Principal Investigator

Andrew Hardaway
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology – Primary
Department of Neurobiology – Secondary
Nutrition Obesity Research Center – Member
B.A. – Hendrix College
Ph.D. – Vanderbilt University
Postdoctoral Training – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
andrewhardaway@uabmc.edu

---

Research Staff

Sonja Virkus
Staff Scientist
Ph.D. – Mississippi State University
B.S. – George Mason University
svirkus@uabmc.edu

---

Graduate Students

Miguel Duran
B.S. – Troy University
mduran@uab.edu
Neuroscience Theme

Zoe Fokakis
B.S. – Mississippi State University
znf4@uab.edu
Neuroscience Theme

Patric Perez
B.S. – Johns Hopkins University
pjperez@uab.edu
Neuroscience Theme

Nilay Dalvi
B.S. – The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
M.S. – The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
ndalvi@uab.edu
Master’s Program in IMP Multidisciplinary Biomedical Sciences

---

Postbaccalaureate Fellows

Jennifer Willis
B.S. – University of West Florida
willisjr@uab.edu

---

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Muhammed Shalan
Class of 2026
mashalan@uab.edu

Angel Varghese
Class of 2026
arvarghe@uab.edu