Opp Laboratory
Team Members

Mizan Aregai, BS

Research Scientist Assistant,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

mizana@u.washington.edu

Biographical Statement: Mizan performs programing and management for the Sleep Research Center. She ensures that our office conforms to institutional and department policies and regulations, to guarantee our program's success. Mizan has specialized knowledge in fiscal and grants management procedures.
Mizan enjoys hiking, biking, running, international films festivals and airplanes.

Paulien Barf, PhD

Research Scientist,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

rpbarf@uw.edu

Research Interests: Paulien was born in The Netherlands, where she studied Biology at the University of Groningen. Her PhD project focused on the metabolic consequences of sleep restriction. Paulien intends to continue the topic of metabolic consequences of sleep loss, with a focus on central hypothalamic mechanisms and mitochondrial changes.

Personal Interests: Outside of the laboratory, Paulien enjoys traveling, hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing. Whenever the weather does not allow this, she also enjoys reading books or watching movies.

Heidi Febinger, BS

Research Scientist Assitant,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

hyfeb13@uw.edu

Research Interests: Heidi graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Washington in Seattle, with a focus on biocultural anthropology and archaeology. Her senior thesis explored the effects of short and long naps and brief periods of wakeful rest on cortisol levels to see if they paralleled typical changes in cortisol induced by a good-night's sleep. Heidi has expertise in hormone assays using EIA techniques, and experience in molecular biology. She has previously worked at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the UW Biological Anthropology and Biodemography Laboratory, and the UW Thermoluminescence Laboratory.

Personal Interests: Heidi enjoys reading, video gaming, rock-climbing, history, art, and movies.

Carmelina Gemma, PhD

Research Associate Professor,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

Research Interests: Dr. Gemma received her first PhD in Neuroimmunology from the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, Italy. Her dissertation was a study on the interaction between the central nervous system and the peripheral immune system with special emphasis on the hypothalamic serotonergic system and peripheral inflammatory molecules. She received a second PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Milan in Italy where she studied the role of inflammation on sleep-wake cycle activity. Her postdoctoral research activities were focused initially on examining the alteration in the sleep-wake cycle during the course of HIV infection and later on the neurobiology of aging. Since then, she has been dedicated to the study of inflammation in the aging brain and has a scientific background superbly tailored to approach such topic. Dr. Gemma recently relocated from Tampa, Florida to join the University of Washington.

Personal Interests: Dr. Gemma enjoys traveling, fashion and great food!

Amrita George, BS

Research Scientist/Engineer II,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine;
Manager, Opp Laboratory

amgeorge@uw.edu

Research Interests: Amrita is the laboratory manager for the Opp Lab. She plans, investigates and develops approaches for experiments. Amrita assists in the preparation of reports, papers, presentations, new proposals, etc. She has expertise in histology, microscopy and data processing.

Maria Pavlova, PhD

Research Scientist/Engineer IV,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

mpavlova@u.washington.edu

Research Interests: Maria is a native of Russia and has M.S. in Genetics and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Moscow State University. Her research interests include applying tools of mouse genetics and transgenesis to the study of fundamental biological processes. Main areas of expertise are molecular biology, neuroscience, and various aspects of small animal research.

Personal Interests: Outdoors and world cultures. She enjoys hiking, travel, cooking, international cinema, and reading.

Richard M. Raymond, PhD

Acting Instructor,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

raymonr@uw.edu

Research Interests: Rick's research focuses on the inter-relationship between inflammatory processes and neurobehavioral responses. Specifically, he is interested in elucidating the mechanisms by which inflammation and inflammatory mediators lead to alterations in the neural pathways underlying sleep, and the role of these pathways in pathologies characterized by disrupted sleep and neuroinflammation.

Kristyn Ringgold, PhD

Research Scientist/Engineer II,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

kringgo@uw.edu

Research Interests: Kristyn hails from California, where she attended the University of California at Davis and graduated with degrees in Biological Psychology (BS) and Physiology (PhD), studying vestibular modulation of circadian rhythms in the lab of Dr. Charles Fuller. After marriage to an Everett high school teacher, Kristyn found herself moving to Seattle and employed by the Opp Lab as a Research Scientist. In this role, Kristyn provides technical support for the lab, both in common bench techniques and in the operation of full experimental protocols.

Blair Sutton, MS

Neuroscience Graduate Student,
University of Michigan

bcsutton@uw.edu

Research Interests: Blair is a native Michigander who spends her time outside of the laboratory being active and enjoying all the Pacific Northwest has to offer Blair's research focuses on mechanisms of interactions by which pain disrupts sleep and sleep disruption exacerbates pain. She uses a mouse model of musculoskeletal sensitization to emulate muscle symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Mechanisms of interest include actions of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the brain.

Ashley Talsma, MS

Neuroscience Graduate Student,
University of Michigan

ashleymt@uw.edu

Research Interests: Ashley's research aims to determine the relative roles of neurons and gdda (astrocytes) in mediating behavioral responses to immune challenge, which are collectively referred to as sickness behavior. She has engineered novel transgenic mice that express IL-1 R1 or TNF p55 receptors selectively in brain and specifically in neurons or astrocytes.