Rebecca Muhle
M.D., Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Muhle earned her medical and graduate degrees from the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and completed her adult psychiatry residency and child & adolescent fellowship training within the Solnit Integrated Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Research Training Program at the Yale University Child Study Center. Dr. Muhle's scientific research aims to uncover molecular genetic pathways that increase the likelihood of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, by utilizing high-throughput genomics methods in mouse and human model systems to examine the effects of disruptions of implicated genes. She is a board-certified general and child & adolescent psychiatrist. When not in the clinic or the lab, she enjoys concerts, playing fetch with the dog and “fishing” with the cat.
David Rivas
Lab Manager
David graduated from Penn State University in 2019 with a B.S. in Biology. He joined the Muhle lab in December 2019 as a research assistant and was promoted to Lab Manager in 2022. His roles include conducting animal behavior, histology, and laboratory/mouse colony management. Specifically, his work is focused on characterizing the behavior phenotype and associated brain circuitry of Chd8+/- mice. When David is not in the lab or mouse room, he enjoys taking portrait photography, producing electronic music, and learning web development.
Sam Dhanani
Undergraduate Researcher
Sam is a senior at Barnard College majoring in Neuroscience and Behavior and minoring in Science and Public Policy. She joined the Muhle lab in 2021 and is currently working on her senior thesis. Additionally, she has since completed the Barnard Summer Research Institute twice. Her roles include mouse behavior and data analysis using Python. When Sam is not in the lab she enjoys going on runs and exploring new places in the city.
Mahdia Begum
Undergraduate Researcher
Mahdia is a senior at Barnard College studying Neuroscience and Behavior. In Fall 2021, she joined the Muhle lab where she is performing behavior experiments and using immunohistochemistry to study the brain circuitry of Chd8+/- mice. In her free time, Mahdia enjoys exploring nature/restaurants, learning Bollywood dances, and cooking.
Esther Garfield
Undergraduate Researcher
Esti is a senior at Barnard College studying Neuroscience and Behavior. She joined the Muhle lab in Fall 2021 and is currently writing her senior thesis. Her research explores differential gene expression associated with Chd8 haploinsufficiency in mice. In her free time, Esti enjoys reading fiction and crocheting hats.
Hannah Kim
Graduate Researcher
Hannah graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Asian Languages while pursuing her premedical studies. Currently, she is a Master's candidate in the Narrative Medicine program at Columbia University, studying the applications of close-reading in the humanities as it impacts healthcare and the clinical sciences as a whole. Hannah joined the Muhle lab fall of 2022 as a volunteer research assistant, and is currently performing experiments to study the social behaviors of Chd8+/- mice. In her free time, Hannah likes to experiment with new recipes, dance, and write fiction and poetry.
