Current Lab Members

Susan’s primary research interest is understanding the impact of genetic and environmental liabilities for intellectual and developmental disorders (IDD) on neural circuit function. Her current focus is how IDD liabilities disrupt developmental trajectories, social circuits, motor function, and the roles in these areas of the serotonin, oxytocin, and opioid systems. When not sciencing, Susan spends small amounts of time enjoying a large variety of hobbies. She most enjoys spending time with friends and family and winning at board games.

Mike earned his PhD in Neuroscience at WashU studying memory impairment and synapse elimination during viral encephalitis. His main research interests are mechanisms of learning and memory. Outside of the lab, Mike enjoys watching his 1-year-old son figure things out, cooking, playing ultimate frisbee, training his cats, and keeping African cichlids.

Tony earned his PhD at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he studied mRNA decay regulation by Pumilio proteins and how this regulation leads to control of ribosome biogenesis. He joined the Dougherty lab in fall 2019, with an interest in how novel mutations in the 3′ UTRs of certain genes could be affecting decay rates of mRNAs. His hobbies include cooking, beer brewing, his kids, and strength training.

Kelli is excited to return to Washington University after a brief stint working for a medical device startup company. Upon completing her Master’s (a long, long time ago) studying both the evolution of color vision in fishes as well as mandibular evolution of the African scaly-tailed flying squirrel, she enjoyed a year teaching high school biology. The vast majority of her career, though, has been spent managing a biomedical engineering lab at WUSTL. Outside of the lab, Kelli is a yoga teacher, a mom to a radical 3 year old, and a wife. She loves being active outside; trail running, cycling, camping, and now even outdoor strength training (thanks, Covid). Once upon a time, she even played roller derby and was a kickboxing instructor. Kelli now finds contentment in her current, “gardening phase of life.”

Katie McCullough is a research technician from O’Fallon, MO. She graduated from Drake University in Biochemistry. Her undergrad research focused on genetic elements of swine flu. When she sarted in the lab, she discovered her love of neuroscience and animal behavior. Outside the lab, she has 2 dogs (Shiloh and Astro) and a tortoise (Francis). She loves reading and subscribe to all thing’s true crime. Her fears: Heights and spiders  

Allyson earned her MD, PhD at Louisiana State University Health Science Center – New Orleans, where she studied the neurobiology of stress and addiction. She completed her pediatric residency at Children’s National in Washington, DC before moving to St. Louis for NICU fellowship. She is now broadly interested in how early life events and exposures can contribute to neurodevelopmental disabilities. Outside of the lab, she enjoys trying new restaurants, reading, and relaxing with her cat.

Gareth received his PhD in neuroscience from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada in 2023 where he studied sex differences and hormone affects in astrocytes during neurodevelopment. He joined the Dougherty lab joint with the Papouin Lab in the Department of Neuroscience as a postdoc in December 2023. Gareth is broadly interested in sex differences in neurodevelopment. He is currently studying how astrocyte calcium signaling is related to protein translation and if there are sex and developmental effects of neuromodulators on astrocyte physiology.
When not in the lab, Gareth can be seen zipping around the city on his bicycle, enjoying a picnic in the park, and searching for the latest and greatest hot dog.

Emma received her PhD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2024, where she studied alternative splicing in the mammalian brain using long-read and single-nucleus RNA sequencing. Emma is originally from Northern California and graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt with a psychology BA and a studio art minor in 2019. She joined the Dougherty Lab in 2025 to use transcriptomics to understand how neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorder-related mutations change the brain. Emma enjoys spending time with her pets (two cats and one dog), trivia, reading, hiking, camping, cooking, playing video games, and singing karaoke in her free time.

Originally from STL, Rebecca earned her PhD at the University of Texas – Dallas in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a focus and masters in bioinformatics and computational biology. Before moving to Texas, she attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL where she received a BS in biology. Research interests include translational control in the nervous system and how to make a lab/project run as smoothly as possible. In the Dougherty Lab, she focuses on analyzing all types of high throughput sequencing data, mentoring others in their computational skills, and project management. Outside of the lab, Rebecca enjoys hanging out with her husband and dog, playing ultimate frisbee, running, crafting, and doing any type of puzzle.

Titi is a graduate student in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics program. Before coming to WashU, Titi graduated with a BS in Neuroscience from Georgia State University. During their undergrad career, they mostly focused on computational neuroscience but became interested in genomics and its applications to Precision Medicine through a SURP at Medical University of South Carolina. This interest was further developed through the OGR program at MGI where they narrowed down their interest to the genetic etiology of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. They are excited to be co-mentored by Drs. Joe Dougherty and Meaghan Creed on a collaborative project focused on exploring the epigenetic and spatial transcriptomic landscape of ventral pallidum cells in the context of opioid self-administration mouse models. In their free time, they love exploring the local culinary scene, trying out cocktail recipes, dreaming of becoming a DJ on the side, community organizing, and cuddling with their cat.

