Venton Lab Current Members

Current Group Members

Research Associates: Sylvia Cechova

Graduate Researchers: Jim Houlihan / Megan Huffman / Chris Jacobs / Trisha Vickrey

Undergraduate Researchers: Stephanie Cooper / Angela Elsobky / Neil Hershey / Jay Park / Ben Romer

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

Jim Houlihan
Second-Year Graduate Researcher
jmh4ap at virginia.edu

Jim is a second year chemistry graduate student from Pittsburgh, PA. He received a BS in chemistry with minors in mathematics and psychology from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. His current project involves developing detection methods for GABA, a well known inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, using fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). In his free time he likes to play guitar or exercise.

Megan Huffman
Second-Year Graduate Researcher
mlh4v at virginia.edu

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

Chris Jacobs
First-Year Graduate Researcher
cbj53 at virginia.edu

Trisha Vickrey
First-Year Graduate Researcher
tlv7c at virginia.edu

Stephanie Cooper

Fourth-Year Undergraduate Researcher

sec3g at virginia.edu

Stephanie is from Burke, VA and is majoring in biochemistry. In lab, she is studying neurotransmitters, specifically serotonin and dopamine, and their corresponding transporters in fruit fly nerve cords. In her spare time she works at The Virginian, volunteers at the hospital, and plays softball. After graduating she plans on attending medical school.

Neil Hershey

Fourth-Year Undergraduate Researcher

ndh4m at virginia.edu

Neil Hershey is a fourth year chemistry major from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Currently, he is practicing making electrodes. After graduation, Neil hopes to pursue a research career in academia or industry. In his free time, Neil enjoys playing sports and spending time with his friends and family.

Angela Elsobky

Third-Year Undergraduate Researcher

ame5n at virginia.edu

Angela is a third 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

Third-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

Second-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.