Leslie Sombers, Principal Investigator
Dr. Sombers heads our interdisciplinary lab researching the intersection of neuroscience and neurochemistry. After acquiring her Bachelor’s and Masters from the College of William and Mary, she completed her PhD at Pennsylvania State University with a post-doctoral position at University of North Carolina.
GRegory McCarty, PhD
Dr. McCarty received his B.S., M.S., and PhD from Penn. State University to complete the full trifecta of licences. He’s a professor at N.C. State while conducting research on neurochemical detection using FSCV.
Alexander gómez-a, Post doctoral researcher
Alexander is from Colombia, South America, and a proud member of the Latin-American community working in science in the USA. He got his Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Claudio Da Cunha at the Federal University of Parana, Brazil. After his time in Brazil, he joined the lab of Dr. Donita Robinson in the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the UNC Chapel Hill. In the Robinson lab, he investigated the effects of underage drinking on cognitive function. Currently, in the Sombers Lab, he is leading a project which integrates behavioral, pharmacological, genetic, and electrochemical approaches. It aims to investigate how the opioidergic system regulates dopamine dynamics in the mesolimbic pathway and how that regulation translates into assigning value to rewards, modeling behavior and cognitive function. His overall research interests regard the long-term effects of substance use during adolescence and early adulthood. In specific, how it influences cognitive processing and the emotional components of flexible decision-making. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time with his family, running, painting and eating delicious food!
Alex Forderhase (she/her), 5th year graduate student
Alex is from west Tennessee, where she graduated from Union University with a BS in chemistry. She joined the lab in Fall 2018, and her research includes fabricating enzyme-modified microelectrodes for detecting non-electroactive neurotransmitters. Outside of research, Alex enjoys reading, watching comedies, and going to concerts.
J. Dylan Denison (he/him), 5th year graduate student
Dylan comes from the frozen tundra of “Michigan,” an exotic land of many lakes & swamps. He’s working on electrode characterization, peptide detection, and cellular kinetics. He hoards books, draws cartoons, and runs.
Chathuri de Alwis (she/her), 4th year graduate student
Chathuri received her B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. She joined the Sombers Lab in Fall 2019 and is currently working on exploiting different carbon-fiber microelectrode geometries in order to achieve comprehensive capture of exocytosis events at single cells, while characterizing vesicular release of neurochemicals. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, watching movies, TV shows, traveling, nature-walking and swimming.
Jovica Todorov (he/him), 4th year graduate student
Jovica comes from the Republic of North Macedonia. He joined the Sombers lab in 2019. His main interests are physical and analytical electrochemistry and design of electrodes that can provide improved sensing for biomolecules. He is involved in several projects for advancing electroanalytical detection of opioid-neuropeptides. One project is focused on investigating the electrochemistry of tyrosine as part of peptides related to the enkephalins. The findings have big implication in understating the electrochemical signal of these peptides in vivo and improving the selectivity and sensitivity for their measurement. In another project he works with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry for real-time monitoring of catecholamines and neuropeptides in brain and adrenal gland slices from rats. He has also done work in theoretical modeling in COMSOL. In his free time, he loves watching YouTube.
Jenna Berger (she/her), 3rd year graduate student
Jenna is from northern Ohio, and she graduated from Ohio University with a BS in Forensic Chemistry in 2020. She joined the Sombers lab in Fall 2020, and her research focuses on characterizing how the signaling molecules hydrogen peroxide and methionine-enkephalin work in synchrony with dopamine to modulate striatal function. Outside of research, Jenna enjoys kayaking, reading, crafts, and cooking!
carolyn Farling (she/Her), 2nd year graduate student
Carolyn is working on fabricating novel electrodes for neurochemical sensing. She is from a city that sits right on Lake Erie– Rocky River, Ohio. She completed a B.S. in Neuroscience at the College of William & Mary and a M.Sc. in Applied Science at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She enjoys painting, baking and petting her cats.
Kalynn Turner (she/her), 1st year graduate student
Kalynn is from a small town in rural North Carolina called Marion. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from NC State University in 2022. In the lab, Kalynn is working on several projects that include characterizing the modulation of dopamine by other neurochemicals as well as simultaneously detecting serotonin and glucose in vivo. Outside of the lab, Kalynn likes hiking, reading and playing with her cats!
Emilie Norwood (she/her), Undergraduate Researcher
Emilie is a Senior at NC State majoring in Biomedical Engineering. Emilie’s research focuses on improving and characterizing the fabrication of enzyme-modified electrodes, as well as measuring glucose and lactate fluctuations in the brain. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time with friends and weightlifting.
Laney Kimble (she/her), Undergraduate researcher
Laney Kimble is a junior at North Carolina State University where she is pursuing a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Statistics. Since starting her research in the Sombers lab, she has been working to characterize enzyme-modified electrodes which simultaneously detect glutamate and dopamine to study changes in transmission of these neurotransmitters across the rat estrous cycle. Laney aspires to attend a research-based doctoral program following completion of her undergraduate studies. Outside of academics and research, she enjoys cycling on the local greenways and listening to true-crime podcasts.