Martha majored in Neuroscience and Behavior as an undergraduate at Mount Holyoke College. She earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota, where she studied in the Laboratory of Timothy Ebner. She completed her postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Esther Krook-Magnuson, and in 2023, she  joined the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota as a tenure track Assistant Professor. When she isn't daydreaming about cerebellar physiology, Martha enjoys baking sourdough, brewing beer, talking to her cats, and watching her wife perform with Ballet Co.Laboratory 

Eleftheria graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2023 with a major in Neuroscience and Behavior and a minor in Psychology, and she joined the Streng Lab in March 2024. Eleftheria is very excited to participate in in-vivo imaging experiments because these are techniques she hasn't worked on before. Outside of the lab Eleftheria enjoys cooking (mostly greek food), hanging out with friends and taking walks.

Alyssa graduated from Truman State University in 2020 with a B.S. in Biology. She Earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2024 from the University of Minnesota, where she studied respiratory dysfunction in mouse models of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) in the laboratories of Drs. Marija Cvetanovic and Harry Orr. Her thesis research was once described as "amazing" by Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Alyssa joined the Streng Lab in September of 2024 as a postdoctoral scientist and her research focuses on using optical techniques to characterize mechanisms of cerebellar dysfunction in mouse models of SCA1. In her free time Alyssa enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with friends and family. 

Christine is a 2nd year graduate student in the Neuroscience program. Mentored by both Dr. Streng and Dr. Harry Orr, her research interests surround serotonin modulation in the cerebellum and how stress physiology can impact Spinocerebellar Ataxia 1 and Epilepsy. Christine graduated from University of California, Davis in 2021 with a BS in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior with a minor in Asian American Studies. Prior to UMN, Christine was a postbac researcher with Dr. Jennifer Whistler at UC Davis. Christine's research focused on how chronic morphine exposure and subsequent abstinence can induce experience-dependent myelination in the striatum. Outside of grad school, Christine enjoys cooking and trying new restaurants, weightlifting, attending sports and music events, and indulging in all the lakes Minnesota has to offer. 

Ben Kottke graduated from Luther College in 2020 with a BA in Biology and Spanish. Ben joined the Streng lab at its creation in November of 2023 and worked as a technician until joining the Graduate Program in Neuroscience in Fall 2024. As a technician, along with helping to manage the lab, Ben ran immunohistochemistry projects, developed DeepLab Cut trainers for behavioral assays, and performed in vivo calcium imaging in mouse models of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Previous to the Streng lab, Ben worked in the labs of Dr. Krook-Magnuson and Dr. Ebner learning various techniques to analyze behavior and neural circuitry in mouse models of Essential Tremor, Epilepsy and Traumatic Brain Injury.  He returned to the lab in March 2025 to complete his third rotation.

Valeria is a senior at Macalester College pursuing a major in Neuroscience with a pre-med track and a minor in Women's, Gender and Sexuality studies and just came back from studying away in Amsterdam. Her research interests include neurodegenerative diseases, such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and is now excited to learn more about the cerebellum as there is still so much to discover about this brain area. She has previously worked in an immunology lab at Macalester with Dr. Elena Tonc who specializes in characterizing chronic pain through immunohistochemistry and cell cultures. In her free time Valeria enjoys reading, listening to music, thrifting and listening to true crime podcasts with her cat.  

Lucas Zecker is a research technician in the Ebner lab, but can be found around our lab from time to time, usually making lists of computer parts and putting said computers together because he finds it quote, "fun."