Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor

Nickname: Will Last Name Pronunciation: jar-Dee-no Pronouns: he/him/his

Will is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Principal Investigator of the Giardino Laboratory, and faculty member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, Bio-X, and Maternal Child and Health Research Institute at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He earned a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Washington, a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Oregon Health & Science University, and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford.

Will serves as an academic and research mentor for numerous undergraduate, graduate level, and postdoctoral trainees, and is active in teaching neuroscience coursework at Stanford. Outside of the lab, he enjoys skiing, hiking, and playing the drums.

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Postdoctoral fellow

Nickname: Yi First name pronunciation: Yee-her Pronouns: she/her/hers

Yihe received her Ph.D. degree in Physiology in 2020 from University of Wisconsin-Madison, under the supervision of Dr. Meyer Jackson. Her thesis work focused on interrogating hippocampal microcircuits with a hybrid genetically-encoded voltage indicator. In 2021, Yihe joined the Giardino lab as a postdoctoral scholar under the co-mentorship of Dr. William Giardino and Dr. Julie Kauer. At the Giardino lab, Yihe aims to leverage imaging techniques and slice electrophysiology to investigate the underlying mechanism of addiction and sleep disorders in the BNST neuropeptide circuits.

Postdoctoral fellow

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Brittany earned her B.S. in Biology from Savannah State University in 2015, her M.S. in Biomedical Research in 2017, and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences and M.S. in Clinical Research dual degree in 2023, all from Morehouse School of Medicine. Her dissertation investigated the mechanisms in which sleep regulation alter behavioral responses to social stress and the role of biological sex in this interaction under the direction of Dr. Christopher Ehlen.

Brittany joined the Giardino Lab in July 2023 and aims to study sex differences in the neurocircuitry of the amygdala and BNST involved in interactions between sleep regulation, addiction, and stress response. Additionally, she aims to investigate the interaction of addiction, mental illness, and sleep disruption in human models. When she’s not in the lab, Brittany enjoys sleeping, dancing, painting, skating, nature hikes, and serving her community.

Postdoctoral fellow

Ivy earned a B.S. degree in Physiology/Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 2017. Following her undergraduate and postbaccalaureate research experiences at Scripps Research, she pursued her graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles where she earned her Ph.D. in Psychology in 2024 under the guidance of Dr. Melissa Sharpe. Her dissertation focused on characterizing the role of a lateral hypothalamic-midbrain neural circuit for reward learning and the impacts of methamphetamine experience on this circuit and its cognitive function.

In September 2024, Ivy joined the Giardino Lab as a postdoctoral scholar. During her postdoctoral training, Ivy aims to study the functional heterogeneity of neuronal subpopulations in BNST circuitry for reward motivated behaviors that contribute to drug addiction by combining her background in associative learning with the lab’s extensive toolkit in neurogenetics, modulation, and monitoring techniques. When not in the lab, Ivy can be found doodling, snacking on potato chips, dramatically reacting to reality TV, or jamming out to 2000s top hits.

Lab manager & research assistant

First name pronunciation: haa-nee-yah Pronouns: she/her/hers

Haniyyah graduated with her B.Sc. in Neural Science from New York University in 2020. She joined the Giardino lab as a lab manager and research assistant in March 2021. She hopes to learn more about the neural underpinnings of sleep/wake cycles and stress. Outside of the lab, Haniyyah enjoys going on hikes and exploring the Bay area. 

Neurosciences PhD student

Allison graduated with her B.Sc. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester in 2019. As an undergraduate student, she worked at the UR Medical Center, as well as spent two summers working at UCSF. Following her graduation, she spent a year working at the DZNE site in Munich, Germany as a 2019-2020 Fulbright Study/Research Scholar. Allison joined the Stanford Neurosciences IDP in September 2020 and joined the Giardino Lab in June 2022. At Stanford, Allison has served as a Student Admissions Representative for the Neurosciences IDP and participates in the Science Pen Pals program. Within the lab, Allison is interested in how early life stress and adversity contributes to substance use and sleep disorders in adulthood, with a particular focus on the impact to BNST neuropeptide circuitry. Outside of the lab, Allison loves exploring parks and nature preserves throughout northern California, turning puzzles into art, and making her own coffee blends.

Rotating Neurosciences PhD student

Faith earned her B.S. in Neurobiology from University of California, San Diego in 2022. As an undergraduate, she worked at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies with Dr. Kay Tye studying how social exclusion modifies the behavioral response and insular cortex representation of physical pain. Continuing as a research technician, she went on to investigate how shared trauma alters medial prefrontal cortex dynamics and social affiliation behavior.

Faith joined the Stanford Neurosciences IDP in September 2024 and joined the Giardino Lab as a rotation student. For her thesis work, Faith aims to study how environmental factors, like social determinants of health, modulate behavior and neural circuitry. Outside of the lab, Faith enjoys sharing good food with friends, going to concerts, window shopping vintage and makers markets, and relaxing with her Muji Aroma Diffuser.

Life Science Research Professional

Pronouns: he/him

Ethan earned his B.S. in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2023. As an undergraduate and later as a research technician, he worked with the Ikuko Smith Laboratory using two-photon in-vivo microscopy to explore the functional interactions among inhibitory and excitatory neurons underlying sensory modulation in the mouse visual cortex.

He joined the Giardino Lab in October 2023 and is excited to investigate the neural pathways related to addiction, stress, and sleep/wakefulness regulation within the BNST. When not researching, he enjoys hiking, reading in coffee shops, and perambulating bookstores.

Undergraduate researcher

Max Benabou is a senior at Stanford University from the East Bay studying biomedical computation with a neuroscience emphasis and Spanish. Since joining the Giardino Lab in January of 2022, he has been able to work on exciting projects which investigate the neurocircuitry of reward, stress, and addiction – the most notable being the evaluation of novel GRAB biosensors in the BNST when he was a Bio-X Fellow during the summer of 2023. His research interests focus on the role of neuropeptides in inducing feelings and behaviors of reward/stress. 

At Stanford, Max is President of the Stanford Undergraduate Neuroscience Society. In his free time, he enjoys long-distance running, playing trumpet with the LSJUMB, and cooking in his co-op Hammarskjöld.

Undergraduate researcher

Angeline Yu is an undergraduate at Stanford University from Sammamish, Washington interested in human biology, neuroscience, and health equity and policy. She finds her calling at the intersection of science and service, and is particularly interested in understanding the fundamental behavioral mechanisms that spark human connection and exploring neural pathways that lead to reward and addiction. Outside of the Giardino Lab, Angeline is involved in Stanford’s Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, Stanford in Government, the Haas Center for Public Service, and rides Western for the Stanford Equestrian Team.

Undergraduate researcher

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Irene is an undergraduate at Stanford University studying Data Science and Psychology. Her interests in research include investigating the neural mechanisms underlying learned behaviors and the effects of early life exposure to neglect and stress on developmental processes such as stress management and emotion regulation.

Outside of research, Irene enjoys spending her free time discovering new coffee shops, writing, and volunteering.

Undergraduate researcher

Nickname: Liv Pronouns: she/her/hers

Liv is an undergraduate at Stanford University from Battle Ground, Washington studying neurobiology. Her main research interests focus on the impact of Early Life Stress on substance use and behavior. Outside of the Giardino Lab, Liv works with the First-Gen/Low-Income Student Success Center and as an EMT. She hopes to go on to medical school after completing her bachelor's degree. In her free time, Liv enjoys reading, listening to music, and photography.