Rick is a biomedical engineering PhD student who joined the Schaffer-Nishimura Lab in the fall of 2019. He is originally from Long Island, NY, and received his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from SUNY University at Buffalo. During his time there he worked with Dr. Anirban Dutta on preliminary studies that will be used for analyzing gait patterns of patients with Parkinson's Disease using VICON imaging. In the summer of 2018, Rick participated in a NeuroNex REU program at Cornell where he worked under Dr. Joseph Fetcho to develop an understanding of the functional organization of neurons in the zebrafish hindbrain. This exposed him to bioimaging of animal models in neuroscience, and the possibility of applying such models to understand neurological disease. Rick is currently working on developing an understanding of the neuronal activity changes that occur after increased cerebral blood flow in AD mice. In his free time Rick enjoys playing the guitar and thrill-seeking, through such means as skiing, rock climbing, etc.
