Alumni

Dr. Wambura Fobbs grew up in Virginia, but has since lived in many states as she pursued her academic training. She obtained a BS from Yale University and a PhD from University of Washington before embarking on postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health, American University, and now Washington University. She has a long-standing interest in the neural and psychological basis of motivated behaviors, and she is eager to apply her background in behavioral analysis to ongoing projects in the Creed and Kravitz labs.

When not in lab, she runs after her dog, talks to her plants, works on fiber-related crafts, and learns more about new pedagogy practices and DEI initiatives. ​

Wambura is currently a tenure track assistant professor of neuroscience at Swarthmore College

Kelsey Person is joining the Creed Lab for the summer of 2021 through the Washington University ENDURE program (http://endure.wustl.edu/, @WUSTL_ENDURE).

Here, she will build on her existing experience studying ventral pallidal neuroanatomy to characterize functional anatomy of neurochemically-defined output pathways of the ventral pallidum (VP). She will apply viral-genetic tracing, electrophysiological and behavioral analysis to understand how discrete populations of neurons in the VP contribute to impulsive behaviors in models of substance use disorder.

Kelsey is currently a PhD student at the University of Minnesota Program in Neuroscience.

Robbie grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and earned his Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Notre Dame with experience in biomedical device design, machine learning, and embedded systems. He joined the Creed Lab in August of 2020 as a research technician. In the lab, he has been developing a novel device to perform wireless controlled deep brain stimulation in mice in order to investigate how this stimulation can be used for pain relief in animal models.

Outside of the lab, Robbie enjoys movies, piano, and local coffee shops. Robbie plans to attend medical school after his time in the Creed Lab.

Robbie is currently in medical school at Saint Louis University

Dr. Yvan Vachez is from Grenoble, France, where he graduated with a license in biology, and a master's degree in Neurosciences and Neurobiology. Yvan obtained his PhD from the Grenoble Institute for Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Sabrina Boulet and Dr. Sebastian Carnicella in 2018. In the Creed lab, Yvan studied self-administration of addictive drugs altered plasticity at synaptic outputs of the ventral pallidum to other basal ganglia nuclei.

When he’s not in the lab, Yvan loves watching movies and playing tennis.

Yvan is currently a junior group leader at the Université Grenoble.