Undergraduate Capstone Students
Janine Micahella Garcia Contreras
NYUAD Capstone Student
Janine is a Filipino undergraduate student pursuing a major in Biology under the the Brain & Cognitive Sciences track, alongside a minor in Anthropology. She is passionate to learn about the intersection between neurobiology and behavior, both in the individual and societal scope, and is a big fan of engaging yet effective science communication.
Michelle Hughes
NYUAD Capstone Student
Michelle is a New Zealand/American undergraduate senior pursuing a major in Biology under the Brain & Cognitive Sciences track. Pursuing a pre-med track, her research interests are in the intersection between neurobiology and behavior.
Sakura Frances Grant
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Sakura is a sophomore at NYUAD majoring in biology with a specialization in neuroscience, and is on the pre-med track. She loves to sing and play the piano and is in a band with her friends on campus. She also likes to play tennis and to go on outdoor adventures like hiking, climbing, and sailing.
Aleksa Petković
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Aleksa is a Montenegrin undergraduate student, majoring in Biology and Psychology. He is interested in investigating depression-related circuitry, behavioural prediction of susceptibility and impairment of cognitive abilities due to chronic stress.
Marko Šušić
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Marko is a Montenegrin undergraduate student double majoring in Biology and Psychology at NYU Abu Dhabi. His research interests are oriented towards investigating gene expression profiles in mice exposed to social stress and using deep neural networks to predict stress susceptibility.
Balázs Szerényi
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Balázs was a Hungarian Biology undergraduate student with a minor in Psychology. His research interest in the lab was to investigate the connection between the nervous system and hormonal regulation. In his free time, he likes playing table top role-playing games, reading, and playing the piano.
Moyosoreoluwa Olatosi
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Moyo graduated from NYUAD (2024) with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, a specialization in Brain and Cognitive Science, and a minor in Psychology. As a capstone student in the Chaudhury Lab, she investigated how spaceflight conditions, particularly microgravity and increased stress hormones, affect the circadian expression of peripheral clock genes in Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts. Moyo is passionate about medicine, and hopes to become a physician in future. She also has an avid interest in public health and currently works at a non-profit organization where she implements programs to support young girls who are susceptible to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. In her free time, she plays the piano, writes poetry, and obsesses over the Broadway show Hamilton.
Maj Škof
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Maj is a Slovene undergraduate senior pursuing a double major in Biology and Psychology under the Brain & Cognitive Sciences track. Pursuing a pre-med track, his interests focus on the application of neuroscience to the clinical field.
Sanzhar Kakenov
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Sanzhar is an undergraduate student from Kazakhstan pursuing a major in Biology under the Brain & Cognitive Sciences track, alongside a minor in Psychology. His research interests are oriented towards investigating the molecular mechanisms driving rhythmic excitability in PER1 and non-PER1 SCN neurons by employing single-cell analysis. Additionally, he is interested in multigenomics and using novel methods like RNA velocity to predict gene expression at later ZT time points.
