Current Members

Lab Technicians
	Cleusa De Oliveira Email: Cleusa.deoliveira@schulich.uwo.ca Cleusa is the lab technician/manager. She is responsible for all the ordering in the Lab and she also helps all the students with their projects. Cleusa works with the animals, doing surgeries and behavioral tests. She also works with immunohistochemistry experiments and PCR tests. Cleusa just loves her work! Outside of the lab, she loves to spend time with her family and her shih-tzu dog, Dodo.
Graduate Students
	Ella Doornaert Email: edoornae@uwo.ca PhD Candidate Ella is a PhD student in the Neuroscience program, co-supervised by Dr. Susanne Schmid and Dr. Brian Allman. Her research examines how genetic and environmental factors interact to shape auditory phenotypes in the Cntnap2-knockout rat model of autism. She completed her BSc in the Neuroscience Honors Specialization at Western University, where she conducted an independent research project and a fourth-year thesis in the Schmid lab. Currently, Ella has received multiple research awards, including being named a Vanier Scholar. Moreover, she is an accomplished wrestler who has represented Western throughout her academic career and continues to compete internationally as a member of Team Canada.
	Alaa El-Cheikh Mohamad Email: aelcheik@uwo.ca PhD Candidate Alaa is a PhD student in the Schmid lab; she is co-supervised by Dr. Susanne Schmid and Dr. Brian Allman. Her journey in science began at the University of Windsor where she completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience with a thesis examining the effect of noise on fish foraging behaviours. Currently, Alaa's research in the Schmid Lab focuses on investigating the underlying neural mechanisms of auditory sensory processing and the disruption of this processing in the CNTNAP2 knockout rat model. Outside of the lab, Alaa likes to read, try new dessert recipes, and watch Disney movies.
	Ala'a Seif Email: aseif5@uwo.ca PhD Candidate Ala is a PhD student in the Neuroscience program. She completed her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in biomedical engineering at Rafik Hariri University in Lebanon, where she investigated the use of ECG for personal identification and recognition. Ala is currently studying sensory filtering and sensorimotor gating, and whether they are linked to brainstem development in autism. She is co-supervised by Dr. Susanne Schmid and Dr. Ryan Stevenson. Outside of the lab, Ala enjoys reading fiction and exploring new places.
	Nita Chan Email: chant68@mcmaster.ca MSc Candidate Nita is a first-year master's student attending McMaster University co-supervised by Dr. Schmid and Dr. Choe. She completed her HBSc with a specialization in Neuroscience at Western University in 2024, where she completed a thesis project examining oxytocin neurons in the Cntnap2-KO rat model for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Currently, Nita continues her investigation of the oxytocin system by utilizing brain-clearing and light microscopy to compare the levels between mouse and rat models for Cntnap2. Outside of the lab, Nita enjoys hiking and playing sports with her friends. She also loves to explore the city and try out new food places around the town!
	Hannah Pineda Email: hpineda2@uwo.ca MSc Candidate Hannah is a MSc student in the Neuroscience program at Western. She completed her HBSc in Kinesiology at McMaster University, where she completed a lab practicum and undergraduate thesis studying the impact of CARM1-knockout on fasting- and aging-induced skeletal muscle atrophy and ultimately led her to a love for research. Currently, Hannah is using whole cell patch clamp recordings of auditory structures in the brain to investigate acute and chronic impacts of R-baclofen injections at the cellular level in the Cntnap2-knockout rat during a critical period of auditory development. Outside of the lab, Hannah has a diverse realm of interests including reading, weightlifting, hiking, yoga, painting, thrifting, listening to music, and going out with friends. She also spends too much time showing other people pictures of her cat, TJ.
	Cassandra LeMarquand Email: clemarq@uwo.ca MSc Candidate Cassie is a MSc student in the Neuroscience program. She completed her HBSc degree in Neuroscience and Mental Health at Carleton University, during which she analyzed the spatial distribution and expression of receptors linked to alcohol intake, and troubleshooted the one-trial tolerance phenomenon in two rodent anxiety paradigms. Cassie's current research investigates differences in auditory processing in the inferior colliculus of the Cntnap2 knockout rat model via in vivo electrophysiological recording. Outside of the lab, Cassie loves thrifting, rock climbing, and discovering new movies, music, and food.
	Jheanelle Walters Email: jwalte52@uwo.ca MSc Candidate Jheanelle is MSc student in the Neuroscience program. She completed her Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences (HBHSc) degree with a double major in Health Sciences and Psychology. Jheanelle's research examines how pharmacological agents such as Amantadine and Memantine modulate prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response. Outside of the lab, Jheanelle enjoys reading, spending time with her family, baking and unwinding with card games or her favourite shows. She is also passionate about giving back through community engagement and youth-focused initiatives.
Research Assistants

Scholar's Electives, Honors Thesis, and Independent Study Students
	Danielle Goetz Email: dgoetz3@uwo.ca Third Year Undergraduate Independent Study Student Danielle Goetz is a third-year Honours Specialization Neuroscience student at Western University, completing an independent study project. Her research investigates the effects of the drug Memantine on both the startle response and prepulse inhibition in wild-type rats. Outside of the lab, Danielle enjoys dancing, listening to music, reading, and watching Dancing with the Stars with her roommates. Danielle is a member of UWO’s Dance Force team and has an executive position as the Director of Social Media for Western’s Alzheimer’s Club.
	Tala Hilal Email: thilal@uwo.ca Second Year Undergraduate Scholar's Elective Student Tala is a second-year Medical Sciences student in the Scholar's Electives Program at Western University. She is investigating the effects specific drugs have on the prepulse inhibition of startle response in wild-type rats. Outside of the lab, Tala enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going on walks with her dog, playing sports, reading, and traveling.
Visiting Students

Work Study Students

Volunteers
	Maria Chen Email: xche533@uwo.ca Second Year Undergraduate Maria Chen is a second-year Medical Sciences student at Western University. She is assisting Ella in investigating the effects of an enriched environment development in the Cntnap2 knockout rat model for autism spectrum disorder. She is currently working in the Schmid lab as a volunteer. Outside of the lab, Maria enjoys baking new dessert recipes, hiking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
	Josephine Lau Email: jlau248@uwo.ca Website developer Josephine is a volunteer website developer at the Schmid Lab. She graduated from Western University with an Honors Double Major in Medical Sciences and Biology in 2014 and a Bachelors of Nursing Science in 2016. She started working as Dr. Schmid's work study student in 2013 and continued on as a volunteer after graduation. Using WordPress, Google, and CSS programming, she created Dr. Schmid's website and regularly keeps it updated. Outside of volunteering, Josephine likes working in well-resourced fast-paced hospital units, participating in bedside patient care, working with the vulnerable population in the community, advocating for patients, keeping up with the latest public health initiatives, and taking post-graduate nursing courses to keep her knowledge updated. Hobby-wise, she enjoys singing, playing piano, listening to music, reading, keeping up with current events, traveling, cooking up a storm, hiking, going to the gym, spending time with friends and family, trying out new restaurants and events in the city, cuddling with her cat, and relaxing until her next set of shifts.
	Julia Xie Email: jxie344@uwo.ca Third Year Undergraduate Julia is a third-year undergraduate honours specialization in physiology and pharmacology student at Western University. She is assisting Ella in investigating the effects of an enriched environment on symptom development in the Cntnap2 knockout rat model for autism spectrum disorder. She started off working in the Schmid lab as a volunteer research assistant and then proceeded to assist Ella in this current project as a NSERC USRA summer research student. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, swimming, skiing, travelling, and exploring new restaurants with friends.