From Undergraduates to Postdocs, Rutgers Trains the Next Generation of Neuroscience Leaders

Rutgers Brain Health Institute supports students through federally funded training grants, scholar programs, and collaborative research opportunities

Students at Rutgers, from undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows, are conducting research that advances neuroscience and brain health, spanning data-driven addiction science, behavioral neuroscience and molecular genetics. Across career stages, their work is supported through a layered training structure that fosters development at every stage of academic and professional growth.

The Rutgers Brain Health Institute(BHI) and its centers provide an integrated training ecosystem that includes competitive training grants, mentored research placements and interdisciplinary collaboration. These opportunities equip trainees with the scientific, technical and professional skills needed to pursue careers in research, medicine and related fields.

The stories of four BHI-supported trainees, at the undergraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral levels, illustrate how this structured approach is shaping the next generation of neuroscience leaders at Rutgers.

Ishita Sharma, Junior, Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences

Early exposure to research has shaped the academic path of Ishita Sharma, a junior in the Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences, double-majoring in psychology and cell biology and neuroscience. She is interested in exploring how genetic factors and social determinants intersect to influence addiction and treatment outcomes.

Sharma is a recipient of a $5,000 undergraduate fellowship through the R25 Training in Research Undergraduate Experience at the Rutgers Addiction Research Center (TRUE RARC) Scholar Program. The program led by BHI core member and Director of RARC, Professor Danielle Dick, and Jesse Liss, teaching faculty in Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark, is funded by NIH and supplemented with additional funds from the BHI. The program engages undergraduates in addiction research and data science through integrated coursework, mentored lab experiences and professional development opportunities.

Through the program, Sharma was matched with Sarah Brislin's lab, where she investigates how environmental and biological factors shape substance use disorder trajectories.

The program's structured curriculum provided Sharma with foundational training in coding, statistical analysis, and addiction biology, equipping her to work with large-scale datasets. "I especially appreciated the structured lab assignments and exercises, as they allow even someone with no prior coding experience to confidently visualize descriptive statistics and perform inferential analyses," she said. Beyond technical skills, it also strengthened her understanding of research statistics and addiction science frameworks in a highly collaborative setting where "both peers and lecturers are incredibly approachable, reaffirming my pursuit of becoming a psychiatrist."

Shayna O'Connor, PhD Candidate

For Shayna O'Connor, a PhD candidate in the Morgan James' lab, support from a competitive T32 training grant, a federally funded program that provides structured research training for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, has been central to her development as an independent neuroscientist. The Rutgers Training in Addiction Research Program (TARP) T32 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse is led by Professor Chris Pierce, Assistant Director for Education and Training in BHI.

O'Connor investigates how the orexin system regulates attention and motivation and how cocaine disrupts these processes, using animal models to explore individual vulnerability to addiction. "The T32 grant has facilitated my growth as an independent researcher by providing the support necessary to carry out my dissertation work," she said. "It has also expanded my exposure to diverse areas of neuroscience and addiction research while strengthening my scientific communication and inquiry skills."

Beyond funding her research, the program provides opportunities for conference presentations, collaboration across Rutgers and professional skill-building. O'Connor highlights resources such as BHI seminars and symposia, TARP and professional development workshops as invaluable in preparing her for the next stage of her career.

O'Connor plans to pursue a career in applied research, using behavioral science and data analytics to improve decision-making and optimize performance in real-world contexts.

Akhil Sharma, Postdoctoral Associate

Akhil Sharma joined Chris Pierce's labas a postdoctoral associate in 2024, focusing on the molecular and neural circuits that drive psychostimulant addiction. He builds on prior gene therapy work for methamphetamine use disorder and now examines how stress and hormones influence cocaine use following fear conditioning.

Sharma earned a highly competitive postdoctoral position funded by the Rutgers Brain Health Institute to supplement the TARP T32 training grant. By integrating NIH-supported sequencing data with human genome-wide association studies, he applies gene editing and single-nucleus RNA sequencing in rat models to better understand how genetic variation influences addictive behaviors.

"I have thrived in the dynamic and ambitious community at the Rutgers Addiction Research Centerand the Brain Health Institute," Sharma said. "Being part of this environment has supercharged my scientific vision and empowered me to tackle complex problems in addiction research."

Sharma is preparing multiple first-author publications and applying for competitive research funding as he continues to investigate potential therapeutic targets for addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Susana Delgado Ocana, Postdoctoral Associate

Susana Delgado Ocana, a postdoctoral associate in Santiago Cuesta's lab, investigates how the gut microbiome influences addiction and substance use disorders, bridging neuroscience and microbiology to explore gut-brain communication and potential treatments.

Support from the NIH Director's New Innovator Award (DP2) and BHI-supported TARP has been central to advancing this research. "The award has been critical in enabling us to pursue innovative approaches," she said, "it provides the flexibility and resources necessary to develop advanced in vivo models, implement microbiome manipulation strategies and conduct multi-omics analyses. The funding allows us to address high-risk, high-reward questions in addiction biology."

At Rutgers and the BHI, she thrives in a collaborative, interdisciplinary setting and trains through the TARP, an NIH T32-funded training program supplemented with funding from BHI, engaging with leading experts and seminars.

In the long term, Delgado Ocana aims to establish an independent research laboratory in molecular and cellular neuroscience, continuing to investigate the mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

Explore more of the ways Rutgers research is shaping the future.