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

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Research Staff

Anusha Polamarasetty
Researcher Associate
B.S. – Aditya Degree College, India
M.S. – GITAM University, India
M.S. – University of Alabama at Birmingham
apolamar@uab.edu

Sai Pochana
Researcher Technician
M.S. – University of Alabama at Birmingham
B.S. – Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India
spochana@uab.edu

Muhammed Shalan
Researcher Technician
B.S. – University of Alabama at Birmingham
mashalan@uab.edu

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Graduate Students

Miguel Duran
B.S. – Troy University
mduran@uab.edu
PhD student
Neuroscience Theme
NIDDK F31 Awardee

Zoe Fokakis
B.S. – Mississippi State University
znf4@uab.edu
PhD student
Neuroscience Theme
NIMH T32 Scholar

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

Melissa Rodriguez
B.S. – University of Alabama at Birmingham
meli02@uab.edu
PhD student
Pathobiology, Pharmacology, and Physiology Theme

Patience Otiya
B. Pharmacy – Kenyatta University, Kenya
Master’s Program in Multidisciplinary Biomedical Sciences
otiyap@uab.edu
Master’s Student Assistant

Ayesha Saeed
Pharm. D – Ziauddin University, Pakistan
MS in Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
saeeda@uab.edu
Master’s Student Assistant

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Undergraduate Research Assistants

Angel Varghese
Class of 2026
arvarghe@uab.edu

Ewan Jada
Class of 2026
ejada@uab.edu

Molly Kvam
Class of 2028
mmkvam@uab.edu

Sakthi Senthil
Class of 2029
ssenthi6@uab.edu