Principal Investigator

Dr. Vonder Haar is primarily interested in the long-term functional consequences of brain injury and other diseases and improving animal models of disease. He received his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Subsequently, he took a postdoctoral position at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at OSU and affiliated with the CBI and IBMR.

Co-Investigator

Dr. Martens' interests are varied, but her ultimate goal is to help individuals recover function following injury, particularly in the case of TBI. She obtained her doctorate from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and went on to complete two postdocs. Her first was at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience in Lethbridge, AB, studying the effects of medial prefrontal lesions and her second was at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, helping to characterize the CHIMERA model of brain injury and serving as a behavioral expert for the School of Medicine. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in Neuroscience at OSU.

Co-Investigator

Dr. Smith's research is focused on learning-based interventions to reduce impulsive choice by studying the neurocircuitry underlying self-control in rats and translational approaches to apply interventions in humans.  He received his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and obtained postdoctoral training in comparative cognition at Georgia State University and behavioral neuroscience at Kansas State University. Dr. Smith recently took an Assistant Professor position at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He is remotely managing his remaining research program at OSU.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Chu is a post-doctoral researcher who joined the lab since 2024. His current project aims to investigate the links between neuroinflammation and behavioral changes following brain injury, with a particular focus on the role of microglial activation and circuitry remodelling that underlies a loss of impulse control. He received his Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) degree in 2019 and subsequently a Ph.D. in neuroscience and immunology from Monash University in 2024. Outside the lab benches you can find him in the kitchen baking a batch of cookies.

Master's in Applied Neuroscience

Emily is a graduate student in the Masters in Applied Neuroscience program. She graduated from OSU with a major in Neuroscience and minors in Computer Science and Spanish. She is researching plasticity in frontal-striatal circuits related to impulsivity. In her free time, you can find her at the gym or playing with her 2 dogs.

Lab Technician & Postbac

Max is a postbac with plans to pursue a PhD in behavioral neuroscience. He received a B.S. in Neuroscience from the Ohio State University in May of 2024. He is primarily interested in the neural circuitry of decision making and motivation. In his spare time, he likes to play piano, exercise, and read.

Lab Technician & Postbac

Alexandra continued in a postbac after completing her Master’s degree with the lab. She graduated with her B.S. in Neuroscience from The Ohio State University in 2024. Her interests are in the contributions of the gut microbiome to post TBI risky decision making and impulsivity. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and other artistic endeavors.

Lab Technician & Postbac

Fikir is a postbac planning on applying to MD/Ph.D. programs. She graduated with a B.S. in Neuroscience from Ohio State University in 2025. In her free time she enjoys reading, doing puzzles, and spending time with friends and family.

Undergrad RA (2023-Cur)
CBI SURF

Mia is from Toronto, Canada and is majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience with a Pharmaceutical Sciences minor. Outside of the lab, she loves to read, paint and play the piano, along with spending time with her friends, family and dog.

Undergrad RA (2023-Cur)
STEP Program

Sathvik is an undergraduate majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology. He is primarily interested in TBI studies, data analysis, and neuroinflammation. In his free time, you can catch him playing tennis, singing, or spending time with friends and family.

Undergrad RA (2025-Cur)

Victoria is an undergraduate student with a background in Psychology and is currently studying Behavioral Neuroscience at Ohio State University. Outside of the lab, she loves reading, cooking, and exploring parks. 

Undergrad RA (2025-Cur)