Venton Lab Current Members

Current Group Members

Research Associates: Sylvia Cechova / Huaifang Fang / Yida Xu

Graduate Researchers: Xenia Borue / Megan Huffman / Chris Green / Chris Jacobs/ Trisha Vickrey / Jennifer Peairs

Undergraduate Researchers: Angela Elsobky / Jay Park / Ben Romer / Asim Shabbir

Sylvia Cechova
Research Associate
sc9d at virginia.edu

Sylvia received a PhD. degree in Chemistry at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia in 1991. From August 1996 to September 2005, she participated in neuro-anesthesiology research in Anesthesiology Department of University of Virginia. In the Venton research group, she studies real-time measurement of adenosine concentrations in the rat brain using fast scan cyclic voltammetry at carbon-fiber microelectrodes. She loves her two children Kristinka and Jurko and like to spend free time gardening, swimming, skating and traveling.

Sylvia's CV

Huaifang Fang
Postdoctoral researcher
hf3p at virginia.edu
Huaifang received a PhD. Degree in Chemistry at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China in 2007. In December 2007, he joined the Venton research group. His research topic is in vivo monitoring of neurotransmitters by microdialysis sampling with on-line derivatization followed by capillary electrophoresis—laser induced fluorescence detection. He likes skiing and playing chess at his leisure.

Yida Xu
Postdoctoral researcher
yx4y at virginia.edu

Xenia Borue
M.D./Ph.D. Student in Neuroscience Program
xb2n at virginia.edu

Xenia is a 6th year MSTP student. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2003 with a B.S. in Biology. Her undergraduate research included work with Dr. Drew Noden on avian craniofacial
myogenesis, and with Dr. Diane Krause on hematopoietic stem cell plasticity. Her thesis project involves the development of a novel combination of methods to measure serotonin signaling in the larval Drosophila and the utilization of this technique to probe the basic mechanisms of serotonergic signaling. After graduation, Xenia plans to pursue a residency program in behavioral pediatrics or child psychology.

Megan Huffman
Third-Year Graduate Student in Chemistry
mlh4v at virginia.edu

Megan received a BS in chemistry with minors in biology and music from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. Her first project was finding out how conductivity and carbon precursor affects the performance of a carbon fiber as an electrode. She now measures adenosine release in brain slices. In her free time she likes to read or fence.

Chris Green
Second-Year Graduate Student in Chemistry
cwg5n at virginia.edu

Chris is from West Tennessee and got his B.S. in chemistry at Vanderbilt. As an undergrad he did research for Dr. David Cliffel in bioanalytical chemistry working on detecting virii using a Quartz-crystal microbalance. In the Venton lab he works on a home-built capillary electrophoresis instrument used to detect neurochemicals both in vitro and in vivo. Outside of lab Chris is an avid rock climber, trail runner, and tries to get in at least 3 half-marathons a year.

Chris Jacobs
Second-Year Graduate Student in Chemistry
cbj53 at virginia.edu

Chris received his B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry in 2004 from Binghamton University, Binghamton NY. From 2004 to 2006 Chris studied magnetic characteristics of vanadium oxide nanotubes at Binghamton University before beginning research with Dr. Venton. His current project is the development of electrode materials and coatings incorporating carbon nanotubes. In his spare time Chris can often be found hiking, exercising his dog, or brewing beer.

Trisha Vickrey
Second-Year Graduate Student in Chemistry
tlv7c at virginia.edu

Trisha received a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from The University of Mississippi in 2005. Before joining the Venton lab, she taught high school chemistry and physical science in Arkansas. Her current project is measuring dopamine release and reputake in Drosophila ventral nerve cords. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her friends and enjoys practicing yoga, going hiking and cave exploring.

Jennifer Peairs
First-Year Graduate Student in Chemistry
mjp7n at virginia.edu

Jennifer obtained her B.S. in Chemistry and Biology and M.S. in Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. During her graduate studies at UCI, she worked with Dr. Sergey Nizkorodov to combine a cavity ring down and a quartz crystal microbalance in order to quantify the amount of compounds that had a photochemical reaction. Outside of the lab, Jennifer enjoys running and swimming. Each year she participates in 3-4 half marathons, atleast one full marathon, and one sprint length triathlon. Currently, she is taking a hiatus from her extreme sport training to prepare for the birth of her first child.

Angela Elsobky

Fourth-Year Undergraduate Researcher

ame5n at virginia.edu

Angela is a fourth year neuroscience major from Toronto, Canada. In the lab, she is looking at the relationship between dopamine and adenosine release in rat brains and how their release is affected by different drugs. In her free time, Angela loves to spend time with her family and friends, play tennis, and travel.

Jay Park

Fourth-Year Undergraduate Researcher

hgp5h at virginia.edu

Jay is from Centreville, VA and is majoring in biochemistry. In lab, he is studying electrochemical detection of tyrosine and tryptophan, and he plan on broadening the detection to hormones and peptides that have tyrosine and tryptophan. In his free time, he volunteers at the Madison House and enjoys playing basketball.

Ben Romer

Third-Year Undergraduate Researcher

bgr2t at virginia.edu

Ben is a second year biochemistry major from Dayton, Ohio. In the laboratory, he is practicing electrochemical etching on electrodes. Someday, Ben hopes to go to medical school. Ben enjoys a nice, cool breeze on warm, summer days and a warm fire with hot cocoa on cold, winter days. He also loves the Cincinnati Reds.

Asim Shabbir

Third-Year Undergraduate Researcher

aas2f at virginia.edu

Asim Shabbir is a third year biochemistry major from Ashburn, Virginia though he was originally born in Karachi, Pakistan. In the lab, Asim is working on nanotube-coating cylindrical microelectrodes. Asim wants to go to medical school someday. Asim is a diehard Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fan and loves snow.