Stephen Mahler, PhD

Principal Investigator

CV

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@svmahler

@svmahler.bsky.social

Christina Ruiz, M.S.

Lab Manager

@CMRuiz_MS

Christina is the lab manager for Mahler Lab. She obtained her BS in Biotechnology from James Madison University. She also obtained her MS in Medical Science from Drexel University. At Drexel University, she conducted research in Dr. Keith Vosseller’s lab and completed her thesis on the regulation of synapsin 1 localization to synapses by O-GlcNAc during Synaptogenesis. Outside the lab, Christina enjoys video games, board games, and hiking. 

Hazael Ramirez

Lab Technician

Hazael received his B.S. in Neurobiology at UC Irvine in 2023. Hazael is currently working as a lab tech and is interested in ventral pallidal circuits. Outside of the lab, Hazael enjoys drinking coffee, going hiking, and watching psychological movies

Grayson Butcher, PhD

Post-Doctoral Researcher

Grayson earned his M.S. in Behavior Analysis and Ph.D. in Health Services Research at the University of North Texas. During his Ph.D., he specialized in behavior analytic neuroscience and conducted research on the cholinergic neuromodulatory system and preclinical models of stroke recovery. In the Mahler lab, Grayson will be developing preclinical models of addiction and using these models to investigate the role(s) played by reward circuitry. Outside of lab, you can find Grayson spending time with family and friends, exercising, reading, and pretending not to watch the reality TV show his partner has on

Maricela Martinez

PhD Student, DSPAN Fellow

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Marty earned her B.S. in Psychology from UC San Diego in 2017 after which she did a one year post-bacc at UC Irvine in Psychology. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Dept. of Neurobiology & Behavior in the Mahler lab. Marty is currently studying the effects of adolescent THC exposure and is interested in the culinary habits of microglia during this critical time period. Outside of the lab, you can find her frequenting comedy shows, coffee shops, or parks.

Kate Lawson

PhD Student, CNLM T32 Schneiderman Fellow

Kate earned her bachelors in Neuroscience & Behavior and Cognitive Science from Vassar College in 2019. At Vassar, she worked in Hadley Bergstrom’s Memory Neuroscience Lab researching how ethanol changes fear memories in mice. In the Mahler Lab, Kate is interested in decoding rat vocalizations to get a better understanding of how drugs of abuse and neural manipulations make animals feel. Outside of the lab you can find her running, baking bread, or treating her dog like a human child.

Erica Marie Ramirez

PhD Candidate, NASEM Ford Foundation Fellow

@ramirezneurosci | Google Scholar

Erica earned her B.S. in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology from UCLA while also working as a co-lab manager in the lab of Dr. Alcino Silva. After graduating, she continued work as a technician focused on hippocampal learning and memory circuits and drug repurposing efforts. In the Mahler lab, she is exploring social reward mechanisms to see how they interact and overlap with other reward systems, including circuitry underlying substance use disorders. Outside of the lab she enjoys comic books, listening to reggaeton, and chilling with her three pig-shaped fur babies.

Selen Dirik

PhD Student

@neuroselo | Google Scholar

Selen earned her B.S. in Clinical Psychology from UC San Diego in 2022. She began in Dr. Giordano de Guglielmo’s lab as an undergraduate volunteer studying rodent models of Alcohol Use Disorder and potential treatments, she later transitioned to a full-time position after graduation. Since joining the Mahler Lab, she has focused on studying the persistent cognitive effects of adolescent THC exposure. She’s particularly interested in its impact on reward and threat processing, and how these systems interact. When she’s not hanging out with the rats, you can catch her going to local concerts, touching grass (hiking/camping), and napping with her cats.

Hannah Vu

Undergraduate Assistant

Hannah is a fourth year undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences at UC Irvine. Hannah is currently learning about behavioral neuroscience, including how neural manipulations within the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus affect risk behavior within rodents. In her free time, Hannah enjoys baking, cooking, working out, listening to music or exploring new boba shops and restaurants. 

