Dr. Joëlle Lopez | Lab Manager
Dr. Joëlle Lopez obtained her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neurosciences from the Université de Strasbourg, France, studying the brain structures involved in recent vs. remote spatial memory retrieval. She extended her work to fear memory during her post-doc in Dr. Karim Nader’s lab at McGill University in Montréal, and studied the molecular mechanisms underlying fear memory retrieval. As a Research Associate in Dr. Tak Pan Wong’s lab at the Douglas Hospital Research Institute, Dr. Lopez worked on the molecular mechanisms underlying susceptibility to depressive-like behavior. She now brings her extensive knowledge of behavioral neuroscience to the Bagot lab to set up new behavioral tests and stress models, help students and oversee the lab’s daily operations.
Dr. Yiu Chung Tse | Research Associate - Electrophysiology
Dr. Yiu Chung Tse received his Ph.D. in Physiology from The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. After that he joined Dr. Tak Pan Wong’s Lab at the Douglas Hospital Research Institute in Montréal as a postdoctoral fellow. During this period, he studied the functional role of NMDA receptors in chronic stress animal models. Yiu Chung joined the Bagot Lab in 2018. Now, he is using electrophysiology and optogenetic techniques to study synaptic and cellular consequences of chronic stress in mouse models.
Dr. Vedrana Cvetkovska | Post-Doctoral Researcher - Molecular Neuroscience
Dr. Vedrana Cvetkovska received a PhD in Neuroscience at McGill University in 2015 for her work on molecular mechanisms of synaptic targeting. She did a first post-doctoral fellowship studying synaptic development at the University of British Columbia. In 2019 she returned to Montréal to join the Bagot lab where she is integrating her molecular expertise with circuit-level analysis and behavioral models of depression. Her research focuses on transcriptomic changes that occur in response to stress.
Dr. Rand Eid | Post-Doctoral Researcher - Translational Neuroscience
Dr. Rand Eid received her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia in 2019. Her graduate work with Dr. Liisa Galea examined neuroplastic and neuroimmune mechanisms by which reproductive hormones or experiences can modulate stress susceptibility in female rodents. Rand joined the teams of Dr. Rosemary Bagot and Dr. Kieran O’Donnell in 2020. Her postdoctoral research adopts a translational approach to studying perinatal depression, where she will leverage mouse models to examine neural mechanism underlying risk and guide the discovery of biomarkers in pregnant women. Besides being a scientist, Rand is an amateur violist and an avid home cook.
Dr. Veronica Chelu | Post-Doctoral Researcher - Psychedelics and Computational Neuroscience
Veronica Chelu earned her PhD in Computer Science at McGill University (2025) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Doina Precup, where she studied efficient online learning and adaptive decision-making in artificial and biological agents. She is now a postdoctoral researcher in Bagot Lab, investigating the neural mechanisms of psychedelics and their impact on cognition and behaviour through computational neuroscience approaches. Outside of research, she enjoys meditation, yoga, hand-balancing, contortion, nature and arts.
Graduate Students
Gabrielle Siemonsmeier | PhD Candidate
Prior to moving to this barren, frozen wasteland, Gabrielle completed a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at Université de Strasbourg in France and Universität des Saarlandes in Germany, followed by a Master of Science in Neuroscience at Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany. She's been lab-hopping a lot, but her most extensive research experience was in Prof. Helmut Kettenmann's lab, studying how oligodendrocyte networks in the corpus callosum supply energy to the axons they myelinate. She joined the Bagot lab because of her interest in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety, and is currently interrogating the neural substrate of valence discrimination.
Lizette Herrera | PhD Candidate
Liz obtained her B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Neuroscience at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico. She joined the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University in Fall 2019 and is co-mentored by Dr. Rosemary Bagot and Dr. Mallar Chakravarty. She is investigating shared and sex-specific effects of chronic stress on brain structure and function, and behaviour. Outside the lab, she can be found doing CrossFit, reading a good book, or walking her dogs in the park.
