People

Principal Investigator

B.A. Washington University 1995-1999

Ph.D. Harvard University 2000-2005

Postdoc UCSF 2006-2011

Dion was born in Hawaii (in the same hospital as Barack Obama) on Valentine’s Day (a true romantic) and has lived in Hawaii, Santa Barbara, Washington State, Nebraska, St. Louis, Boston, and San Francisco, before finally planting roots in Southern California. Besides research and teaching, he enjoys pursuing his other passions which include reading spy thrillers and following politics as well as his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers and Boston Red Sox (and USC Trojans of course!).

Graduate Student

B.A. in Neuroscience & B.A in Psychology, Boston University, 2018

Jiawen was born and raised in Guangzhou, a beautiful city in Southern China. Despite being an only child, her childhood was not lonely— she was accompanied by the world’s cutest dog, Harry. To this day, dogs are still such an integral part of her life. Her love for dogs and other animals led her to work in an animal-based neuroscience lab at Boston University during her undergrad. After spending three years working there, she has developed a passion for learning about the nervous system. She then moved to LA and joined Dr. Dickman’s lab to continue her study. She is also a big Kpop fan!

Graduate Student

B.S. from Tsinghua University

Made in China, Kaikai received his bachelor’s degree at Tsinghua University, Beijing. His interest in understanding why he has thoughts drives him to chose neuroscience as his major. During his undergraduate, he studied molecular mechanisms of learning and memory at Dr. Yi Zhong’s lab for two years. Then he extended his interest to novel neuroimaging tools by working at Dr. Yulong Li’s lab at Peking University, and there he developed a genetically encoded sensor that can visualize how marijuana works on nervous system. At Dr. Dickman’s lab, he is excited to exploit powerful fly genetics to decipher the brain codes from synaptic level.

Graduate Student

B.S. in Biological Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, 2019

Chengjie was born in Nanjing, a beautiful city in East China. During his undergrad time in Southern University of Science and Technology, he got interested in neuroscience and worked with Dr. Xuejun Song to study peripheral and spinal mechanisms of neuropathic pain in rodents. Meanwhile, he joined Dr. Ming Guo’s lab as a summer student in UCLA, where he was impressed by the power of fruit fly as a model in studying neurodegenerative diseases. Here at USC, he wants to explore how synapses develop and maintain robust functions under stress at the molecular level. He joined Dickman lab in 2020 and started working on the postsynaptic induction mechanisms of homeostatic plasticity. Outside of the lab, he enjoys traveling and watching anime and reality TV shows.

Graduate Student

B.S. in Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, 2017

Rebecca was born and raised in Menlo Park, California and later attended UCLA where she studied neuroscience and philosophy. While at UCLA, Rebecca studied the neuronal circuits that encode short-term memories in larval zebrafish under Dr. David Glanzman. After graduating, she moved to New York City where she worked as an equity research analyst for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector, with a focus on companies developing drugs for nervous system disorders. Rebecca wanted to get back into the lab, so she next began working as a technician with Dr. Brandon Pearson at Columbia University, where she researched environmental influences, such as pesticides or temperature extremes, on neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders in mice and African turquoise killifish. Now, in Dr. Dickman’s lab, she is interested in the elegant orchestration of active zone components to enable precise yet flexible neurotransmission. In her free time, Rebecca enjoys cooking, running with her dog, and going to local concerts

Graduate Student

Elizabeth Loxterkamp was raised in Maine and in 2018 received two Bachelors degrees from Wellesley College, one in neuroscience with a concentration in molecular biology and the second in French. While at Wellesley, she worked in the lab of Dr. Deborah Bauer studying the effect of mutations in glutamate transporters on mechanosensory and chemosensory behavior in C. elegans. In Dr. Dickman’s lab she continues her research on glutamatergic synapses in drosophila, where she studies Neto, the obligatory auxiliary subunit of glutamate receptors at the drosophila neuromuscular junction. Outside of lab, she enjoys archery and exploring indie film and theater in LA.

Graduate Student

B.S., Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, 2022

Joshua was born and raised in Long Beach, CA and earned his baccalaureate degree at UC Irvine. At Irvine, Joshua conducted research in the Minority Science Programs (MSP) as an NIH MARC Fellow. He worked in the developmental neurobiology laboratory of Dr. Susana Cohen-Cory studying axon guidance and synaptogenesis in Xenopus. Now as a PhD student in the Dickman Lab, Joshua is interested in identifying molecular mechanisms governing homeostatic synaptic plasticity in Drosophila. When not working in the lab, Joshua enjoys eating Mexican sidewalk food in Downtown LA, shopping in DTLA’s fashion district “Los Callejones”, and supporting his favorite LA teams (go Galaxy & Lakers!).

Lab Manager

Lab Manager

Undergraduate

B.A. in Biological Sciences (Biotechnology)
Minor in Spanish

Darren was born in Queens, New York, and is from Cherry Hill New Jersey. He started as a PCR Technician at the Dickman Fly Lab to gain research experience, but later found a growing interest in molecular biology. He is currently involved in USC’s Flying Samaritans, Alpha Epsilon Delta, Mobile Clinic at USC, Project Lux, and JEP.

Undergraduate

B.S. University of Southern California 2021-2025
M.A. University of Southern California 2024-2025

Allison was born in Los Angeles, California where she has lived her whole life. To satisfy her cravings for exploration, each year she visits a new national park with her family, roadtripping through Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Zion, Acadia, and many more. Besides research and being a student at USC, Allison can be found learning a piece on the piano, discovering new cafes, and making artwork at ceramics studios.

Undergraduate

B.S in Biopharmaceutical Sciences
Minor in Cinematic Arts

Shirley was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She started as a PCR Technician, but later transitioned to doing electrophysiology to learn more about the protein, Neto. Other than research, she is involved with American Red Cross, WRISE, Nexus, KDSAP, and tutors LAUSD students in math and reading. In her free time, Shirley enjoys thrifting, going to coffee shops, crafting, and filming!

Undergraduate

B.S. in Neuroscience
Minor in Gerontology

Amber was born in Xian, China, and went to USC in LA to start college. She works as a research assistant with Jigwen, doing genetics, electrophysiology, and Ca2+ imaging. Amber found a strong interest in the brain in general and medical science. She also loves cats and has two cats at home!