The Team – Scheff Lab

Dr. Nicole N. Scheff, PhD

Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology
University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine

Dr. Scheff received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Neuroscience in 2014. She did a postdoctoral fellowship in oral cancer pain under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Schmidt at New York University College of Dentistry. After receiving a K99/R00 transition to independence career development award from NIH NIDCR, Dr. Scheff started her independent research career in 2020 in the Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Her laboratory is housed in the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

Pub Med Publications

Lab Manager

Megan Atherton

Megan earned her BA studying philosophy and history of science at St. John’s College (Annapolis, MD), followed by a BS in Biology at UNCA (Asheville, NC). Current interests include animal behavior and biostatistics. Outside of the lab, Megan enjoys gardening, hiking, and spending time with her young sons.

Research Assistant Professor

Lisa McIlvried

Lisa completed her BS in Neuroscience and Psychology at Allegheny College, her PhD in Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh, and postdoctoral work at Washington University in St. Louis specializing in pain research. She is currently research faculty in the Dept of Neurobiology . Outside of work she enjoys hiking, playing volleyball, and time with family.

Research Technician

Nicole Horan

Nicole has a double bachelors degree in neuroscience and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry. She has aspirations to attend graduate school for neuroscience in 2023. Outside of the lab Nicole enjoys playing trombone in the University of Pittsburgh marching band.

Graduate Student

Andre Martel Martos

Andre has a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with a minor in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a 1^st-year graduate student in the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh. Outside of the lab, Andre enjoys sports (huge soccer fan), hiking, and watching horror movies.

Lab Extern

Mona Yuan

Mona is a junior majoring in neurobiology and minoring in biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She has been a part of the lab since January 2022. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running for CMU, listening to podcasts, and spending time with family and friends.

Lab Extern

Rachel Krane

Rachel is a junior majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in chemistry on the pre-med track. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing volleyball, cooking and baking, kayaking, and spending time with friends and family.

Lab Extern

Jared Rothberg

Jared is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in neuroscience with a minor in chemistry. He is interested in the relationship between the dopaminergic system and cancer. In his free time he volunteers as a firefighter and spends time with family and friends.