentially Environmental Studies coordinate major. This is my second year working in the Honeycutt Lab studying the impacts of early life adversity and sex differences on the prefrontal cortex to the basolateral amygdala circuit. I utilize stereotaxic methods, open field behavioral testing, and immunohistochemistry to explore inhibitory pathways in this circuit and understand how cell recruitment and behavior can be altered with anxiety disorders.
In the future, I hope to explore how environmental toxins and drugs induce early-life adversity circuitry changes and sex-specific outcomes from those environmental changes.
Summer 2021 Research Team
The Honeycutt Research in Affective and Translational [RAT] Neuroscience Lab officially opened its doors in June 2021 at Bowdoin College. Our inaugural (in person!) research group consisted of some amazing undergraduate trainees, many of whom are Neuroscience majors at the college.
From left to right in photo:
Seneca Ellis (Bowdoin ‘22)
Sydney Bonauto (Bowdoin ‘23)
Emma Noel (Bowdoin ‘23)
Jennifer Honeycutt, PhD (PI)
Erin McCue (SMCC ‘21; INBRE Summer Fellow)
Alissa Chen (Bowdoin ‘22)
In addition to helping get the lab up and running, these students began three core research projects aiming to evaluate how early life adversity influences: 1) reactivity to ultrasonic vocalization playback across sex and development (Bonauto & McCue); 2) behavioral and DNA methylation outcomes across sex and age (Chen & Noel); and 3) behavioral and neural plasticity outcomes following therapeutic ketamine treatment (Ellis). We’re looking forward to continuing these studies in the Fall of 2021!
Lab Alumni
We have been privileged to have some amazing Bowdoin undergraduate researchers as collaborators in the RAT Neuro Lab, many of whom have gone on to pursue new and exciting adventures (though we miss them dearly!). They include:
Adelaide Hocking (‘24)
Sydney Bonauto (‘23 - Honors Project Researcher) - Tufts Biomedical Sciences PhD Program
Emma Noel (‘23 - Honors Project Researcher) - UPenn Neuroscience PhD Program
Lucy O’Sullivan (‘23 - Honors Project Researcher)
Khushi Patel (‘23 - Honors Project Researcher)
Alissa Chen (‘22 - Honors Project Researcher) - Clinical Research Coordinator, Mount Sinai
Seneca Ellis (‘22 - Honors Project Researcher) - Research Assistant, Napadow Lab, Mass General
Maria Camila Riaño (‘22 - Independent Study Researcher) - Clinical Research Coordinator, Mount Sinai
Emanuel Coleman (‘22 - Research Assistant) - Research Technician, Maguire Lab, Tufts
Kate John (‘22 - Research Assistant) - Analyst at Prescient Healthcare Group
Owen Ramberg (‘22 - Research Assistant) - Stanford Medical Program