Heike Schuler | PhD Candidate
Heike received her BSc in Psychology at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands. During her MSc in Neuroscience at Utrecht University, she conducted research in the labs of Prof. Marian Joëls and Prof. Nikolaos Daskalakis. Heike joined the Bagot lab in Fall 2020 as a PhD student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience. She will investigate the relationship between chronic stress and learning using behavioral, genetic, and transcriptional data. In her free time, Heike can be found doing yoga, climbing and knitting socks to survive the cold Montreal winter.
Serena Wu | PhD Candidate
Serena graduated from Columbia university in 2020 with a BA in Neuroscience. During her time in New York, she worked with Dr. Christoph Anacker studying the impacts of early life stress on the development of psychiatric diseases. Serena joined the Bagot lab in the fall of 2021 as a Master’s student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience. She will use in vivo single photon calcium imaging to study the role of a novel genetic regulator of resilience and susceptibility in the prefrontal cortex. Outside of the lab, you can find Serena at the archery range or the dance studio.
Dr. Zahra Rostami | PhD Student
Zahra received her MD from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU). During medical school, she investigated the effects of multisensory integration and causality perception on neurodegenerative disorders in human models under the supervision of Dr. Mehri Salari (SBMU) and Dr. Maryam Vaziri Pashkam (University of Delaware). With a strong interest in neurology and psychiatry, Zahra joined the PhD program to focus on translational studies of reward learning strategies and their underlying neural circuitry. Her research aims to understand how chronic stress disrupts these circuits, leading to anhedonia-like symptoms, and to bridge basic science discoveries with clinical applications. Outside the lab, she enjoys painting, swimming, and playing tennis.
Peter Vitaro | MSc Student
Peter Vitaro earned a B.A. & Sc. in Cognitive Science from McGill University in 2024, where he cultivated an interdisciplinary interest in brain and behavior. His honours thesis, conducted in the Bagot Lab, explored the molecular and circuit-level mechanisms underlying reward-related behavior. Building on this foundation, he is now pursuing a Master’s degree in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience, investigating the role of Sdk1 in reward learning using behavioural and molecular techniques.
Santina Duarte | MSc Student
Santina recieved her BSc in Biology with a focus in anatomy and physiology from Mount Royal University in 2025. She worked with Dr. Eric Chalmers, modelling psychopathologies using deep reinforcement learning, as well as with Dr. Trevor Day, investigating changes in cerebral blood flow in response to physiological stressors. Currently, Santina is exploring new project ideas as she begins her MSc at McGill with a particular interest in brain-wide effects of stress. Outside of the lab, she can be found spending time with her many pets or exploring some of the local markets in Montreal.
Current Volunteer Researchers
Ali Aghadoukht | Remote Volunteer Researcher
Ali completed his Master’s thesis at the Brain Mind Institute of EPFL, Switzerland, in the Neuroepigenetics Lab under the supervision of Prof. Johannes Gräff and Dr. Davide Martino Coda. His research focused on investigating the neuronal structure, molecular mechanisms, and epigenetic processes of long-term memory storage in engram cells. Driven by a strong interest in stress and neuroimmune interactions, Ali has been remotely volunteering in the Bagot lab by gaining experience with sex-specific single-cell RNA-seq analysis to explore stress resilience and susceptibility in mice. Outside of his academic work, Ali has a passion for cooking, sports, and art.
Current Undergraduate Students
Azul Castillo | Undergraduate Psychology Student
Flavia Arias | Undergraduate Cognitive Science Honours Student
Pets of the Bagot Lab
Hiro | Vedrana
Hiro came into Vedrana’s life as a 1 day old kitten in 2009. Since then they’ve been inseparable. Despite being a picky eater (who prefers the most expensive brands and only sometimes) he’s a gentle, patient, and intuitive cat- definitely an old soul. Weird fact about Hiro: he has a British accent.
