Roy Ben-Shalom
Principal Investigator
As an Assistant Professor in Neurology and the MIND Institute at UC Davis and a first-generation immigrant, I lead a lab studying
neurodevelopmental conditions, with a focus on channelopathies. We combine patch-clamp electrophysiology, high-density microelectrode array recordings,
and computational modeling to understand how mutations in genes associated with NDDs affect neuronal excitability and network dynamics.
Our approach links single-neuron properties to circuit-level disruptions. We use patch-clamp to characterize intrinsic neuronal properties, HD-MEAs to capture
network activity, and biophysical models to bridge these scales. This multidisciplinary approach allows us to investigate how alterations in neuronal
excitability lead to diverse neurological outcomes.
We aim to advance understanding of how genes shape neuronal networks and behavior, while working towards potential therapies. Our lab is committed to
fostering diversity and inclusion, and we’re especially excited to work with students from varied backgrounds. We welcome those interested in combining
experimental and computational neuroscience to tackle these complex disorders.
Ph.D., Neuroscience, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Isreal 2014
M.S., Neuroscience, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Isreal 2010
B.Sc., Ben-Gurion University, Be’er-Sheva, Israel 2005
Phone: 916-703-0409
Email: rbenshalom@health.ucdavis.edu
Paula Vargas Sullivan
Junior Specialist
Paula is a UC Davis alumnus with a degree in Cognitive Science, currently exploring neuronal stimulation in neurodevelopmental conditions. She is passionate about mentorship and active engagement in diversity, equity and inclusion practices. In her role, she manages, processes, and analyzes the electrophysiological data the team has collected while also performing wet-lab techniques like animal dissections and tissue to cell dissociations. She is particularly interested in expanding into research areas involving immigrant families, such as the Filipino-American community, and exploring the electrophysiological mechanisms underlying conditions like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression in future studies.
Email: pdmsullivan@health.ucdavis.edu
Shruti Shah
Junior Specialist
Shruti holds a B.S. in Brain and Behavioral Science and a Certificate in Applications of Data Science from Purdue University, where her projects included analyzing the influence of
differently expressed genes (DEG) on Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and designing a convolutional neural network for early prediction of cardiac arrest. Her work as a Junior Specialist
focuses on characterizing network activity in KCNT1 mutant mice, axonal tracking, and analyzing data from various cell lines. She also helps develop the MEA pipeline using Python, MATLAB,
SpikeInterface, and Kilosort, while supporting wet lab tasks such as DNA extraction, Gel Imaging, and maintenance of cell cultures. She’s passionate about pushing the boundaries of computational
neuroscience and advancing HD-MEA technologies to better understand the brain and behavior, especially related to neurodevelopmental conditions.
Email: sjishah@health.ucdavis.edu
Tim Fenton
Postdoctoral Researcher
Tim received his PhD from UC Davis in pharmacology and toxicology where he studied rare neurodevelopmental conditions in vivo and in vitro using genetic mouse models. He is interested in making biophysically accurate computational neuronal models by improving the behavior of sodium channels using hidden Markov models. He conducted behavioral pharmacology experiments to evaluate candidate therapeutics and characterized morphological and electrophysiological phenotypes of neurons in vitro using immunocytochemistry and microelectrode arrays (MEAs). Tim is also interested in bridging computational simulations with MEA phenotyping to develop new tools for drug development.
Email: tafenton@health.ucdavis.edu
Mandar Patil
Graduate Student Researcher
Mandar holds a Masters of Science degree in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics from University of Burmingham. His research focuses on using computational methods to study neurological disorders, especially through analyzing electrophysiological data. This work aims to uncover how neural mechanisms operate in these conditions, potentially guiding new treatments. He aims to deepen our understanding of the brain and contribute meaningful insights into neuroscience.
Email: mmpatil@health.ucdavis.edu
Ammara Rehman
Graduate Student Researcher
Ammara received her B.S. in Genetics and Genomics from UC Davis where she studied the pathology of autism spectrum disorder and Fragile X syndrome using ex vivo human brain tissue. Her current research focuses on the electrophysiological characterization of genetic neurodevelopmental conditions, e.g., CDKL5 deficiency disorder, ADNP syndrome, and KCNT1 disorder. Her goal is to identify biomarkers that can be used to develop novel therapeutic approaches to improve the quality of life for patients.
Email: arrehman@health.ucdavis.edu
Ghazaleh (Giselle) Yazdani
Graduate Student Researcher
Ghazelle holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and an M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University, where she conducted computational studies of schizophrenia-related mutations and built biophysical models based on patch clamp data. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student at UC Davis studying Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on the electrophysiological characterization of genetic neurodevelopmental conditions, such as CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder and KCNT1 Disorder, utilizing patch clamp recordings and constructing biophysical models. She aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms behind neurodevelopmental conditions, specifically focusing on neuronal activity, action potentials, and ion channels. By uncovering the intricacies of these disorders and their overlapping features, Ghazelle contributes to the development of potential treatments that can improve the quality of life for individuals affected by these conditions.
Email: gyazdani@health.ucdavis.edu
Kaustubh Chakravarthula
Graduate Student Researcher
Kaustubh is a graduate student in Computer Science at UC Davis. His research focuses on developing deep-learning models to predict key characteristics of biological neurons based on their voltage traces. Additionally, he creates detailed neuron simulation models to narrow the gap between in-vivo models and experimental neuron recordings. Passionate about harnessing the capabilities of deep learning mechanisms, Kaustubh actively applies these principles in neuroscience to advance our understanding and treatment of neurodevelopmental conditions.
Email: kchakravarthula@health.ucdavis.edu
Rohan Malige
Student Assistant
Rohan is a 4th year Computer Science and Engineering student at UC Davis. His role at the lab is to develop an efficient spike-sorting analysis
pipeline using the supercomputers at NERSC and create a web-based platform using Plotly-Dash that allows the lab members to extract graphs for
data visualization. His goal in the lab is to develop methods to help further understand neurodevelopmental conditions.
Email: rmmalige@health.ucdavis.edu
Andrea Nguyen
Volunteer Lab Assistant
Andrea graduated with a B.S. in Human Biology and volunteers as a wet-lab assistant in the lab. Andrea helps with preparing culture plates, maintaining clean and organized workspace conditions, and assisting with data collection through activity recordings. Andrea enjoys being part of the team that makes the lab’s neurodevelopmental disorder research possible and is excited to keep learning hands-on techniques that contribute to understanding and improving patient outcomes.
Email: drenguyen@health.ucdavis.edu