People
Dr. Sydney Trask, Principal Investigator
After completing her undergraduate degree at Kent State University, Sydney earned her PhD at the University of Vermont and conducted her postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Outside of lab, she likes to spend time outside with her family and dog, and can usually be found running or listening to Taylor Swift. Sydney is active in Women in Learning, the Pavlovian Society, the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, and the Eastern Psychological Association.
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Dr. Yeeun Bae, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Yeeun is a postdoctoral researcher, investigating how stress shapes the molecular and circuit mechanisms of fear-related learning in a sex-specific manner, and how these processes become dysregulated in disorders such as PTSD. Outside the lab, she enjoys traveling, exploring new restaurants, and cooking.
Payton Robinson, MS
Graduate Research Assistant
Payton is a 3rd graduate student at Indiana University, working towards a PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences. Payton earned her bachelor's in Psychology at Purdue Fort Wayne where she was also a member of their women's track and field team. She earned her M.S. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Purdue University under Dr. Sydney Trask. Her work in the Trask Lab investigates age-related changes in memory and learning processes that coincide with changes in neural function produced by aging. In her free time, she's probably hanging with her baby, Roman, husband Aubin, and 3-year-old beagle-hound Aloe.
Christabel Nyarko, BS
Research Technician
Christabel is a neuroscience graduate from Indiana University with a passion for understanding the brain and improving healthcare systems. She’s also interested in data analytics and how technology can enhance patient outcomes. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, and traveling to experience new cultures and cuisines.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Isra Badar
Isra is entering her sophomore year of undergrad at IU as a Biology major. She enjoys watching sitcoms, reading mystery novels, and hanging out with her friends and family!
Isha Abbineni
Isha Abbineni is currently a sophomore majoring in Clinical Psychology. She has always been drawn to murder mystery novels and music (with Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Harry Styles as all-time favorites). Recently, she picked up Graphology as a hobby to learn how handwriting can reveal so much about personality.
Arushi Nadagatti
Arushi is a sophomore at Indiana University Bloomington studying Neuroscience with minors in Business and Public Health. She is interested in how the brain influences behavior and well-being, and how science can be used to support healthier communities. Outside of class, she loves reading, doing crafts, and going on spontaneous side quests with her friends.
Sara Rallo
Sara is a senior undergraduate student from Italy, double majoring in Neuroscience and Biology. She is passionate about understanding how the brain works and how it influences human behavior. In her free time, she loves watching movies (especially horror films), scrapbooking and playing Super Mario video games. When the weather is warm, she loves spending time at the lake, sailing or windsurfing.
Honorary Trask Lab Members
Dr. Nicole Ferrara
Assistant Professor, Rosalind Franklin University
Nicole completed her undergraduate work at Albion College before earning her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Nicole is currently an Assistant Professor in the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Discipline of Physiology and Biophysics within the Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders.
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In her lab, Dr. Ferrara and her trainees study the impact of environment on innate and learned fear and social behaviors as well as the neural mechanisms that underlie these changes.
Lab Photos