Sneha completed her undergraduate education at Washington University in St. Louis, earning a BA in Biology with a Neuroscience concentration. During that time, she worked in the lab of Erik Herzog, investigating the neural circuitry driving circadian release of glucocorticoids and potential mechanisms for known sex differences in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Sneha is currently pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience as part of WUSM’s MD/PhD program. She is working on bringing her knowledge of sex differences to investigating the genomics of neurodevelopment disorders. In her free time, Sneha likes to read, box, eat lots of good St. Louis food, and take care of her 40+ plants.

Mari is an MSTP student in the Neuroscience program. She graduated from Georgetown University with a BS in Neurobiology. At Georgetown, she studied the role of APOE4 in Alzheimer’s disease in the Rebeck lab. Afterwards, she spent two years in the Ward lab at the NIH studying frontotemporal dementia using iPSC neuron technology and CRISPR screening. Now, she is broadly interested in discovering epigenetic factors that can predict individual differences in animal behavior. Outside of lab, Mari enjoys dancing, strolling through Forest Park, creating home video parodies with her cousins, and consuming fiction.

Colin is a graduate student in Molecular Genetics and Genomics. He is broadly interested in transcription regulation and novel methods for studying this with the application of modern genomic techniques. Before matriculation into graduate school, Colin spent several years working at the GEiC at Washington University where he gained experience with genome editing techniques using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, weight training, cycling, homebrewing, and playing video games. 

Sarah is a student in the Molecular Cell Biology program. She majored in Biochemistry at the University of Southern Indiana, where she also finished an 11-year cross country and track career that can be described as mediocre at best. Afterwards, she spent 2 years as a research technician in the Di Cera lab at SLU studying enzyme allostery and conformational selection in trypsin-like proteases. Starting graduate school, she is broadly interested in the regulation and functional diversity of RNAs. Outside of the lab, she is the proud pawrent of 2 dogs, an expired runner with all intentions of starting back up again, and probably the only one laughing at her own jokes.

Simona is a MSTP candidate in the neuroscience program. She’s originally from Macedonia and came to the US for her undergrad at Columbia University. Her interest in molecular biology led her to a lab investigating how early-life adversity via epigenetic factors impacts later-life susceptibility to anxiety and depression. Now, she’s more broadly interested in developmental molecular and synaptic processes that drive maladaptive behaviors and susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. During her virtual rotation, she worked on analysis of behaviors in the opioid and Myt1L projects, with a focus on learning new pipelines and methods; she joined the lab in August ’20. In her free time, she loves traveling with her sister, watching TV, and pretending to read Russian literature.

Llaelyn Sierra Cortez is currently pursuing her studies in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics Program at the Dougherty Laboratory. She earned her BS in Biology from Linfield University, where she worked with Dr. Catherine Reinke to investigate how genetic and epigenetic features of chromosome organization influence gene expression and to explore the evolutionary dynamics of genes and genomes in fruit fly species. Her research interests deepened through the OGR program at MGI, where she focused on the genetic underpinnings of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Outside the lab, Llaelyn enjoys spending time with her dog, Percy, exploring culinary delights, brewing the perfect cup of coffee, engaging with her Latine community, and immersing herself in a good book.

Din is a graduate student in the Neuroscience program in the Dougherty Lab. Before coming to WashU, Din was a varsity athlete (good ‘ole long distance swimmer) who graduated with a BS in Neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati. At UC he worked with Dr. Matia Solomon looking at sex differences in HPA axis dysregulation and stress circuitry of Alzheimer’s Disease. Starting graduate school, he is interested in studying the molecular and genetic basis of sex differences in various neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders. Outside of the lab, Din enjoys working out, reading books and buying weird and new ingredients he doesn’t know how to pronounce to cook with and then host friends for dinner (pre-COVID of course!).

Josh earned their undergraduate BS at Mercer University, dual-majoring in Neuroscience and Biochemistry. During undergrad, they found a passion for research in the behavioral neuroendocrinology lab of Dr. Katharine Northcutt, studying the effects of postnatal hypothyroidism on maternal and juvenile behavior. Additionally, after engaging in neural systems research at an REU at Johns Hopkins University, they found an interest in the neural circuitry and genomics underlying behavioral and cognitive disorders. Before pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience, Josh is excited to pursue their newfound interest by investigating the behavioral ramifications of the MYT1L gene in development. Beyond the lab, Josh enjoys crochet, competitive video games, walks in the park, and hopes to become a better cook while in St. Louis (TBD).

Ozair is a lab technician in the Dougherty Lab. He is originally from Austin, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Genetics. His interest in the molecular genetics of neurological disorders grew from studying Angelman Syndrome and antisense oligonucleotide therapy in Dr. Scott Dindot’s lab at A&M. Specifically, Ozair studied the imprinting level of UBE3A in retinas via RT-qPCR and helped characterize an animal model for Angelman Syndrome. In the Dougherty lab, Ozair assists with various projects that involve massively parallel reporter assays. In his free time, Ozair enjoys playing and watching soccer, practicing guitar, cooking and baking, reading comic books (and sometimes real books), and getting bitten by his cat.