de Lecea Lab Team Members
Principle Investigator
Luis de Lecea
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. de Lecea received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Barcelona and conducted postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute in the lab of Dr. Greg Sutcliffe. During his postdoc, Dr. de Lecea discovered the cortical neuromodulator cortistatin and the hypothalamic hypocretin system. During the past decade he has held faculty positions at the Scripps Research Institute and Stanford University, where he has characterized the role of hypocretins in various mammalian behaviors. Recently, his lab has applied optogenetic techniques to directly modulate neurons that produce hypocretins and other neuromodulators to elucidate their role in behaviors, especially sleep/wake maintenance, stress, and reward.
Lab Management
Ayesha Khan
Ayesha received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan. She has been working at Stanford University since 2008 and joined the de Lecea team in 2015 as a Manager. She is responsible for taking care of key metrics and keeping the de Lecea Lab running efficiently, that requires her wearing many hats. She provides support to Dr. de Lecea and his entire research group including visiting scholars and /or rotating students. She handles the de Lecea lab’s scheduling, purchases, assisting with finance, and various other functions to name a few.
If you would like to arrange a lab visit or an appointment with Dr. de Lecea or have any other inquiry, please feel free to contact her and she will be happy to assist.
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
William J. Giardino
Will earned a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Washington in 2008 and a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Oregon Health & Science University in 2013. As a postdoctoral researcher in the de Lecea lab, he leads an NIH/NIAAA K99-funded research program that aims to uncover the neurobiological mechanisms driving maladaptive changes in stress reactivity and sleep/wake architecture that facilitate dysregulated patterns of reward-seeking in alcohol addiction. Will previously received F31 and F32 NIH NRSA fellowships to fund predoctoral and postdoctoral training on the neurocircuit basis of peptide signaling molecules in stress and addiction, and authored 20 peer-reviewed publications on this topic. He serves as an academic and research mentor for numerous trainees, and is an active participant in professional organizations including the Society for Neuroscience, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Outside of the lab, Will enjoys playing the drums and exploring nature.
Shi-Bin Li
Shi-Bin did his PhD in Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research and he earned his PhD from Heidelberg University in Germany. Working in Dr. de Lecea’s lab as a postdoc fellow, Shi-Bin is interested in sleep modulation under stressful conditions. Outside work, Shi-Bin enjoys jogging in the nice California weather and exploring the beautiful landscape in the Bay area.
Wen-Jie Bian
Wenjie earned his bachelor degree in 2008 at Zhejiang University of Technology and his Ph.D. in neurobiology in 2016 at the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His main thesis work was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying cortical spine pruning during adolescent development. In the de Lecea lab, he focuses on two directions. One direction is to study the developmental role of sleep/wake cycle and arousal circuits in shaping critical brain functions such as social interaction and motor learning. The other direction is to dissect the subpopulations of Hypocretin neurons based on their projection patterns. Outside the lab, Wenjie likes photography, hiking and traveling.
Kimberly J. Jennings
Kim earned her B.Sc. in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin in 2011 and her Ph.D. in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience from The University of California, Berkeley in 2017, where she studied social and environmental control of neuroendocrine systems. As part of the de Lecea lab, Kim will be using behavioral, optogenetic, and chemogenetic approaches to investigate hypocretin regulation of motivated behavior.
Christopher C. Angelakos
Chris received his B.Sc in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan and obtained his PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Ted Abel at the University of Pennsylvania. His thesis work involved investigating sleep and circadian alterations in mouse transgenic models of neurodevelopmental disorders. In the de Lecea lab, Chris will be utilizing behavioral, optogenetic, chemogenetic, and calcium imaging techniques to study neuropeptidergic circuits mediating sleep, arousal, and learning.
Keith R. Murphy
Keith completed his Ph.D. at the Scripps Research institute and Florida Atlantic University with Dr. William Ja where he studied the genetic and neuronal integration of sleep and feeding. His work focused on the development of a high throughput system for measuring sleep and feeding in the fruit fly which he used to examine the role of food consumption and energy expenditure in sleep. In the de Lecea lab he will be exploring new technologies to identify circuits bridging digestive/metabolic sensory systems with sleep in mammals.
Erica Seigneur
Erica received a BA in Neuroscience and Behavior from Vassar College in 2009 and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University in 2018, where she studied the function of the cerebellin family of synaptic proteins in Thomas Südhof’s lab. In the de Lecea lab, Erica will be using a combination of approaches, including optogenetics, chemogenetics, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, in vivo calcium imaging, and mouse behavior, to investigate the relationship between REM sleep disturbances and the development of major depression.
Alumni
Susan M. Tyree
Susan was born in Invercargill, New Zealand and moved to Dunedin, New Zealand after high school to attend Otago University, where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Psychology. Susan remained at Otago University in Prof. Neil McNaughton's lab to carry out her Master's degree research studying the effects of leptin administration on neural and behavioral markers of anxiety. Following her Master's studies she moved to Berlin, Germany and completed her doctoral studies in the Molecular Genetics department of the German Institute of Human Nutrition and Potsdam University where she studied patterns of neural activity following taste stimulation in the parabrachial nucleus. In the de Lecea lab, Susan used optogenetic stimulation, fiber-photometry, and pharmacological techniques to investigate neural circuits underlying impulsivity and behavioral inhibition.
