PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Benedetta Leuner
Email:leuner.1@osu.edu
Address: Psychology Building Rm 51, 1835 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210 USA
Ph: 614-292-5218
Bluesky:@leunerlab
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/benedetta-leuner-38415811
Bio: Dr. Leuner received her BA in Behavioral Neuroscience from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania in 1997. She received her PhD in Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience in 2005 from Rutgers University, and completed her postdoctoral training at Princeton University from 2006-2011. In 2012, she joined OSU as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018. In her free time, Dr. Leuner enjoys traveling with her family, cooking, and snuggling with her French Bulldog.
POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR: Erin Gorman-Sandler (co-mentored with Dr. Katy Lenz)
Email: gorman-sandler.1@osu.edu
Bio: Erin received her PhD in 2024 from the University of South Carolina Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Program with a Concentration in Neuroscience. There she studied the effects of stress during pregnancy on mitochondrial, inflammatory and behavioral endpoints in rodents. Now as a postdoctoral fellow co-mentored by Dr. Lenz and Dr. Benedetta Leuner, Erin is continuing to pursue her interests in the maternal brain, by focusing on understanding normative neuroimmune changes in the peripartum brain as well as mechanisms through which gestational perturbations impact maternal brain and behavioral function.
GRADUATE STUDENT: Elizabeth Dybas (co-advised with Dr. Katy Lenz)
Email: dybas.3@osu.edu
Bio: Liz is a third year student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program. She is from Albany, New York and received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Vermont. She is passionate about women’s health and studying the effect of hormones on the brain and behavior. Her graduate studies focus on the effects of adolescent hormonal contraceptive use on the developing prefrontal cortex.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Dylan Hirsh
Bio: Dylan is a fourth-year undergraduate studying neuroscience with a specialization in systems and behavior. She is interested in understanding the development of the adolescent brain and how sex-specific factors and hormones play a role in modulating this process. In the future, Dylan hopes to attend graduate school and continue learning about the factors that influence brain health and behavior.
UNDERGRADUTE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Allison Westfall
Bio: Allison is a Pre-Med Neuroscience Undergraduate student at The Ohio State University. She is passionate about women’s mental health and studying the relationship between hormones and neuropsychiatric disease. She plans to attend medical school and is interested in pediatric psychiatry and dermatology.
LAB ALUMNI
- Courtney Dye, PhD
- Rachel Gilfarb, PhD
- Achik Haim, PhD
- Sara Sabihi, PhD
- Chris Albin-Brooks
- Paul Banta
- Anthony Bernardi
- Nick Deems
- Shirley Dong
- Nicole Durosko
- Peter Fredericks
- Aarthi Gobinath
- Caitlin Goodpaster (Post)
- Emma Higgins
- Harry Hoffman
- Dominic Julian
- Elise Lemanski
- Skyler Maurer
- Emily Mills
- Sean Monroe
- Connor Nealer
- Abishek Rajesh
- Sanjana Ranade
- Heba Raslan
- Stephne Rasiah
- Morgan Sherer
- Ginamarie Shrader
- Brandon Springer
- Meredith Stewart