People

Dr. Monica A. Daley (she/her)
Professor, Dunlop School of Biological Sciences

Professor (joint appointment)
Biomedical Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering

Professor (joint appointment)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering

Director,  Center for Integrative Movement Sciences
Equity Advisor,  School of Biological Sciences
Monitoring Editor, Journal of Experimental Biology

madaley@uci.edu

Dr. Caitlin Bemis (she/her)
Postdoctoral Scholar

Caitlin is interested in understanding how and when skeletal muscle modulates work during dynamic movement. Her current work focuses on designing novel experimental techniques that investigate mechanistic control systematically at several scales of muscle contraction.

Dr. Luke N. Jessup (he/him)
Postdoctoral Scholar

Luke earned his PhD from the University of Queensland, Australia, where he used experimental and computational approaches to help link muscle-, joint- and whole-body- level mechanics to energy expenditure during human locomotion. In his postdoctoral work, he will use similar tools to investigate how mechanics at these different organizational levels integrate to enable stability and maneuverability during unsteady locomotor tasks in humans.

Brooke A. Christensen (she/her)
PhD Candidate, University of California, Irvine

Brooke is interested in how animals navigate complex terrain. By integrating studies of muscle-tendon function with limb and whole-body dynamics, she hopes to better understand the balance between stability and energy regulation during high-speed bipedal locomotion.

Katrina Moore
PhD Candidate, University of California, Irvine

Katrina completed her Master’s degree in Behavioral Ecology at California State University, Long Beach in 2021 where she studied the role of anatomical defenses in behavioral adaptation in North American mammals. Her doctoral research will focus on analyzing how behavior can influence the biomechanics of mammalian locomotion. Katrina is interested in applying her research to aid in animal conservation and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. She is also passionate about teaching and hopes to use the classroom to foster a new generation of confident, diverse, and inspired scientists.

Junhyuck Woo (he/him)
PhD Student, University of California, Irvine

Junhyuck is interested in bio-inpsired robotics and bipedal locomotion. He believes that nature holds the key to understanding movement. His research will focus on foot biomechancis to gain insights into locomotion. He completed his Master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Southern California in 2022, where he studied robotic locomotion.

Chloe Dang (she/her)
Lab Manager

I enjoy baking and working out in my free time. A fun fact about me is that I’m a licensed florist!

Cesar Jacques Ibarra
Post-baccalaureate fellow
UC PRIME Pre-Health Pathways (UC3P) program

I am studying the relationship between countermovement, elastic energy cycling and jump performance in guinea fowl as an bipedal animal model. I enjoy rock climbing, outdoor adventures, eating/cooking, and spending time with family in my free time. I am excited to be apart of the UCI Neuromechanics lab and look forward to learning and applying the knowledge in my future endeavors. 

Primrose Thavornthon (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I’m a 4th year Biological Sciences Major with hopes of getting into vet school. I enjoy drawing, listening to rock music, and volunteering at the animal shelter with the cats!

Brinda Garikapati (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I’m a second-year biological sciences major. In my free time I like to play billiards and badminton. In the lab I’m currently working on a project looking at how foxes and bobcats interact in different landscapes and at different times. I’ve also studied how bobcat gait changes across various environments.

Nishita Vaddella (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a Biological Sciences major pursuing a career in medicine. I enjoy reading, cooking, and traveling. I am interested in individual variation in dynamic balance performance.

Kodi Ferrell (he/they)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a 4th year Biological Sciences Major. Interested in the application of individual movement ability towards various tasks (and video games).

Annie Lin (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I’m an Ecology Evolutionary Bio major interested in animal behavior and locomotion. I love hiking, camping, birdwatching, and I’m looking forward to learning a lot with the Neuromechanics lab!

Megan Buries (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a 3rd year Human Biology major pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. I am interested in how animal locomotion can be related to human locomotion. In my free time, I volunteer at several different animal shelters. Otherwise, I enjoy reading, playing piano and violin, and going for long walks.

Yza Hilbero (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a fourth-year Bio major currently pursuing veterinary school! Outside of class, I work as a veterinary assistant at a local pet hospital, and volunteer at a marine mammal rehabilitation center. In my free time, I like to bake, play games, and go to escape rooms with my friends!

Cecilia Huang (she/her/they)
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in rehabilitation strategies for enhancing motor control related to neuromechanics. I am a pharmaceutical science major and my hobbies include drawing, archery, and reading.

Leslie Sanchez
Dr. M. Marlene Godoy Research Fellow in Movement Sciences

I am interested in the physiology and locomotion of bipedal animals. I’m currently involved in studying the interaction between substrate damping and muscle-tendon dynamics in guinea fowl through novel terrain perturbation experiments.

Dr. M. Janneke Schwaner
Postdoctoral scientist
mjschwan@uci.edu

Janneke’s research focuses on the biomechanics of extreme and unsteady organismal behaviors with the aim to identify physical mechanisms used to overcome mechanical constraints in natural environments. With the use of engineering tools, she hopes to reveal underlying rules and limits to performance, and ways organisms circumvent these limits, with the ultimate aim to better understand system components, control, and internal energy flows of elastic systems.

