Lab Members

Education:

BA, Chemistry, University of North Carolina
PhD, Pharmacology, University of Colorado, Denver
Research Fellowship, Electrophysiology, Stanford University

Contact Information:

Telephone: 434-982-4440
Fax: 434-982-3878
Email: eperez@virginia.edu

Fun Fact: I climbed two volcanoes that later erupted!

Ron is a neuroscientist with a past and present research focus on basal forebrain-cortical connectivity, immune-brain interactions ( neurocircuitries impacted by infection and immune activation), and mechanisms of seizure disorders while developing novel ways to cure the latter.  He joined the Perez-Reyes  Lab in December 2020. His personal interests include the enjoyment of the many local wineries that offer live music and other events, going to concerts and music festivals in the area (early music/classical/jazz), and singing with the Oratorio Society of Virginia with 3-4 concert performances a year.

Fun Fact: I am the only one from my family (8 siblings) who does not live in the Netherlands. I even have a twin sister who is 5 minutes older! As a gentleman, one lets ladies go first.

Aleksandra is a 2nd-year master student from Warsaw, who joined the Perez-Reyes Lab as a visiting trainee. She is majoring in molecular biotechnology and her research was so far focused on human genetics and protein-protein interactions. Apart from science, she loves working out and doing various kinds of sports. Mountain hiking has a special place in her heart as she grew up exploring mountain paths in southwestern Poland.

Fun Fact: There’s a Japanese proverb that says: “A wise man climbs Mount Fuji once, only a fool would climb it twice”….so I climbed it two and a half times!

Maddie grew up in Fredericksburg Virginia, then I attended Virginia Tech where she earned her bachelor’s in Neuroscience in 2021.  She is now a 4th year Pharmacology PhD student in the Perez-Reyes laboratory at UVA. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and baking.

Fun Fact: My family has a pet red-footed tortoise, Speckle. We adopted him 14 years ago, he will likely live to be 40-50 years old, and his favorite food is bananas.

Patrycja is a 2nd-year master’s student from Jagiellonian University (Cracow).  She joined the Perez-Reyes lab as a visiting graduate student.  Her MS research in Cracow was focused on impact of radiotherapy in uveal melanoma cancer cells and liver metastatic niche.

Outside lab work, she loves swimming, playing team sports and reading books.  She grew up watching Harry Potter movies but didn’t read the books until she was 22 years old. Now she’s rereading them in English.

Fun Fact:  She’s lefthanded by default, but plays volleyball and basketball with her right hand, while in case of a handball, she uses both hands to play!

Mariia is a second-year master’s student from Krakow (the most beautiful city in Poland!), but she is originally from Ukraine. She joined the Perez-Reyes Lab as a visiting trainee in the Biolab program.  Her Master’s studies are on molecular biotechnology at Jagiellonian University.  For her bachelor’s thesis, she worked in the Molecular Biophysics Department. She also trained in the Department of Cancer Biology.

Besides spending time in the lab, she enjoys traveling, horse riding, and riding roller coasters—she loves the adrenaline rush!

Fun Fact:  In her childhood, she used to dream of becoming a surgeon. After seeing the cost of medical school, she changed my mind, but now can say “I’m a “mouse surgeon”!

Corinne is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Greensboro, North Carolina. She is currently majoring in Biology, with special interests in neuroscience and ecology. In the future, Corinne hopes to have a career where she can make others just as passionate as she is about science! Outside of school, she loves to be outside, try new coffee shops, or spend time with friends.

Fun fact: UVA was my dream school since middle school!

Jennifer San Pietro                                                                                                                       Kiran Singh

Maggie is a second year undergraduate student from New London, New Hampshire. She is majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in African American Studies, with plans to go to medical school after graduating. She loves to ski, cook, spend time outside with friends, and swim on the UVA Club Team.

Fun Fact: My family makes our own maple syrup!