Meet The Team

John Campbell, Ph.D. | Principal Investigator

John received a Neuroscience Ph.D. from VCU in Ben Churn’s lab and then did a postdoctoral fellowship in Brad Lowell’s lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he used single-cell genomics and genetic technology to understand the neural basis for appetite. His current research interest is unraveling the circuitry of the vagus nerve to understand how it controls the digestive, cardiovascular, and immune systems. Outside lab he enjoys family camping trips, cooking with his two kids, and early morning runs with his Siberian Husky.

Maisie Crook | Research TechnicianMaisie received her B.S. in Crime Scene Science from the University of Teesside, UK in 2010. After working in various scientific support roles she joined the Campbell Lab as a technician in 2019. Outside of l…

Maisie Crook | Lab Manager

Maisie received her B.S. in Crime Scene Science from the University of Teesside, UK in 2010. After working in various scientific support roles she joined the Campbell Lab as a technician in 2019. Outside of lab she enjoys skating, photography, travel, playing bass, concerts and true crime.

Roberta Onoharigho | Ph.D. Candidate, co-mentored by Prof. Edward Nieh

Roberta is a graduate student in the Biology doctoral program. She earned her B.S. in Pharmacology from Delta State University, Nigeria. Her research focuses on understanding the neural circuits in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus that underlie energy expenditure. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading newsletters, listening to podcasts, and spending time with family and friends.

Mary MacMillan | Ph.D. Candidate, co-mentored by Prof. Edward Nieh

Mary is a first year graduate student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program, co-mentored by Dr. Campbell and Dr. Nieh of the Pharmacology Department. Mary graduated from Cornell in 2020 and stayed to work as a lab manager before joining UVA in 2024. In the Campbell Lab, she is interested in the heart brain connection, in terms of identifying and functionally testing the cardiovagal neurons involved in parasympathetic control of the heart. In her free time, Mary likes to go on long walks, read, paint, and look at trees! 

Anna Grace Dickerson | Ph.D. Candidate, co-mentored by Prof. Edward Nieh

Anna Grace earned a B.S. in Computer Science with minors in both Math and Biochem from Mississippi State University in 2023. She spent the next year working as a software engineer, and then the next year she went back to school for a PhD in Neuroscience. She joined both the Campbell Lab and the Nieh Lab in 2025 as a co-mentored student. She is most interested in the how the stress of undernutrition impacts the neuroendocrine system. In her free time she loves to run, get pastries with her husband or friends at cute cville coffee shops, and visit her family in New Mexico.

Josie Puckett | Undergraduate Researcher

Josie is a third-year undergraduate student studying global public health with a minor in biology. She works with Naudia to understand the lower esophageal sphincter’s connection to the vagus nerve and its effect on achalasia and GERD. Outside of academics, she works as a resident advisor and spends her free time playing pickleball, reading, and dancing.

Divya Narayanan | MD-Ph.D. Candidate, with Prof. JC Cang

Divya Narayanan is a MD-PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program co-mentored by JC Cang. She earned a B.A. in Flute Performance and B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022. In the Campbell and Cang labs, she is interested in studying molecularly-defined circuits within the superior colliculus and how they go awry in neurodevelopmental disorders. Outside of lab, she runs long distances, bakes pastries, and tries to learn new flute repertoire!

Not Shown

  • Naudia Gay - doctoral candidate, Neuroscience Graduate Program, BIMS

  • Travis Heinrichs - undergraduate researcher

Graduate Alumni

  • Tatiana Coverdell, Ph.D, 2018 - 2022 (co-mentor, S. Abbott), subsequent position: clinical chemistry fellow, NIH Department of Laboratory Medicine

  • Nicholas Conley, Ph.D., 2018 - 2024, subsequent position: postdoctoral fellow with Lisa Beutler, Northwestern University

  • Addison Webster, Ph.D., 2020 - 2025, subsequent position: postdoctoral fellow with Michael Krashes, NIH/NIDDK

  • Elizabeth Godschall, Ph.D., 2020 - 2025 (co-mentor, A. Güler), subsequent position: postdoctoral fellow, VCU

  • Yuanming Liu, Ph.D., 2019 - 2025 (co-mentor, J.. Cang), subsequent position: postdoctoral fellow with Sven Dorkenwald and Fan Wang, MIT

  • Maira Jalil, Ph.D., 2019 -2026, subsequent position: postdoctoral fellow, Columbia University

  • Ekaterina Stepanova, 2020-2026 (co-mentor C. Deppmann), subsequent position: postdoctoral fellow with Amita Sehgal, University of Pennsylvania

Undergraduate Alumni

  • Chelsea Li, 2018 - 2020, subsequent position: M.D./Ph.D. student, Stanford University

  • Natalie Schiavone, 2019 - 2021, subsequent position: Teach for America

  • Owen Trinkle, 2019 - 2022, subsequent position: Decision Analytics Associate, ZS

  • Anirudh Gadicherla, 2019 - 2022

  • Lily Kauffman, 2019 - 2023, subsequent position: Eastern Virginia Medical School

  • Veronica Gutierrez, 2019 - 2023, subsequent position: medical school

  • Kandace Moore, 2021 - 2023, subsequent position: UNC Chapel Hill Post Baccalaureate Program

  • Dana Schwalbe, 2020 - 2024, subsequent position: Harvard University Ph.D. program on Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics

  • Cate Bundon, 2023 - 2025, subsequent position: medical school

  • Emma Marco, 2023 - 2025, subsequent position: medical school

  • Ashlyn Dever, 2023 - 2025, subsequent position: medical school

  • Libby Yoon, 2024 - 2026

  • Lane VanderVoort, 2023 - 2026, subsequent position: medical school

Staff Alumni

  • Katie Shouse-Cox, 2024 - 2025