Kelly Cheung, HBSc, MSc.c

Hello, I'm Kelly! I graduated with a Honors bachelor of science specializing in neuroscience and minoring in biomedical communications and biology from UTM. I worked on a ROP and Biology thesis with Ben. Continuing my graduate work in the lab, my research will focus on the behavioral outcomes of psilocybin (sillycybin) administration and its neurophysiological correlates in zebrafish. My broad interest is in behavioral neuroscience. In my free time I'm road tripping and exploring new places. Also stuck with Steven. 

Amira joined the lab in 2017 and completed her Honors Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She has undertaken multiple research courses including a Biology Thesis program in the lab during her final year of undergraduate studies exploring the effects of embryonic alcohol exposure using the zebrafish as a model organism.

She is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Cell & Systems Biology studying the effects of embryonic alcohol exposure on learning and memory outcomes in larval and adult zebrafish.

In the last few years, Amira has published 5 peer-reviewed papers, and has attended multiple conferences in which she has presented her work.

Amira has expertise in zebrafish behavior and learning & memory. She keeps the lab under control.

She teaches PSY397.

Amira's Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=6k_IbHwAAAAJ&hl=en

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amira-Abozaid-2

Ben joined the lab during his undergrad and completed his Honors Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science at Kings College London (UK).

Apart from his PhD, Ben has worked at the Hospital for Sick Children as a Clinical Research Manager, performing the middle cerebral arterial occlusion surgery.

He is the resident fish whisperer for the Gerlai lab with funding from the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (GLAS), the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Animal Research Tomorrow (Swiss NGO), and has produced over 22 peer-reviewed publications in the field of behavioral neuroscience resulting in an h-index of 10, and is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and serves as an editorial board member for PLOS One.

He teaches PSY352.

Ben is the recipient of the 2023 University of Toronto Mississauga Graduate Research Prize. 

He is a AIDA certified freediver and a PADI certified scuba diver, and likes to go on spontaneous trips.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=EETRxGgAAAAJ&view_op=list_works

My name is Chuanyu Wu. You can also call me Yuri. I am a 4th-year UTM student specializing in neuroscience and majoring in bio for health sci. I will join the Gerlai lab for my biology thesis. I am currently helping Stephanie with her research on the effect of tank sizes on zebrafish behaviour. I have a strong passion for neuroscience and especially for using animal models to study their behavioural responses. I am looking forward to getting more involved in the lab and in this research field. During my free time, I love to spend time exploring nature and arts created by amazing artists!

Hi, I'm Celma!
I am a fourth year student in neuroscience and biology. Previously, I was a work study and thesis student. My thesis was on the learning and memory capabilities of the German ram cichlids. My interests are in human and animal behaviour, neurological disorders, and neuroimaging. Currently, I am finishing a study on the neuronal death of juvenile zebrafish using two-photon imaging. I do everything with my conjoined twin Veronica who will one day cure cancer #teamben. A fun fact about me is that I like to collect Japanese swords. Hopefully I become as rich as Dr. Gerlai so I can fund my collection.

Hi, my name is Veronica and I am a Senior Research Assistant in the Gerlai Lab!

I recently completed my undergraduate thesis and a work-study position in the lab, where I was lucky enough to work with Ben and my identical twin Celma. I am excited to continue my research in the lab this summer as a University of Toronto Excellence Award recipient, where I will be examining the learning and memory abilities of the Ram Cichlid, a new species in behavioural neuroscience. I am always happy to help out in the lab, as I am here 24/7 (I pretty much live here now) :)

I'm Omer, a Senior Research Assistant at the Gerlai Lab. 

I previously completed my biology thesis at the lab, studying behavioral effects of caffeine on the zebrafish circadian rhythm. My current research interests are largely surrounding psychedelic compounds, and I'm examining the suitability of zebrafish as a preclinical animal model for investigating psychedelic safety and toxicity.

Hello~ My name is Jenny Sung, and I am a Psychology major at UTM. I am joining the Gerlai lab to work with Ben, and to pursue my research interests in behavioural neuroscience. In my spare time, I love to go for a walk carrying a good cup of latte.

I am an aspiring psych student in 1st year from Germany who is working with Ben in the Gerlai Lab. I think that most things are cool, especially bananas and ramen. A particular interest of mine is studying hard, which I refer to as 'grinding'. Apart from education, I like thinking about the potential benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, being hot, overthinking, and sleeping 9 hours. 

My name is Andrew Gnanapragasam and I am a 3rd year student specializing in Psychology and minoring in Biology. I am currently a volunteer under Amira. I have always been interested in learning and memory, both the behavioural and biological aspects of it. I am looking forward to exploring these more in detail at the Gerlai Lab! 

Hi! My name is Kenneth and I'm currently a 3rd year undergraduate student studying biology and neuroscience at the University of Toronto Mississauga. I hope to achieve great things in the Gerlai Lab under Ben's supervision. It's kinda wild I get the chance to work with a guy who has his own wikipedia page. Maybe someday I'll get my own wikipedia page. Outside of school, I like going to the gym and hitting my protein goals. Cats and dogs are actually the coolest, but fish are alright I guess… 

Heyy, I'm a second year for neuroscience specialist and a psychology major. I like steve (the cat) and wasting time doing nothing. I maybe like fish but they're on thin ice. My future plans are to hopefully be a rich researcher. 

I'm a 4th year Neuroscience Specialist Student at UTM. I joined the Gerlai Lab as a volunteer, and I am currently completing an independent research project. My project examines if shoaling preferences in zebrafish are affected by their housing densities, broadly examining if stress has an effect on group-formation. I am collaborating with Yuri for this project, and we are being supervised by Zahra and Stephanie as our project makes use of numerosity and shoaling. I am excited to continue researching and discovering social behaviour in zebrafish.

My name is Steven Li and I am a fourth-year student double majoring in Biology for Health Sciences and Psychology. I am currently a Biology Thesis student in the Gerlai lab under the supervision of Ben and hope to learn more about the behaviour of zebrafish. In my free time, I enjoy going on hikes, working out at the gym, and playing the piano. I'm also goofy.

Hi! I am Eren (yeah the spelling is like Eren Jaeger) from Ben's team. I am interested in most things, or at least I think I am. But I know that I love rocket ships. I don't have much experience with fish apart from having a goldfish when I was six that I may have killed because of overfeeding. Anyways, as an undergrad, I want to gain research experience from working with such experienced people in the Gerlai lab and hope to contribute to the lab's extensive research. If you have come this far, thanks for reading my blurb! 

My name is Ryan Ugovsek and I am an incoming third year student at UTM. I am currently majoring in Biology for the Health Sciences, with minors in psychology and chemistry. However, I plan to pursue a specialist in neuroscience starting in the 2023-2024 fall/winter term. As an aspiring neuroscientist, I have always been fascinated by the variety of techniques and model organisms that researchers use in the laboratory. The Gerlai Lab's previous work with zebrafish, in particular, inspired me to join the team and contribute to its current research!