Ashneet Kaur Dhami

Undergraduate Assistant

Ashneet is a third year undergraduate majoring in Biological Sciences at UC Irvine but plans on specializing in neurobiology in the future. Ashneet is currently learning about brain anatomy, behavioral neuroscience, and how brain alterations influence risky behavior in rats. Outside of the lab, Ashneet likes painting, walking, drinking coffee, and hanging out with friends.

Evelyn Arellano

Undergraduate Assistant

Evelyn is a third year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology at UC Irvine. Evelyn is currently learning about behavioral neuroscience, including drug addiction circuitry and how GABA neurons in the Ventral Pallidum influence social behaviors and rewards, as well as looking at USVs. In her free time, Evelyn enjoys reading, visiting coffee shops, and spending time with her two cats. 

Paul Ranta

Undergraduate Assistant

Paul is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Human Biology at UC Irvine. In the lab, he’s learning about behavioral neuroscience, focusing on how reward circuitry affects decision-making and addiction-related behaviors. He is working on developing preclinical models of addiction and helping to create a machine learning algorithm to detect head-twitch responses in rodents exposed to psychedelics, making behavioral analysis more efficient. In his free time, Paul enjoys playing soccer, hiking with friends, discovering and playing new music, and exploring different foods!

Shreeya Ajit Walawalkar

Masters Student

Shreeya earned her B.S. in Neurobiology and minor in Health Informatics from UC Irvine in 2024 and her M.S. in Biological Sciences in 2025. Shreeya’s research focused on behavioral neuroscience, including how GABA neurons in the Ventral Pallidum play a role in social reward and interaction. Outside the lab, she likes to play with her two pet rats and travel with her friends. She is currently applying to medical school.

Mitch Farrell

PhD Student, DSPAN Fellow

Mitch earned his B.A. in Psychology from The College of New Jersey in 2016, where he worked in Margaret Martinetti’s Alcohol Lab. He is currently a D-SPAN fellow in Mahler Lab finishing his PhD focused on ventral pallidal circuits in addiction-relevant decision making. When not in lab, Mitch enjoys the great outdoors, reading books, and doing sports.

Sophia Levis, Ph.D.

MD/PhD Student, now in Residency for Psychiatry at UCI

Cyril Larot Sumarinas

Undergraduate Assistant

Graduated from UCI with a B.S. 2025

Giuseppe Bravo

Undergraduate Assistant

Graduated from UCI with a B.S. 2025

Ryan Rokerya

Undergraduate Assistant

Ryan is a third year undergraduate majoring in Biological Sciences at UC Irvine. Ryan is currently learning about behavioral neuroscience, including aversive motivation and defensive behaviors related to the Ventral Pallidum. Outside of the lab, Ryan is probably listening to music, gaining outfit inspirations, or playing basketball with his friends. 

Anapurna Germain

Undergraduate Assistant

UC-HBCU Summer Institute in Neuroscience 2024

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Naomi Cole

Undergraduate Assistant

UC-HBCU Summer Institute in Neuroscience 2024

Howard University

Yiyan Xie

Assistant Specialist, ICAL Co-Coordinator

Yiyan earned her B.S. degree in Neurobiology from UC Irvine in 2022 and joined the Mahler lab through the Bio199 class during her sophomore year. Yiyan stayed on as a technician in the Mahler lab before starting as a Ph.D. student in 2024 at Penn State University.

Kayla Cason

Undergraduate Student, UC-HBCU Summer Institute in Neuroscience 2023

Howard University

Darrien Coates

Undergraduate Student, UC-NSF Summer Institute in Neuroscience 2022

Mount Saint Mary’s University 

Nya Weems

Undergraduate Student, UC-HBCU Summer Insitute in Neuroscience 2022

Claflin University 

Jorge Mendoza

Undergraduate Researcher, now PhD Student at UC Irvine

Jeanine Esteban

Undergraduate Researcher, soon to be Med Student

Johanna Montesinos

Undergraduate Researcher, ICAL Technician. Now MSW student

Adam Manoogian

Undergraduate researcher