Dr. Rincón-Cortés is an Assistant Professor in the Neuroscience Department at UTD. She is originally from Puerto Rico, where she was first exposed to neuroscience through a physiological psychology course that she took during her junior year at the UPR-RUM because it sounded fun. She became fascinated by the brain and moved to New York City to pursue a PhD in neuroscience (2015) under the mentorship of Dr. Regina Sullivan at NYU and completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Anthony Grace at the University of Pittsburgh. Her lab aims to characterize normative and adversity-induced adaptations in reward-related behaviors and dopamine function throughout development. Outside the lab, she enjoys cooking, reading at breweries, dancing, bouldering/rock climbing, tending to her many plants, spending time with her cat Fausto, and going on hikes/road trips.
Graduate Students
Abi is a a third year PhD student in the Systems/Cellular Neuroscience track at UTD. Prior to joining the lab, she completed a Master’s Degree in Experimental Psychology at Angelo State. Abi is interested in studying risk factors that predispose humans (and rodents) to autistic-relevant behaviors. Outside of the lab, Abi enjoys painting, cooking, going to HOTWORX, and learning about different languages and cultures. She is currently learning Korean.
Skylar is a third year PhD student in the Systems/Cellular Neuroscience track at UTD. She graduated from St. Edward’s University in 2020 with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience. Skylar is interested in postpartum depression and how early life stress can modulate reward-related behaviors. Other than being in the lab, Skylar enjoys kickboxing, hiking, and spending time with her two cats Milo and Mango!
Research Technicians
Melissa is a Research Technician who joined the lab in September 2023. Melissa previously worked as a Research Associate at UT Austin in the Epigenetic, Development and Neuroscience lab for 3 years before joining our lab. She graduated from UT Austin in 2020 with a B.S. in Psychology. Her goal is to continue doing research with a focus on early life stress and to learn as much as possible. Melissa is currently enrolled in a Master’s degree program but is interested in pursuing PhD studies in Neuroscience. She loves hiking, indoor bouldering, working on puzzles and reading scary stories.
Christine joined the lab in June 2022. She recently graduated with a Neuroscience major and a Sociology minor on the Research and Academia track (2024). After graduation, Christine became a laboratory technician/research assistant in the MADRE lab. She plans to do research here at UTD and eventually earn a PhD out of state. She loves plants, music (playing/writing/listening to/dancing to), journaling, organizing and filming montages.
Jeffy is a Neuroscience major who joined the lab as an undergraduate in Fall 2023. She has had previous experience working on mental and behavioral health awareness for early childhood and families. After completing her degree, Jeffy joined the MADRE lab as a research assistant. Jeffy plans to apply to PhD programs in Neuroscience in the future. To keep busy outside of lab, Jeffy loves binge-watching shows, painting with watercolors and finding new restaurants.
Undergraduates
Erin joined the lab in September 2022 and is currently enrolled in the Neuroscience program. She comes to UTD with a breadth of experience that ranges from pediatric behavioral healthcare to professional martial artist, to helping grow a startup to over a $1.5B valuation. Although diverse, what each of these roles had in common was service to the neurodivergent community, especially for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
As the sister of an autistic brain donor, Erin continues to be inspired by her sister’s gift to the scientific community and aims to further contribute to this gift by pursuing a career in behavioral neuroscience herself. Joking that it’s the “family business”, Erin leverages her extensive training, supervision and business administration experience in a new industry that she connects with on a deeply personal level.
Riya is a neuroscience and public health major who joined the lab in Spring 2024 and plans to graduate in 2027. She would like to pursue a joint MD/MPH degree after undergraduate to work in the intersection of public health and medicine. In her free time, Riya enjoys watching random movies, listening to new music, and working out.
Alumni
- Sasha Oak, Undergraduate Student, (2022-2024)
- Paolaenid Rodney-Hernández, Undergraduate Student, (2022-2024)
- Seher Hasan, Undergraduate Student, (2023)
- Anna Awa, Undergraduate Student, (2023)
- Zoey Fowler, Undergraduate Student, (2022)