People

The Team

Sam A. Golden, PHD

Assistant Professor
Ronald S. Howell Distinguished Faculty Fellow
Department of Biological Structure, Primary
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Adjunct

Sam received his BS in Neuroscience from Bates College (Lewiston, ME) in 2006, PhD in Neuroscience from the Icahn School of Medicine (New York City, NY) in 2015 under Dr. Scott J. Russo, and completed in Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Baltimore, MD) in 2018 under Dr. Yavin Shaham. Sam joined the University of Washington Department of Biological Structure in 2019, with a co-appointment as a participating faculty in the The UW Center of Excellence in Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE).

Sam's scientific interests encompass understanding the psychological and neural mechanisms guiding reward processing. He is particularly interested in understanding how neuropsychiatric disorders- such as maladaptive aggression, depression and substance abuse - subvert basic reward circuitry to manifest pathological behavior. Currently, he aims to better define the intersection of aggression and motivation, and identify the cellular and circuit mechanisms that control the transition from adaptive aggression to maladaptive aggression seeking behavior.

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Staff and Postdoctoral Fellows

Eric Szelenyi, PhD

Acting Assistant Professor (2024-present)
Postdoctoral Fellow (2019-2023)

Eric received his BA in psychology/biochemistry from Shippensburg University (Shippensburg, PA) in 2006 and conducted integrative physiology research for the Department of Defense (USARIEM, Natick, MA) from 2006-2010. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook, NY) in 2017, where he completed his thesis work under Dr. Pavel Osten at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Prior to joining the Golden lab at UW, Eric worked as a Scientist at Allen Institute for Brain Science (Seattle, WA) in the Molecular Genetics department, where he supported transgenic and viral technology projects from 2017-2019. Eric’s general scientific interest includes deciphering brain-wide cellular ensembles and their dynamics that underlie behavior in health and disease. In the lab, he plans to develop and combine whole-brain imaging techniques with genetic, viral, and behavioral assays in order to identify and dissect the motivational circuitry underlying aggression and social behavior.

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Kevin Schneider, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-present)

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carlee toddes, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-present)
Co-mentored with Dr. Mitra Heshmati

I am a postdoctoral research fellow specializing in the study of neural dynamics underlying pain-modulated social behavior. I obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, where I conducted research in the Rothwell Lab investigating opioidergic mechanisms that underlie social affiliative behaviors. Beyond my laboratory work, I am deeply committed to promoting positive change in the scientific community through active involvement in science policy and advocacy.

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Lukas Macmillen, BS

Research Technologist/Lab Manager (2024-present)

Hallie Lazaro, BS

Research Technologist (2024-present)
Co-mentored with the Heshmati Lab

Graduate Trainees

Nastacia Goodwin, BS

Graduate Student (2019-2024)

Nastacia received her BA in psychology from Smith College (Northampton, MA) in 2014. She spent four years as a lab manager after graduation, first working with Dr. Annaliese Beery at Smith and then Dr. Devanand Manoli at UCSF studying the neurobiological underpinnings of peer versus mate sociality in voles. She is excited to use her experience with behavioral work and molecular biology to study the neural ensembles driving appetitive versus reactive aggression.

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Jovana Navarrete

Graduate Student (2021-present)

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Post-baccalaureate Trainees

Erica Sanchez, BS

Post-baccalaureate Student (2024-present)
UW SOAR Program

I received my associate degree from Elgin Community College before transferring to Seattle Pacific University where I obtained my BS in Psychology with a concentration in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. At SPU, I worked under Dr. Baker with rodent models to investigate the neural circuitry of decision-making, behavior, and pain sensitivity. I am also interested in research on the effects of depression and addiction on behavior.