​The Banghart Lab launched at UCSD in the Fall of 2016. UCSD graduate students should contact Matt by email to discuss rotation opportunities. Prospective graduate students should consider the graduate programs in Neurosciences or Biology (international students should apply to Biology). Postdoctoral candidates should email Matt their CV, a brief statement of research experience and interests, and contact info for 3 references. 

Meet the group

Matthew Banghart, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

Matt originally trained as an organic chemist. During his doctoral studies at UC Berkeley with Dirk Trauner and Rich Kramer, Matt developed methods for regulating ion channels with light, which initiated his transformation into a neuroscientist. Matt then pursued postdoctoral studies as a Helen Hay Whitney fellow with Bernardo Sabatini at Harvard Medical School to study the neurophysiology of striatal neuropeptides. This experience cemented his interest in how neuromodulators influence behavior. Outside of the lab you might find him running or cycling in the canyons around La Jolla, playing in the sand at the beach with his son, tending to his garden, or hovering over his Weber grill (year round). He also enjoys camping, hiking and snowboarding, and is always looking for excuses to be outside in the sun.  

Xiang Ma, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Xiang recently took over chemical synthesis in the Banghart Lab. He holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Australian National University, where he worked with Professor Martin Banwell. Originally trained in food science, Xiang has contributed to scores of publications describing natural products isolated from plant extracts, in addition to his natural product total synthesis Ph.D. work. Xiang is currently developing new strategies for photocaging neuropeptides and small molecules for in vivo applications. In addition to exercising his chemistry skills, Xiang determines the pharmacological activity of his compounds in cell culture. New to the area, Xiang is exploring the Southern California good life while getting things going in the lab. 

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Caroline Johnson, Ph.D.
​Postdoctoral Fellow

Caroline joined the lab after completing her Ph.D. at N.C. State under the guidance of Professor Troy Ghashghaei. There she uncovered a role for the transcription factor Sp2 in neural stem cell division during cortical development. Prior to that she spent several years as a standout laboratory technician in the Sabatini Lab at Harvard Medical School, where she contributed to multiple projects bailed Matt out on multiple occasions when he fell behind on genotyping. In the Banghar Lab, Caroline is working to understand the molecular pathways that regulate neuropeptide release from neurons in the mammalian brain. She is thrilled to find herself living two blocks from the ocean with an ocean view and is spending her fist SoCal summer dodging Covid-19 by shuttling between the beach and lab. 

Jenny He, B.S.
PhD Student

Jenny is the first graduate student to join the lab. Hailing from all over the world, but most recently from Pomona College followed by Postbaccs at the NIH with Heather Cameron and Katie Kindt, Jenny has experience with a wide array of questions and methods in modern neuroscience. But her passion in the lab seems to be electrophysiology and synaptic transmission. One of her projects involves uncovering mechanisms that dictate the kinetics of synaptic neuromodulation, and the other concerns mechanisms that govern neuropeptide release. Jenny is also a voracious and extremely agile climber and a talented photographer (she took many of the photos on this webpage). Most weekends lead her deep into Southern California's iconic deserts and mountains for epic bouldering and rock climbing adventures.

Shannan McClain, B.S.
​MD/PhD Student

Shannan is the Banghart Lab's first MD/PhD student. A Bay Area native, Shannan worked in the labs of Yang Dan and Diana Bautista at UC Berkeley before heading to UCSD for the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). She is interested in neuropsychiatric disorders such as OCD and addiction, mood disorders, eating disorders and anxiety. She ultimately wants to understand the basic neural circuitry of normal processes like reward and decision making that go awry in these disorders. In the lab she is investigating the involvement of distinct striatal microcircuits in motivated behavior. Outside the lab she enjoys climbing, running on the beach, beer/food/wine tasting, traveling, and baking. She also greatly enjoys the golden age of television and thinks that Mad Men and the Wire are the best shows of all time.​​

Susan Lubejko, B.S.
​PhD Student

Susan joined the Banghart Lab in 2018 through the UCSD Neuroscience Graduate Program. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, she began her investigation of neural circuits with Katrina MacLeod at the University of Maryland College Park, followed by two years at NIH's National Institute on Aging in Baltimore under the mentorship of Henriette van Praag. Now at UCSD, she remains just as fascinated by how neural circuits are built and function to support sensory experience. In the lab, Susan is focused on understanding the physiology and gene expression of neurons in the midbrain and brainstem that are involved in modulation of pain, as well as the role of neuropeptides in defining these circuits. On the weekend, she loves to try new San Diego restaurants and breweries and cheer from afar for her favorite football team, the Baltimore Ravens.

