Undergraduate Departmental Representatives
The neuroscience undergraduate departmental representatives can help with communications between undergraduates and faculty members. They can also provide academic and career information to current and prospective neuroscience students.
Meet the 2025-26 Neuroscience UDRs
Kat is a senior majoring in neuroscience with a minor in religious studies. She is interested in the intersection between behavioral and cellular neuroscience, while dabbling in some computational modeling. She works in the Katz lab to study the role of orexin neurons in palatability and the taste response.
Outside of the lab, Kat is president of the Brandeis Neuroscience Club, head coordinator for General Tutoring, and head TA for NPSY 11B in the fall. After graduating, she plans to pursue a PhD in neuroscience and hopes to teach and conduct research at a university.
Feel free to email or make an appointment for help navigating Brandeis resources, choosing classes, finding on-campus labs, or anything else you may need!
Yolanda Li is a junior majoring in Neuroscience. As a UDR, she’s excited to support her peers by sharing experiences as both an international and a transfer student. Her academic interests are in
how environmental factors and neuromodulation shape neural circuits and influence organisms’ behavioral outputs.
Outside of being a UDR, you can find her working as an RA in the Marder Lab, tutoring in the library as a BUGS tutor, practicing at Slosberg, or exploring Boston’s art museums. She's always happy to chat about the major, academics, life at Brandeis, or anything you're feeling uncertain about—feel free to reach out!
Ani is a senior majoring in Neuroscience and Biology with a minor in English. The research that she conducts in the Marder Lab is focused on the neuromuscular junction in crustaceans, investigating the effects of SIFamide on gastric muscle responses in various temperatures. Outside of the lab, she is a Coordinator for Waltham Group’s Hunger and Homelessness, an Orientation Leader, and occasionally an Assistant Stage Manager for the Department of Theater Arts! In her free time, she’s hanging out with her roommates in Boston, reading, or listening to Stevie Nicks. Feel free to reach out to her any time with questions!
Amelia White (she/her) is a junior from Sarasota, Florida, double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. In addition to being a Neuroscience UDR, Amelia is a Roosevelt Fellow, where she works as a peer academic advisor. She is also an undergraduate research assistant in the Katz Neuroscience Lab where she studies taste and smell in animal models.
Additionally on campus, Amelia is a tutor through the Waltham Group’s General Tutoring Program and an E-board member of the Neuroscience Club. Amelia is always happy to chat. Whether you’re curious about campus activities, clubs, research opportunities, or classes, she’s here to help!
Amanda is a senior majoring in Neuroscience and Biology. She is currently working on her senior thesis in the Turrigiano lab that aims to better understand how sensory enhancement during developmental critical periods alters neural circuitry. As juvenile mice learn to capture prey, there is an increase in the excitatory drive upon layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the primary visual cortex that improves visual function, but how this is balanced by inhibitory inputs is unclear.
Outside of the lab, Amanda is a Confidential Peer Educator for the Prevention, Advocacy, and Resource Center (PARC) and on eboard for The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE). She would love to chat about navigating classes, getting involved in research, and offer support on anything you might need!