The research team
SHAWN LOCKERY, PhD
Professor, Department of Biology
shawn (at) uoregon [dot] edu
As an undergraduate in philosophy of mind at Yale University, Shawn became interested in studying how the mind actually works. He received his Ph.D. in a neurobiology from the University of California, San Diego, where he worked on escape reflexes in the medicinal leech under the guidance of William Kristan and Nicholas Spitzer. He received post-doctoral training in computational neuroscience with Terrance Sejnowski at the Salk Institute, where he started working on spatial orientation behaviors in C. elegans. In 1993, Shawn established his own lab at the University of Oregon, first tackling how to record electrically from neurons in C. elegans. His current research focuses on the neuronal basis of economic decision making and how it is altered by drugs of abuse. In 2011, he and UO colleague Janis Weeks founded InVivo Biosystems, Inc. based on microfluidic devices for nematode electrophysiology developed in his laboratory.
SERGE FAUMONT, PhD
Research Associate
sfaumont (at) uoregon [dot] edu
Serge received his initial training in electrophysiology on the lobster stomatogastric ganglion, studying motor pattern selection. Since then, his research has focused on understanding the genetic and neural basis of behavior in C. elegans, using a range of experimental approaches including quantitative analysis of behavior, molecular biology, electrophysiology (patch clamp, electropharyngeograms), modeling, calcium imaging and optogenetics. In his most recent work, he has been using a neuroeconomic framework to understand value-based decision making.
KATHY CHICAS-CRUZ
Research Assistant
chicas (at) uoregon [dot] edu
Kathy received her BA in biology and Spanish from the University of Oregon. She spent 16 years at the UO Institute of Molecular Biology as a research assistant studying ATPase and cytochrome oxidase and several years working at the transgenic mouse facility. She has been with the Lockery lab since 2009, working as our worm wrangler, geneticist, and molecular biologist extraordinaire, making all of our transgenic worm lines.
JONATHAN M.R. MILLET, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
jmillet (at) uoregon [dot] edu
Jonathan received his PhD in genetics and molecular biology from Denis Dupuy’s Lab at the University of Bordeaux in 2015, where he worked on alternative splicing in C. elegans. After that, he worked at Valeria Vasquez’s Lab at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, characterizing the mechano-sensitive channel Piezo. Jonathan is currently working on developing the multiEPG system with the hope of soon using it for a genome-wide association study. He would like to apply his background in molecular biology, neurophysiology, and behavior to study the genetic basis of decision-making and determinism.
AMANDA WHITE
Post-doctoral Fellow
awhite22 (at) uoregon (dot) edu
Hailing from Washington Crossing, PA (site of the famous Delaware River crossing by George Washington and the Continental Army), Amanda joined the lab in 2022. She previously completed a B.S. in Psychology at Penn State University and studied threat learning in infant rats during her PhD at the University of Michigan. As a postdoc in the Lockery Lab, she is investigating the effects of psychedelic drugs on behavior in C. elegans and the genetic and neuronal mechanisms underlying those effects. When she’s not wrangling worms, Amanda enjoys college football (We are! Go Blue!), listening to records, and spending time outside.
SARA BINIAM
Undergraduate research assistant
name (at) uoregon (dot) edu
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ADELE BAUER
Undergraduate research assistant
abauer (at) uoregon (dot) edu
Adele is a junior at the University of Oregon with a major in Biology, minor in Biochemistry. She is a member of in the Honors College. She is working on the effects of psychedelics on behavior. After completing her degree, she hopes to continue on to medical school and work in a health profession that both enables and supports patients. Adele is originally from Denver, Colorado and enjoys time outside the lab, including hiking and skiing.
ALANNA SOWLES
Undergraduate research assistant
asowles (at) uoregon (dot) edu
Alanna is a University of Oregon senior studying neuroscience and biology. She holds an AS degree in general science, with an emphasis in chemistry. As a research assistant, she has contributed to several projects in developmental neurobiology and functional genomics in Drosophila and C. elegans. She intends to pursue a PhD in neuroscience exploring mechanisms of neuronal plasticity and epigenetic regulation. Alanna is also interested in ethnopharmacology and the healing potential of botanically derived therapeutics. She hopes to contribute accessible treatments for enigmatic conditions like trauma and addiction.
KYLE STUPFEL
Undergraduate research assistant
kstupfel (at) uoregon (dot) edu
Kyle is majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Bioengineering. He is investigating the effects of psychedelics on neuronal morphology in C. elegans. Kyle hopes to continue doing research in a graduate program with a focus on psychedelics or other psychoactive substances, especially in how they relate to neural plasticity as well as studying the underlying effects of their therapeutical benefits in humans. Kyle enjoys being outdoors, snowboarding, hiking, fishing and golfing as well as being indoors, reading and drinking coffee, and cooking.
Lab alumni
Kat McCormick Kristen Robinson Stephen Banse Thad Lindsay
Bryn Gaertner
Michael Dores
Tom Ferrée
Miriam Goodman
Marin Moravec
Tom Morse
Jon Pierce-Shimomura
Michael Ailion
Rebecca Anderson
Nathan Dunn
Christian Froekjaer-Jensen
Adam Miller
Matthew Britton
Kristy Lawton
Benjamin Hartley
Tod Thiele
Steven Augustine
Stacey Levichev
Aaron Schatz