Natalie Nevárez
Natalie earned a BA in Psychology and Communication Studies from the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. She earned a Ph.D. in Biopsychology from the University of Michigan in the lab of Dr. Brandon Aragona and under the guidance of Dr. Jill Becker. Natalie’s Ph.D. work examined the nature of dopaminergic neuroplasticity observed after pair bonding in the socially monogamous prairie vole. Her graduate work utilized behavioral pharmacology, complex behavioral analysis, and fast scan cyclic voltammetry for real time measurement of dopamine release in striatal brain slices. At Stanford, Natalie used a variety of tools such as optogenetics and targeted gene delivery to study arousal, affect, and reinforcement processes.
Jeremy C. Borniger
Jeremy was born in Washington, DC and attended Indiana University - Bloomington for his undergraduate degree in biological anthropology. Jeremy took a gap year after college working as the assistant project director for the Semliki Chimpanzee Project in western Uganda and then went on to complete his PhD in neuroscience in Randy J Nelson's lab at The Ohio State University. His primary focus was on how tumors in the periphery (non-metastatic mammary tumors) contributed to changes in sleep and wakefulness, as well as metabolism. In the de Lecea lab, Jeremy used opto/chemogenetic techniques in combination with fiber photometry and behavior to explore novel arousal circuitry and investigate glial contributions to sleep and waking. Jeremy also continued his tumor work in the de Lecea lab.
Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Hiroshi Yamaguchi earned his Ph.D. in molecular cell biology from Osaka University in Japan under the supervision of Dr. Shigekazu Nagata and joined the de Lecea lab in 2015. As a postdoctoral fellow at the de Lecea lab, he used optogenetic, chemogenetic and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies to investigate the neuronal mechanism of sleep and hibernation.
Ada Eban-Rothschild
Ada earned her PhD in the Department of Evolution, Systematics, and Ecology in Israel, where she studied social influences on circadian rhythms and sleep in bees. During her time in the de Lecea lab she investigated VTA dopaminergic neurons and how they regulate behaviors that are relevant to sleep-wake state transitions. Ada has now accepted an Assistant Professorship at the Department of Psychology in the Univserity of Michigan.
Andrew J. Whittle
Andrew earned his PhD in physiology and metabolism from Cambridge University in the UK, where he studied the role of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in the regulation of energy balance. Andrew's key research question asks how the thermogenic activity of BAT is regulated, particularly in response to changes in environment and nutrition, with the hope of better understanding the propensity for BAT to be targeted for the treatment of a range of metabolic disorders. As a Postdoc in Luis de Lecea's lab, Andrew investigated neuronal circuits which couple information being received on dietary content and environmental temperature with the efferent pathways that signal to BAT.
Clara Touriño
Clara was born in Barcelona, Spain, and earned her BA in biology from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. She earned her Ph.D. in the Neuropharmacology lab in the same university with Dr. Rafael Maldonado and Olga Valverde studying the role of cannabinoid system in the effects of psychostimulant drugs. During her Ph.D. she spent 6 months in Dr. Daniele Piomelli's lab, where she studied the effect of the endogenous cannabinoid system in food intake and energy balance. In this period she got 5 publications (4 as first author) and developed several scientific projects in collaboration with Pharmaceutical companies. During her time in the de Lecea Lab Clara investigated the neural basis of cocaine addiction with cutting-edge molecular tools such as optogenetics and viral gene delivery.
Asya Rolls
Asya's interest in sleep research originates in the question of how the body and especially the CNS achieve balance. She first asked this question as a graduate student at the Weizmann Institute in Israel where she studied how the immune system regulates CNS plasticity. As a postdoc at the de Lecea lab, Asya studied how sleep as a physiological state affects re-organization, restoration, and plasticity in the CNS and in the periphery. She attempts to address these questions at multiple levels of analysis from molecules to behavior, combining her training in molecular and cell biology, along with neuronal circuit dissection using optogenetics, electrophysiological analysis of sleep, and behavioral models of learning and memory.
Patricia Bonnavion
Patricia earned her Ph.D. in physiology and physiopathology in 2008 at the University Pierre & Marie Curie (UPMC) in Paris. Her research interests were initially oriented on the brainstem neural circuits governing sleep/wake transitions with a particular focus on the serotonin (5-HT) signaling. As she joined Luis de Lecea's lab as a postdoc fellow, she pursued studying the dynamic of arousal systems across vigilance states and in response to environmental & behavioral challenges that threaten and disrupt homeostasis. Her work focuses on the signal integration and high inter-connectivity of the lateral hypothalamus and monoaminergic neurons using combinations of optogenetics, behavior and EEG analysis.
Matthew E. Carter
Matt received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Whitman College and his Ph.D. from the Neurosciences program at Stanford University. Matt is generally interested in the neural basis of instinctive, homeostatic behaviors in mammals and enjoys using molecular and systems neuroscience tools (optogenetics, viral gene delivery, transgenics) to probe neural circuits. In the de Lecea lab, Matt focuses on the role of Hypocretin and Locus Coeruleus neurons in sleep/wake transitions and arousal-related behaviors. Outside of the lab, Matt also enjoys teaching and writing. At Stanford, he served as Head TA for NBio206: The Nervous System and started/taught NBio227: Understanding Techniques in Neuroscience. He also co-wrote the textbook "Guide to Research Techniques in Neuroscience."