Principal Investigator
Tony Umpierre, Ph.D
I grew up in Western Maryland and had an early interest in history and the social sciences. I attended a liberal arts college in Salt Lake City, UT (now Westminster University) and explored a number of majors before settling on Neuroscience. I really loved the mountains of Utah and was excited to stay in the Mountain West to do my Ph.D. at the University of Utah.
My graduate work focused on the role of astrocytes in post-injury epilepsy development. Under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Wilcox, I first explored mouse models of epilepsy and then began dissertation work investigating astrocyte glutamate receptors and how they regulate astrocyte glutamate transport.
My postdoctoral research focused on microglial calcium responses in post-injury epilepsy development with an emphasis on neuroinflammatory signaling.
When I’m not in the lab, I’m exploring one of the 70+ state parks in Minnesota.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Cecelia Barajas, Ph.D.
PhD in Pharmacology
Cece grew up in the Twin Cities and attended UMN as an undergraduate, majoring in Biology, Society & Environment. Her graduate research investigated novel therapies for chronic pain and the role of microglia in pain circuits. Cece will join the lab as a postdoctoral fellow in early 2026, focusing on novel imaging techniques to track neuronal survival in deep brain regions.
Graduate Researchers
Rachael Schmidt, B.S.
Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)
Rachael grew up in California, and graduated from Brown University in 2021 with a B.S. in Biology. She then did post-baccalaureate research at UCSF before entering the MD/PhD program at UMN. Rachael will officially join the lab for GS1 in the summer of 2026!
Post-Baccalaureate Researchers
Emma Allen, B.A.
Researcher 1
Emma grew up in South Dakota and graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN in 2022 with a B.A. in biology. In the lab, she works on multi-photon imaging of purine release. Emma is interested in injury recovery and plans on attending graduate school. In her free time, she enjoys knitting and watching reality TV.
Chris Lohmeier, B.A.
Researcher 1
Chris grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul in 2025. In the lab, they develop pipelines to explore EEG and complex imaging data. Chris is particularly interested in computational neuroscience and plans to continue pursuing this research interest in graduate school. Outside of research, they enjoy cooking, biking, and running tabletop roleplaying games.
Undergraduate Researchers
Annisa Nguyen
Neuroscience Major
Annisa grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, and is a neuroscience major at UMN, with a minor in computer science. In the lab, she works on immunohistochemistry, fluorescence microscopy, and building 3D printing models. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, bouldering, and trying out new restaurants.
Lab Alumni
Emmanuel Ikebude (2024-2025)
The Umpierre Lab 