Kamila Karimjee
Completed her PhD with Professor Daley and Professor Piercy at the Royal Veterinary College, London, UK

Kamila’s thesis focused on using wearable sensor technology to develop novel quantitative approaches for monitoring of activity, gait, and behavior in dogs for health and welfare assessment.

Vittorio La Barbera
PhD Student, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK

Vittorio is investigating the relationship between morphology and locomotor behavior by synthesizing locomotor dynamics of anatomically realistic musculoskeletal models of exemplar bipedal and quadrupedal species (dog, ostrich, human, horse).  Vittorio is collaborating with John Hutchinson and Yuval Tassa at Google DeepMind to use deep reinforcement learning techniques to synthesize full-body dynamic locomotor behaviors. The simulated behaviors will be compared to experimentally measured dynamics of complex locomotor tasks.

Dr. Jade Hall: Completed her PhD with Daley at RVC on behavior and personality expression in guinea fowl, in collaboration with Dr Siobhan Abeyesinghe.  Dr Hall is now working as a Science Policy Officer at Royal Society of Biology. She is working in science communication and policy to improve diversity and inclusion in STEM.

I am a 5th year BME student interested in human and animal locomotion, biomechanics, and musculoskeletal modeling research. I enjoy going to the gym and the beach during my down time and I am always open to exploring new cities or hiking spots 🙂

Rubi Tapia (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

Joey Huynh (he/him)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a 4th year Exercise Science major. I am interested in animal biomechanics in understanding energy returns and optimal ways to increase efficiency in movement. I hope to take my talents into the sports medicine field to minimize injury while maximizing performance. I enjoy exercising, sports, and hobbies that involve nature.

Charles Huang (he/him)
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in physiology, biomechanics, and neuroscience. Currently, I am involved in a project that investigates the correlation between locomotor performance and behavior in kangaroo rats. My hobbies include tennis, basketball, and thrifting. 

Caitlin Zamora (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

I am a 3rd year undergrduate student majoring in Exercise Science, pursuing a career in Sports Medicine. I’m interested in the physiological characteristics that drive in vivo locomotion, alongside the major contributions to physical performance. I love all activities outdoors!

Lukas Amare
Undergraduate researcher

I run for UCI Cross Country and Track and Field Team here at UCI. I love to be in the outdoors and explore!

Sean Gabriel Furie Clement Gonzales (he/him)
Dr. M. Marlene Godoy Research Fellow in Movement Sciences

Hi, my name is Sean (he/him) and I am a fifth-year Exercise Science major.  I aim to do what I can to promote a deeper understanding and appreciation for movement and exercise, be it in research, healthcare, or coaching! I also dabble in video games (Pokémon Go, League of Legends), the grappling arts (BJJ, wrestling), and horror story podcasts (listening only).

Anahita Sadrossadat
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Fellow

 I am interested in kangaroo rats’ bipedal locomotion specifically investigating how behavioral traits influence locomotor responses to novelty.

Laura German
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in dog biomechanics and monitoring the different gaits and behaviors. I am interested in understanding how analysis of behaviors can lead to the discovery of behavioral changes associated with specific diseases, such as seizures and muscle weakness.

Nicholas Vargas
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in investigating movement and behavior in dogs using video and IMU sensors. I aim to become a physical therapist and I think studying how other species move and interact can give me a different perspective and approach to understanding human movements. 

Oceanus Zhang
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Fellow

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Bioinformatics. I love animals, especially birds, cats, dogs, and snakes. I’m interested in the physiology and biomechanics of animals, hoping to apply what I investigate through data analysis to better help and protect animals in the future. I am currently doing video analysis on wild kangaroo rats with Katrina Moore, investigating animal behavioral syndromes. In my free time, I love scuba diving and skiing.

Vivian Chong
Undergraduate researcher

I am interested in the anatomy of birds and how a bird’s biomechanics relates to their health and overall function. I am an undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences and I learn through interaction and hands-on experience.

Hayden Villandre
Undergraduate researcher

Hayden is interested in the biomechanics of maintaining balance and stability during bipedal agility tasks. She is interested in the coordination of movement to avoid injury, as well as strategies of rehabilitation, especially for the application of these principles to dancers and athletes.

Maggie Brown (she/her)
Undergraduate researcher

Maggie is interested in human biomechanics specifically focusing on hopping tasks and movement coordination. She is processing and analyzing data on the adjustment of muscle stiffness to maintain hopping frequency as load is increased.

Sarah Zakhary
Undergraduate researcher

Sarah is interested in human movement biomechanics, focusing on the coordination of landing in hopping and jumping tasks. Sarah I enjoys cooking, biking, and reading in her free time.

Blair Thompson: Project Coordinator. Blair coordinated our Integrative Movement Sciences Summer Research Institute in 2021 and is now in Medical School at UCSD.

Moira Williams: Undergraduate researcher. Neuromuscular control of leg stiffness in human hopping. Moira is currently working as an EMT.

Catalina Dentzel Helmy: Undergraduate researcher. Bird biomechanics on varied substrate conditions and the biomechanics of head-bobbing in birds. Catalina is currently working as a Research Specialist at UCI.

Zhiji Hu: Undergraduate researcher. Bird biomechanics on varied substrate conditions and the biomechanics of head-bobbing in birds. Zhiji is currently a PhD student at Harvard University.