The RowLab Team
Learn a bit more about the people behind the science!
Matt Rowan, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Viktor J. Oláh, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Viktor is a postdoctoral researcher at Emory. He completed his doctoral training in Hungary at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, where he studied subcellular excitability of hippocampal CCK-expressing interneurons and the connection between the dentate gyrus and the CA3 region. He mainly employs ex vivo brain slice patch clamp electrophysiology and computational modeling to probe neuronal functions. Currently, he is working on exploring the dendritic nonlinearities of cortical layer 2/3 pyramidal cells using both ex vivo and in vivo electrophysiology, and machine learning.
Annie Goettemoeller
Neuroscience Ph.D. Candidate
Annie is a rising 5th year Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Emory. In her graduate research, she combines cell-type specific manipulation methods with patch-clamp electrophysiology and proteomics to understand mechanisms of cellular dysfunction in early-stage Alzheimer's disease. In particular, she studies the relationship between APP-induced altered interneuron function and circuit hyperexcitability. When not in lab, Annie enjoys baking, painting, working out, and spending time with her dog, Finley.
Emmie Banks
Neuroscience Ph.D. Student
Emmie is a rising 3rd year Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Emory. She previously ran large clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and researched in vivo biomarkers in AD patients using PET imaging. In her graduate research, she is now investigating mechanisms of cellular dysfunction in early-stage Alzheimer's disease, with a focus on the relationship between circuit hyperexcitability and the development of tau pathology. Outside of the lab, Emmie enjoys running, weightlifting, and working with the graduate student-worker union.
Kelly South-Pham
Neuroscience Ph.D. Student
Kelly is a rising 2nd year Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Emory. Her previous work focused on the development of fluorescent biosensors to visualize protein kinase activity in neurons undergoing synaptic plasticity for eventual applications during in vivo behavioral assays. In her graduate research, she is interested in investigating the biochemical and cellular mechanisms underlying cortical hyperexcitability, which has been implicated in neurological and neurodegenerative disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Outside of the lab, Kelly enjoys reading, hiking, playing with her dogs (Doug, Jelly, and Nala), and exploring new restaurants with her husband, Son.
Hailian Xiao
Lead Research Specialist
Anna Eaton
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Anna is a 4th year undergraduate student in The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory. She has been with the Rowan Lab for a year now, and is interested in furthering her understanding of neuroscience applications in biomedical engineering. Outside of research, Anna enjoys painting, weightlifting, running, reading, and has previously held a Co-Op position with Avanos Medical.
Sneha Malepati
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sneha is a 4th year undergraduate student at Emory studying Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology, and Physics. She is interested in understanding cell-type specific changes that occur in neurodegenerative diseases, and linking her interdisciplinary academic background to research applications. Outside of the lab, Sneha enjoys hiking, cooking, and mapping constellations, as well as volunteering with Emory EMS and at CHOA.