Lugo Lab

Parinaz is a Ph.D. student in Neuroscience at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam working towards a MSC degree in Electrical engineering with emphasis on signal processing. She has worked with brain imaging modalities (EEG, dMRI, MRI, and fMRI) since 2012, her expertise is in applying quantitative techniques to break down structural and functional brain imaging data and study functional and structural networks/connectivity. Her Ph.D. research is focused on bimanual coordination in older adults and finding the relationship between their poor motor performance, and functional and structural connectivity of the brain in the motor regions. Parinaz joined the Lugo Lab in May 2022 to work on infant MRIs, and would like to continue her research in different brain functional and structural disorders and neurodegeneration diseases.

Jaimie Lee holds a BA in both Psychology and Human Health from Emory University. Prior to joining the Lugo Lab, she was a research aide at the Center for Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development (MSACD), where she was involved in the data collection and entry for the Adult Health Study, which examined the long-term effects of maternal substance use on fetus’ neurobehavioral and health outcomes. Jaimie’s research interests lie in how the prenatal environment impacts one’s mental and physical health and how these effects can last throughout the lifespan and across generations. She seeks to bring attention to ethnic and racial minorities, who are often underrepresented in research and science. In addition to her research work, Jaimie volunteers as a Crisis Counselor at Crisis Text Line to bring people in distress to a calmer state and offer emotional support through coping skills and resources. She strives to become a clinical psychologist involved in both research and clinical work.

Farah Mahmud, Ph.D., is a T32 postdoctoral research fellow working under the mentorship of Dr. Claudia Lugo-Candelas. She received a B.A. in neuroscience from Wellesley College, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Montclair State University in 2024, and she completed her predoctoral clinical internship at Boston Children's Hospital. Her dissertation research focused on symptoms and mechanisms of anxiety specific to childhood autism. Currently, she is interested in investigating protective environmental factors in childhood that support positive mental health and development in neurodivergent youth. Overall, Farah is passionate about using culturally and neurodiversity affirming frameworks in her research and clinical work to help improve long-term outcomes of youth and families from historically marginalized backgrounds.

Pearl Ayiku is a second-year Master’s Student from Teachers College, Columbia University studying Clinical Psychology. She holds a B.S. in Psychology with minors in Counselor Education and Music from the University of South Carolina. She is particularly interested in examining the importance of community spaces and the environmental determinants of perinatal health in marginalized communities. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, cooking, thrifting, and crafting.

Emily Phillips is a research volunteer at the Lugo Lab. She is currently a junior at Columbia University studying Neuroscience and Behavior. Prior to joining the Lugo Lab, she interned at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine investigating the use of monocyte-derived dendritic cells as a therapeutic for achieving the long-term suppression of HIV-1. Emily is also a teaching assistant in the Columbia University Department of Psychology and serves on the executive board of the American Medical Student Association and Students for Global Health Equity & Medicine. Her primary research interests include rural medicine accessibility, maternal and fetal health, and neuroimmunology, and she hopes to one day obtain an MD/MPH.