The Team

Want to get involved?

We are recruiting undergraduate research assistants! Please reach out to lisa.hiura@colorado with a CV and a blurb on your interests.

Welcome! I am a behavioral neuroscientist broadly interested in the development and evolution of social behavior. I completed my undergraduate degree at Reed College, my graduate work at Cornell University, and my postdoctoral training at CU Boulder.

Beyond work in the lab, I am passionate about forging a path forward for historically excluded individuals in STEM fields. We must be united in our efforts to dismantle the systemic obstacles that bar marginalized groups from participating —and succeeding— in academia.

Assistant Professor

Principal Investigator

Lisa Hiura, PhD

She/her/hers

lisa.hiura@colorado.edu

Our Staff Members

Professional Research Assistant

Oisín Southerland

oiso8169@colorado.edu

They/them/theirs

I am a proud neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ individual who is fascinated with all organisms and how they function. As a graduate of Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Genetics, I hope to use genetics as a tool to better understand the inner workings of animal brains and systems in behavioral neuroscience. Outside of the lab, I keep pet snails, and a tortoiseshell cat named Tortellini. I also love being creative in drawing and playing D&D with my friends.

Graduate Students

Hi I'm Daisy, the new Graduate Student in the Hiura Lab. I'm from Danvers, Massachusetts and completed my B.S. in Neuroscience at the University of Vermont in 2022. I then worked as a Lab Technician at Boston University in Dr. Jerry Chen's lab for two years.
I am excited to begin my PhD career in the Hiura lab. I am interested in seeing how variations in sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone during puberty in prairie voles effect their abilities to form pair bonds later in life, and how these different hormones act in brain circuitry to produce differences in this behavior.
Outside of lab I enjoy playing tabletop roleplaying games with friends, casual video games, and when I have time and motivation, designing and sewing costumes.

PhD Student - Behavioral Neuroscience

Daisy Powers

daisy.powers@colrado.edu

Hi I'm Daisy, the new Graduate Student in the Hiura Lab. I'm from Danvers, Massachusetts and completed my B.S. in Neuroscience at the University of Vermont in 2022. I then worked as a Lab Technician at Boston University in Dr. Jerry Chen's lab for two years.
I am excited to begin my PhD career in the Hiura lab. I am interested in seeing how variations in sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone during puberty in prairie voles effect their abilities to form pair bonds later in life, and how these different hormones act in brain circuitry to produce differences in this behavior.
Outside of lab I enjoy playing tabletop roleplaying games with friends, casual video games, and when I have time and motivation, designing and sewing costumes.

Undergraduate Assistants

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Julia Tareco

Julia.Tareco@colorado.edu

I am an undergraduate Psychology major with a Women and Gender Studies minor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in the class of 2026. Hailing from New Jersey and working with animals my whole life, I am fascinated by social behaviors in animals and how they project onto human neuroanatomy and psychology. I hope to continue my education with a Master's degree and continue studying behavior and social constructs in an effort towards global equity and inclusion.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Haley McVay

Haley.Mcvay@colorado.edu

Hi! I'm Haley McVay and I'm an undergraduate student studying Neuroscience working as a research assistant for the lab! My research interests include social and behavioral neural development, and in the future, I hope to attend graduate school continuing to study the social brain. Outside of class and research, I enjoy cooking and going on hikes with my pup Nova!

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Ankit Mukkamala

Ankit.Mukkamala@colorado.edu

Born and raised in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, I am an incoming sophomore on the pre-medical track studying Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology with a minor in Computer Science. I am passionate about science and seek to eventually become a physician who integrates the best practices of research to provide my patients with the latest in evidence based medicine.
Outside school, I am an aquarium hobbyist who likes to keep fish tanks. On top of that, I am an avid horticulturist who likes to grow plants, both in and out of the aquarium.

Alumni

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Honors Thesis

Ciara Schaepe

2023 - 2024

Additional Support Staff

Enrichment Consultant

Benjamin

Available via Zoom

Resident Emotional Support Specialist

Pinot

Available via Zoom

Rodent Enthusiast

Henry

Available via Zoom