​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. We are currently seeking trainees with interests and/or experience in imaging and sensor development.  

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 endogenous striatal neuropeptides. This experience cemented his interest in how neuromodulators influence behavior. Outside of the lab you might find him running in the canyons around La Jolla, trying to catch waves at the local beaches, 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.  

Jingjing Zhou
Postdoctoral Fellow

Jingjing holds the honors of being both the first postdoctoral fellow and the first chemist in the lab. He graduated in 2016 with a PhD in organic chemistry from Peking University, where he conducted several elegant natural product total syntheses with Professors Tao Ye and Zhengshuang Xu. He then worked as a Senior Chemist at Pharmaron for one year before heading to the US for his postdoctoral studies. Jingjing is in charge of synthesizing many interesting molecules that underlie several tool-development projects in the lab. In addition to exercising his chemistry skills, Jingjing aims to learn about the biological processes that can be studied using small molecule probes. When not totally crushing it in the chemistry hood, Jingjing enjoys the mild climate and inescapable natural beauty of La Jolla and the surround area.  

Jenny He
Graduate 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. Her current project is aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which supposedly convergent neuromodulators are able to independently suppress the same genetically-defined synapses without cross-talk. Jenny is also a voracious and extremely agile climber and a talented photographer. Most weekends lead her deep into Southern California's iconic deserts and mountains for epic bouldering and rock climbing adventures.

Shannan McClain
​Graduate 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.​​

Giulia Livrizzi
Staff Research Associate

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. Although Giulia currently has her hands in many projects, her primary efforts are devoted to uncovering the synaptic and circuit mechanisms by which striatal neuropeptides modulate goal-directed actions. 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. 

Boris Stepanyuk
Laboratory Assistant

Boris graduated from UCSD in 2017 with a B.S. in Molecular Biology just before joining the lab. While pursuing his degree, Boris worked in the lab of Amro Hamdoun at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Originally from Siberia, Boris does NOT complain about the weather in San Diego. In the Banghart lab, Boris manages the lab's core operations from genotyping to cloning to producing AAV. Additionally, Boris is currently working on the development of genetically-encoded optical sensors for neuropeptides. Boris is an avid reader and tech junky. 

Connor Weiss
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Conner is the first official member of the Banghart lab! Connor is a talented undergraduate student in his 4th year at UCSD as a Neuroscience and Physiology major. Connor wields an impressive arsenal of laboratory skills that he accumulated working previously with the Baldwin lab at TSRI and the Jonas Lab at Yale (while he was in high school). Connor's Senior Thesis project is to conduct an anatomical and molecular analysis of nociceptive circuitry in the brain. He also has a knack for the grill and the lab is very lucky to have him around for BBQ's on the patio after a long week in the lab.

Jose Mendoza
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Jose is a 4th year undergraduate student at UCSD majoring in Neuroscience and Physiology and minoring in French Literature and Organic Chemistry. Originally from Venezuela, Jose attended high school in the states before coming to UCSD. Before joining the group, Jose worked with C. elegans at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research next door and prior to that he worked in the Scanziani Lab right here on the 2nd floor of CNCB. Jose's Senior Thesis project is to determine how striatal neuropeptide signaling modulates the acquisition and execution of goal-directed actions. On the side he works closely with Boris on cloning projects. Outside of the lab Jose likes to play soccer and travel to foreign countries.  

Random lab-related photos

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.