Current Members
Principal Investigator
Julia C Lemos, Ph.d.
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
B.A., Biological Basis of Behavior (BBB), University of Pennsylvania, 2004
Ph.D. Neurobiology & Behavior, University of Washington, 2012
Post-doctoral Fellow, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism, 2017
Fun Fact: Julia lived in Mexico City for 3 years as a little girl.
Research Staff
Alyssa Romportl
(She/hers)
Research Tech
rompo014@umn.edu
B.A. in Mathematics and Psychology with minor(s) in Mathematical Biology and Neuroscience, St. Olaf College
Fun Fact: Alyssa plays Taiko which is Japanese drumming; she has a 17 year old cat named Turtle; One of her favorite hobbies is building mini lego sets
Kasey Bertelsen
(he/him)
MINDS Program Post-Baccalaureate/Researcher 1
berte023@umn.edu
B.S. in Psychology, Bemidji State University
Fun Fact: Kasey makes miniature foods out of polymer clay
Graduate Student(s)
Elizabeth Souter
(she/hers)
Entering Class - 2019, Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota
soute082@umn.edu
B.A. in Cellular Neuroscience and English Literature, Colgate University, 2016
Fun Fact: Lizzie’s favourite lab memory is the Prince prayer candle saving the cryostat*
*Update (11/21/2022): Prince has now been replaced by Lizzo
Undergraduate Research Assistant(s)
Eera Kale
(she/hers)
B.S. in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Spring 2024
kale0092@umn.edu
Fun Fact: Eera speaks 5 languages and has moved 12 times in her life
Jack Ross
(he/him/his)
B.S. in Neuroscience with minor(s) in Health Psychology and Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Spring 2026
ross0781@umn.edu
Fun Fact: Jack’s favorite candy (slightly controversially) is candy corn