People

Spencer Bowles, PhD

Spencer earned a BS in Neuroscience and Psychology at Regis University. He obtained his Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Cristin Welle where he studied the role of cholinergic signaling in endogenous and VNS-enhanced motor learning. He used chronically implanted stimulating and recording electrodes, in vivo optogenetics, and markerless kinematic tracking to explore the changes in neural activity and behavior that accompany motor learning. Spencer will be continuing his post-doctoral training in the lab of Dr. Mackenzie Mathis.

Sean Hansen, MS

Sean completed his Master's in Bioengineering in the Welle Lab - BIOElectrics Lab and developed transcutaneous auricular stimulation technology for mice.

Dailey Nettles, PhD

Dailey Nettles obtained her Ph.D. jointly in the labs of Dr. Cristin Welle & Dr. Ethan Hughes, where she studied the role of myelin in motor cortex circuit function. She used both chronically implanted NeuroNexus and acutely implanted Neuropixel extracellular recording arrays in mice throughout demyelination and remyelination to study single-cell activity changes. She found that myelin loss causes neuronal hyperexcitability that recovers with partial remyelination. Dailey is now a post-doc at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Xiaoyu Peng, Phd

Xiaoyu Peng obtained her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and did short postdoc trainings at Princeton University and MIT. Her project involved the use of in vivo calcium imaging and optical electrophysiology to investigate the change of neural ensembles in motor cortex during learning and diseases.

Ryan Williamson developed the closed-loop automated reaching apparatus (CLARA) that the lab uses as the core of our behavioral experiments. Luckily for us, Ryan didn't move far, and now directs the IDEA Core facility here at CU. We get to work with Ryan all the time!

Ryan Williamson, Phd

Kayden joined the lab for two summers during his time as an undergraduate at Northwestern and contributed data on vagus nerve connectivity and on conditioned place preference training. He's now in a postbac at the NIH.

Kayden Washington

Jordan was a research assistant in the lab.

Jordan Hickman

Completed his Masters in Modern Human Anatomy in the BIOElectrics Lab, setting up optogenetics to study cholinergic systems in motor learning. Dane is currently a PhD candidate at ETH Zurich, working on motor systems and neuromodulation.

Dane Donegan, MS

Before coming to the BioElectrics Lab, Ben received a BA in Philosophy from Yale and worked in clinical psychiatry research at the Denver VA. He worked on vagal nerve stimulation-related projects in the lab. Ben is currently a PhD candidate at University of California, San Diego studying motor systems in the spinal cord.

Benjamin Temple

Jasmine led the lab's human tissue program looking at the brain's response to implanted DBS electrodes, along with CLARITY tissue clearing for implants in mouse cortex.

Jasmine Singh

Madison receieved her bachelors of science in biology from CU Denver. In the lab, she worked as an undergraduate researcher studying the effects of auricular transcutaneous Vagus nerve stimulation on motor learning in mice.

Welle Lab

People

Cristin Welle, PhD

Lab Members

Rongchen Huang, MS

Katriana Casey

Kimberly Gagnon

Anthony Chavez

Elise Carter

Sean Vieau

Alumni