Giulia Livrizzi, M.S.
PhD student

Giulia joined the lab with a formidable background in slice electrophysiology, having learned to record from up to three cells at a time during a stint in the Tolias Laboratory at Baylor. Before that Giulia spent two years studying LTP en route to a Masters degree in Neurobiology from La Sapienza University in her hometown, the great city of Rome. Having spent 2 years in the lab as a Sr. Research Scientist prior to starting grad school, Giulia has identified antinociceptive neurons in the midbrain and is studying their role in pharmacological and cognitive pain modulation. Giulia spends her free time exploring California's many wonderful destinations, many of which include waves, sand and sunshine. She is devoted to raising a happy and healthy kitten and also makes a mean tiramisu. 

Desiree Johnson, M.S.
Laboratory Assistant

Desiree completed her Masters Degree in Biology in the Banghart Lab at UCSD after obtaining her B.S. in Human Biology with a Psychology/African American Studies double minor. Working in parallel with Shannan the MD/PhD student in the lab, Desiree is interested in behavior disorders such as OCD, eating disorders, and addiction. She wants to understand the functional significance of striatial patches and matrix compartmentalization to uncover their role in reward-guided behavior. She joined us after spending half a year in Spain where she taught and studied abroad and developed her love for traveling and social issues. On her free time she enjoys road trips, yoga, food and coffee and wine. Her ultimate goal is to obtain her MD/PhD where she hopes to travel to communities lacking medical resources and ultimately fulfill her passion for retaining underrepresented students in higher education and medicine

Eric Berg, B.S.
Laboratory Assistant

Eric joined the lab after working for a few years at Genewiz down the road. He holds B.S. in Biochemistry from SDSU. 100% homegrown, Eric manages the lab's core operations, systematically crushes the lab's genotyping, and produces nothing but high-grade AAV. When taking a break from the helm, Eric can be found scanning basketball highlights for LeBron's latest dunk or out in North Park kicking it with his crew.

Aryanna Layden
​Undergraduate Research Assistant

Aryanna is a 4th year UCSD student majoring in Neuroscience. She joined the lab after a standout quarter in Matt's BIPN140 class and started out running helping Eric with genotyping. After turning in perfect gels for a few quarters she started working with Dr. Xiang Ma on the characterization of new caged neuropeptides using genetically-encoded neuropeptide sensors and functional assays in cultured cells. 

Lab Alumni

           Name                                               Former position                                                             Subsequent or current position
 Dr. Jingjing Zhou                        Postdoctoral Fellow (chemistry)                 Medicinal Chemist, Global Health Drug Discovery Institute
 Emilya Ventriglia                                    B.S./M.S. Student                                              NIH Postbac IRTA Fellow, Michealides Lab, NIDA
  Boris Stepanyuk                                  Laboratory Assistant                                            Medical Student, University of Colorado, Denver
     Janki Patel                             Undergraduate Research Assistant                           Research Assistant, Chalasani Lab, SALK Institute
   John Girardini                        Undergraduate Research Assistant                                    Research Assistant, Xu Chen Lab, UCSD
     Vidit Goyal                            Undergraduate Research Assistant                                                        San Diego Biotech
    Connor Weiss                        Undergraduate Research Assistant                           Research Assistant, Chalasani Lab, SALK Institute
    Jose Mendoza                        Undergraduate Research Assistant                                Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering
                                                                                                                                                          Tri-Institutional MD-PhD program
   Natalie Samson                       Undergraduate Research Assistant                                       PhD Student, Keck Graduate Institute
Andres Bermudez                             Laboratory Assistant                                                                        San Diego Biotech
 

​Random lab-related photos

Celebrating Desiree's M.S. thesis defense during Covid lockdown April 9, 2020 - so many smiles!

A few photos from the Annual Lab Holiday Party - Dec 14, 2019. 

Lab photo - Dec 2019. We finally managed to pull everyone away from their experiments at the same time! Taken on the 2nd Floor CNCB balcony just outside the lab.

Lab camping trip in Idyllwild, CA Sept 14-15 2019. Jenny He, Maxwell Chen, Matt Banghart, Shannan McClain and Emilya Ventriglia. The rest of the crew was sorely missed during our 12 mile hike up Tahquitz Peak!

End of summer celebration on Friday Sept 7, 2018 at Rock Bottom in La Jolla commemorating the lab's incredible progress while Matt was out of the country for several weeks. From left back to the right: Boris Stepanyuk, Matt Banghart, Desiree Johnson, Giulia Livrizzi, Jingjing Zhou, Susan Lubejko, Jenny He, Janki Patel, Shannan McClain, Emilya Ventriglia, Vidit Goyal. 

Banghart lab camping in Idyllwild, CA Sept 9-11, 2017 (Bloodgood, Komiyama and Gremel labs not shown).
Top: Jenny He; Middle (left to right): Connor Weiss, Jose Mendoza, Giulia Livrizzi, Shannan McClain, Boris Stepanyuk, Jingjing Zhou;​Bottom: Matt Banghart

                                      Banghart, Pekkurnaz and Bloodgood Lab camping trip in Idyllwild, CA on June 9-10, 2017.