Current Lab Members
Theanne received her BA in neuroscience and Spanish from Smith College, and earned her doctorate in neuroscience at Northwestern University. In October 2020, after finishing postdoctoral training at Columbia University, the Griffith Lab opened its doors in the Department of Physiology & Membrane Biology at UC Davis. In addition to her research, Theanne is a children’s book author.
Theanne GRiffith, Ph.d. | Principal Investigator
Cyrrus received his B.S. in Biomedical Sciences at Sacramento State. Under the mentorship of Michael Wright, Cyrrus became passionate about Electrophysiology. During his time at Sacramento State he served as a STEM tutor/mentor where he gained a passion for teaching and pedagogy. Outside of his love for ion channels he enjoys snowboarding, golfing and fishing.
Cyrrus Espino, B.S. | Graduate Student
Chetan graduated with a B. E. in Medical Electronics from Visveswaraya Technological University in India. He then pursued his doctoral studies in the lab of Prof. Klas Kullander at Uppsala University in Sweden. He conducted post-doctoral research in the labs of Dr. Michael O’Donovan at the NIH, and Dr. Hong-yuan Chu at the Van Andel Institute. His hobbies include playing table tennis, reading, hiking and cooking.
Chetan Nagaraja, Ph.D. | Project Scientist
Jax Dayton received her B.S. in Animal Sciences from UC Davis in December of 2017. She’s passionate about immune and nervous system interactions, and has a strong research background in neuroimmunology and central nervous system disorders. She’s also passionate about lab safety culture and work to promote safe non-toxic productive lab environments. She’s very active in the SVM community with rescue and rehabilitation projects. She volunteers as a teacher and counselor for NAMI and teaches their Family-to-Family class, as well as volunteering with many diabetic and medical supply redistribution non-profits. In her free time, she likes hiking with her dog, fishing, reading, chilling with friends, or napping.
Jax Dayton, B.S. | Staff Research Associate
Sitong is a Ph.D. student in the MCIP program. She graduated from Peking University with a B.S. in both Biology and Pharmaceutical Sciences. A proud member of the LGBTQIA community and a lifetime feminist, Sitong is a co-founder of a “women in STEM” group called “SheShapes”, and a volunteer sponsor and advocate in the mental health center. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the outdoors with her friends, visiting art museums and galleries, binge-watching TV shows, and taking care of her 30+ gorgeous house plants.
Sitong zhu, B.S.,B.S | Graduate Student
Serena earned her B.S. and M.S. in physiology at San Jose State University under the mentorship of Dr. Katherine Wilkinson. It was in Dr. Wilkinsons neurophysiology lab Serena developed and grew her love for research. Having already collaborated with the Griffith Lab, she is so excited to finally become an official lab member and continue asking exciting questions in the sensorimotor field. In her free time she enjoys reading, listening to music, attending small concerts and finding local coffee shops
Serena Ortiz, B.S.,M.S | Graduate Student
Akash Murali is a freshman at UC Davis working towards a BS in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. His research interest is in neurotransmitters and their relationship with the senses. He is planning to follow the pre-health track and is passionate about health equity. In his free time, Akash enjoys mountain biking, breakdancing, and working out.
Akash Murali | underGraduate Student
Nadya Berber is a undergraduate student majoring in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior at UC Davis. She is part of the Advance Diversity in Aging Research Scholars Program (ADAR). In her free time, she enjoys playing with her dogs and scrapbooking.
Nadya Berber | Undergraduate Student
Joy Wu is an undergraduate majoring in Neurology, Physiology, and Behavior at UC Davis. She is quadrilingual and is currently a Cantonese and Mandarin Patient Advocate at Paul Hom Asian Clinic
Joy Wu | underGraduate Student
Griffith Lab Alumni
Cheyanne received her B.S. in Neuroscience from Washington State University, Vancouver. She is currently a graduate student in the Neuroscience program at Stanford University.
Cheyanne Lewis B.S. | Junior Specialist
Alejandra graduated from UC Davis, with a BS in Biological Studies and a minor of Chicano/a/x Studies. She is part of a non-profit, student run clinic called Clinica Tepati.
Alejandra Romo, B.S. | underGraduate Student
Snigdha received her BS from UC Davis, in Psychology. She is currently working as a medical assistant in the Bay area and applying to medical school.
Snigdha Garlapalli B.S. | underGraduate Student
Yanki (yung-kay) Ma graduated from UC Davis with a major in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, where we was part of the Advancing Diversity in Neuroscience Research Honors Program (ADNR-Honors).
Yanki Ma, B.S. | Undergraduate Student
Emari Mann earned her B.S in Biochemistry from Claflin University in 2023. She was a UC Davis PREP Scholar and is a NSF GRFP recipient. She is a graduate student at Delaware University.