Marvin | Vedrana
Marvin was adopted by Vedrana in Vancouver, BC. He can be shy around strangers but eventually wins everyone over with that irresistible black cat charm. One of his favorite activities is “singing” at 5am.
Noireau | Joëlle
Master purrer, guardian of boxes, he loves conversations and sitting with you at the table. Always there to cuddle when you feel blue, very patient with godzilla-like toddlers, one could not ask for a better companion.
Pacha | Joëlle
At first discreet, her cold indifference to people was shattered by a baby.... she now cannot get enough affection.... Loves to escape and run outdoors, and to play with her food in water bowls. She is quite a mystery!
YoYo | Zahra
YoYo is probably one of the coolest hamsters you will ever meet. I mean just look at those sunnies, he’s just not like other hamsters.
Hippo | Santina
Hippo is the newest addition to Santina’s Zoo and her companion while she lives in Montreal. He enjoys sleeping under blankets, knocking over plants, and walking around the apartment “screaming” so everyone in the building can hear. I promise he is fine, he literally just wants constant attention.
Carley | Santina
Carley is a rescue Lagotto, who is the sweetest little ball of anxiety. She is just a little lady who will hit your phone out of your hands so you can pet her. She loves licking Santina’s legs (ew), searching for her ball, smelling all the smells, and standing on people with her tiny dagger feet.
Loopy | Santina
Loopy is commonly described as “all the lights are on but no one’s home.” A grumpy, crusty, old man who enjoys hiding from his humans, playing with tissue packages, and getting pets (but only at 3:00 pm). He may have a lazy eye and crooked whiskers, but he is just so cute and happy!
Buddy | Santina
Buddy (lovingly nicknamed el diablo) is a cockapoo who will eat and destroy anything and everything. His favourite pastimes include walking on the kitchen table to find food, biting his sisters’ ears to make her mad, and stealing socks and underwear. Buddy is incredibly cute and sweet to everyone but do not let his good looks fool you – he has and will live up to his nickname.
Las Galinha’s | Santina
Las Galinha’s (Portuguese for “the hens” are Santina’s flock of chickens back home in Calgary. These ladies are incredibly friendly and always lay an egg a day (which means up to 6 eggs/day!). Unfortunately for us they are in Calgary so we still need to buy eggs from the grocery store.
Lab Alumni
Eshaan Iyer | PhD 2017-2025
Mariana Alonso | Research Assistant 2022-2025
Dr. Delong Zhou | Post-Docotoral Researcher 2022 - 2024
Marina Broomfield | MSc 2022-2024
Jessie Muir | PhD 2016 - 2023
Juliet Meccia | MSc 2021 - 2022
Shama Huq | Fullbright Student 2021 - 2022
Pedro Bordignon | Bioinformatician 2019 - 2021
Evangelina Clark | MSc 2017 - 2020
Research Assistant Alumni
Megan Kairiss
2018-2019
Franca Lacroix
2017-2018
Undergraduate Alumni
Stephanie Rajabi
Kristina Drudik
Jaime Tabatznik
Justine Hansen
Taylor de Young
Jonah Dutz
Amandri Dahanayake
Aurelie van Oost
Julia Biris
Daniel Dobolyi
Alejandra Martinez
Akari Nishimura
Megan Kairiss
Michéle Day
Charlene Osei-Afrifa
Megan Liu
Kieran Bhatia
Samantha Jacobson
Lyla Hawari
Sarah Gostlin
Wenting Hu
Tim McLean
SchiChen Xu
Emily Cha
Karen Wassef
Said Ashkar
Xinbei Wan
Rubana Murshed
Sophia Cumplido-Wilson
Anil Esleben
Alexa Nordine
Brenda Namuhoranye
Stephen Lu
Emma Tustin
Jiawen Duan
Ariel Weinbaum
Rosalie Quinn
Polina Iourtchenko
Katrina Khosravi
Lucie Hasson
Shiqing Shen
Albert Pelinovski
Jinzhi He
Kristine Huang
Frédérique Marcoux