Systems Neuroscience and Behavior Lab

Principal Investigator:

Benjamin J. Clark, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor of Psychology 

Graduate Students:

Gabriela Acosta, M.S. (Psychology)
Alcohol Research Training in Neurosciences Program (T32 NIAAA) 2024-Present
National Hispanic Science Network Conference Travel Awardee 2023
Project: Thalamic Function in Spatial Memory and after Developmental Alcohol Exposure

Kehiry Trejo Rico, B.S. (Psychology)
Project: Developmental Alcohol Exposure and Entorhinal Cortical Function in Spatial Memory

PREP Scholars:

Alexandra Albritton Hernandez, B.S. Honors (Psychology)
Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program Scholar (PREP) 2026-Present
Project: Developmental Alcohol Exposure and Thalamo-Parietal Role in Spatial Behavior

Bio: My name is Alex Albritton Hernandez, and I am a scholar in the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at UNM. During undergraduate studies I wrote an Honors thesis on paternal alcohol exposure in a transgenerational model and its effects on FASD. I am now working to be accepted into a PhD program where I hope to study the effects of alcohol on neurodevelopment in animal models. In my free time I love to try out new coffee shops and catch up on reading!

Bethany Brundage, B.S. (Psychology)
Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program Scholar (PREP) 2025-Present
Project: Developmental Alcohol Exposure and Cortical GABA Expression

Bio: I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with minors in Criminology and Forensic Science from the University of New Mexico, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.04 GPA. Currently, I’m finishing my Post-Baccalaureate Research and Education Program (PREP) Scholar in the Neuroscience Department under Dr. Benjamin Clark, I study the effects of alcohol on brain development. I’m grateful to be a part of the team.

Research Assistants:

Lilliana Sanchez, Ph.D. (Psychology)
Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship (F31 NIAAA) 2022-2025
Alcohol Research Training in Neurosciences Program (T32 NIAAA) 2020-2022
Neuroscience Scholars Program 2017-2019
Project: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Hippocampal Dynamics during Learning and Memory

Lab Alumni:

Over 50 students have participate in our research program. This includes students enrolled in graduate studies (MS and PhD programs) and the Psychology Honors program, including a recipient of the Rachael Dowler Outstanding Honors Thesis Award. Graduate students have participated in the Alcohol Research Training in Neurosciences Program (T32 NIAAA). We have also had undergraduate students participate in Psych 499 courses, the McNair Scholar program, El Puente Research Fellow program, PREP Scholar program, New Mexico AMP, IMSD Student program, and UNM ASSURE program. Some of our alumni have gone onto medical writing, professional programs (medical, pharmacy, etc.), post-doctoral, and graduate studies. Below is a partial list of our alumni and where they are now. 

Serena Smith, Undergrad ASSURE Fellow (Current: NSF graduate fellow at U of Alabama, Birmingham)

Chloe Ruddle, RA (Current: Undergraduate at U of St. Andrews)

Tia Donaldson, PhD with Distinction (Current: Medical Writer)

Ariyana LaCour, RA (Current: Pharmacy Student at UNM)

Seth David, Psych 499 (Current: Graduate Student at Northwestern U)

Margaret Austin, Honor’s student (Current: Technician at UNM)

Enhui Wang, Psych 499 (Current: Grad Student at Florida State)

Rhudovic Ramos, Psych 499 (Current: Medical Student at UNM)

Judit Huerta, McNair Scholar (Current: Grad Student at Arizona State)

Tram Le, Psych 499 (Current: Quality Associate at Boulder IQ and Boulder Sterilization)

Gabriela Acosta, Psych 499 (Current: Grad student and T32 ARTN trainee at UNM)

Kimberly Kundert-Obando, McNair Scholar (Current: Post-doc at UGA)

Zachary Villasenor, Psych 499 (Current: Technician at UNM)

Laura Berkowitz, PhD (Current: Post-doc at Cornell)

Ryan Harvey, PhD with Distinction and T32 ARTN trainee (Current: Post-doc at Cornell)

Monica Goncalves-Garcia, Psych 499 (Current: Post-doc at UNM)

Danielle Cushing, Psych 499 (Current: Post-doc at Georgia Institute of Tech)

Jack Madden, Psych 499 (Current: Grad student at UNM)

Shannon Thompson, PREP Scholar (Current: Technician at U Pitt Medical Center)

Elizabeth Sneddon-Yepez, Psych 499 (Current: Post-doc at UCSD)

Lilliana Sanchez, Psych 499 (Current: Grad student at UNM)