About Us – Schindler Iterative Translation Lab

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The Schindler Iterative Translation Lab is located at the VA Puget Sound Medical Center in Seattle. We are a part of the VA Northwest Network GRECC (Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Care) and MIRECC (Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center), and the University of Washington Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department and Graduate Program in Neuroscience.

Please take a moment to look at our Lab Principles for resources that members of the lab have selected to best represent our lab culture, goals, and beliefs, and view our Lab Compact (work in progress). Our lab does not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. We believe white supremacy culture exists and is insidious and we work to continuously learn and grow as humans first and scientists second. Black Lives Matter. Ableism is unacceptable.

Abigail G. Schindler, Ph.D.

Research Biologist, VA Puget Sound Health Care System

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology

Affiliate, eScience Institute

Member, Center of Excellence in Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE)

Member, Center for Microbiome Sciences and Therapeutics (CMiST)

Lover of cheese, hedgehogs, and punk rock, Abbie is our courageous and compassionate leader. Her lived experience of trauma and substance use disorder drives her passion for personalized medicine and prevention/early-intervention. She supports safe consumption sites and drug legalization and knows enough Python to be dangerous. She strives to empower all members of the lab and thinks team science and open source are the way of the future.

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Current members:

Su Cho

Su is a senior majoring in neuroscience and minoring in American Sign Language. She is interested in learning more about translational neuroscience research in trauma/stressor-related disorders and its application to clinical settings. Inquisitive and detail-oriented, she would like to be more involved in the lab for upcoming years and study psychiatry in the future. Outside of class, she likes reading books in a different language, signing, and pet-sitting.

Renata Daniels, MS, BA

Renata is a technician in the SIT lab who received her master’s degree from Colorado State University, studying neuroendocrine control of stress responses with Dr. Bob Handa. She is passionate about contributing to the understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, and is particularly interested in the interactions of stress and neuroimmune function. Microglia are her favorite cell type. Outside of lab, Renata enjoys playing guitar, sewing, gardening, backpacking, cooking, dungeons and dragons, and watching horror movies. She loves trying new things, which keeps her list of interests ever-growing.

Alyssa Easton, BS

Alyssa is a 3rd year in the Molecular Engineering PhD program using data science to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the gut-brain axis and how this system is impacted by stress, trauma, and aging. She is co-advised by Dr. Sean Gibbons at the Institute for Systems Biology. As an undergraduate, Alyssa did aging research in the lab of Dr. Hana Hall as well as computational biophysics at LBNL’s Advanced Light Source with Dr. Susan Tsutakawa. Originally from Indiana, she holds a B.S. in Biological Engineering with a concentration in Cellular and Biomolecular Engineering from Purdue University. Offline, Alyssa loves to sing, learn guitar, make lattes, and explore the incredible PNW!

Alyssa’s Google Scholar Alyssa’s LinkedIn

Baylee Eilers

Baylee is a senior majoring in Physiology at the University of Washington. Her research interests lie within understanding the gut-brain axis connection, and work on projects involving brain trauma. She is planning to pursue a Masters degree in Clinical Dietetics, and continue her involvement with research involving the gut microbiome. Outside of the lab, Baylee enjoys spending time with friends and attending as many concerts as she can.

Richa Nag

Richa is a sophomore pursuing a psychology major on the pre-medicine track at the University of Washington. Her academic and research interests lie primarily in the sciences and more specifically the brain, behavior, and the human body in general. She is currently working on a neuroanatomy project for the lab and hopes to get more involved in the future. Outside of the lab, Richa loves exploring Seattle with friends and visiting all the cute tea shops in the area.

Makenzie Patarino, BS

Makenzie at the end of a hike with arms up in celebration Makenzie head shot

Makenzie is a 4th year in the UW Neuroscience PhD program studying the heterogeneity in responses to trauma, substance use, and aging. Makenzie earned her BS in Neuroscience from MIT where she was also a pole vaulter on the track and field team. As an undergrad she conducted research in the Tye Lab, and then continued her work with them as a lab technician at the Salk Institute in San Diego prior to starting graduate school at UW. When she’s not in lab, Makenzie enjoys hiking and camping, adding to her tea collection, going to concerts, and searching for the best lavender ice cream in Seattle.

Makenzie’s Google Scholar Makenzie’s Twitter

Bryan Schuessler, PhD

Bryan is a staff scientist who graduated from the University of Washington in June of 2022 with a doctorates in Psychology (emphasis in behavioral neuroscience), where he studied the neurobehavioral substrates of fear, anxiety and risky decision-making in rodents using ethologically-relevant paradigms in the laboratory of Dr. Jeansok Kim. As an undergraduate, Bryan studied the ontogeny of substance use in rats. Bryan has a deep interest in comprehensively studying naturalistic rodent behavior to better model human non-pathological and pathological behaviors. Outside of the lab, Bryan enjoys listening to and making unlistenable music, the occasional video game, watching bad movies and attempting to cook.

Monica Tschang, BA

Monica is a 3rd year PhD Candidate in the Neuroscience program studying the relationship between the gut microbiome and psychiatric disorders following trauma. Before coming to UW, Monica was a certified east coaster. Raised in New Jersey, she stayed to earn her BA in Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers, where she found her passion for science communication and mental health education/outreach. When she’s not in the lab, you can find Monica coaching figure skaters at Northgate, exploring nature trails near the city, or awkwardly trying to make friends with the cats at Twice Sold Tales.

Monica’s LinkedIn Monica’s Google Scholar

Brandon Wu

Brandon is a junior pursuing a double major in Public Health and Neuroscience with hopes for medical school. His primary academic interests lie within understanding the human brain and data science to address mental health issues in America. Before joining the SIT Lab, he worked at the UW Diabetes Institute studying cold-induced hyperphagia in mice. Outside of class, you can find him promoting health equity, hosting sheep brain dissections at local high schools, performing for the Husky Marching Band, and listening to Andy Grammer on repeat.