R. Dayne Mayfield

Dr. Mayfield is a Research Professor in Neuroscience and a member of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol & Addiction Research (WCAAR) at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). He is a member of the Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism – Neuroimmue (INIA-N) where his research focusses on using single cell, spatial, and multi-omic transcriptome technologies to precisely define cell-specific molecular mechanisms that significantly reshape the neuroimmune transcriptome. Dr. Mayfield received his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Texas at Austin followed by Postdoctoral training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (currently the University of Colorado School of Medicine – Anschutz Medical Campus). In 2000 he moved back to UT-Austin as a founding member of the WCAAR where his research has focused on the identification of molecular mechanisms altered by drug and alcohol abuse in both human and rodent brain. This work has utilized state-of-the-art RNA sequencing and proteomic approaches to discover new therapeutic drug targets and potential biomarkers of drug abuse.

Nihal Salem

Nihal is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Dayne Mayfield’s laboratory. She obtained her B.Sc. in pharmaceutical sciences from Ain Shams University, Egypt, her master’s degree in Biotechnology and her PhD in Neurosciences from Texas A&M University. Her current work focuses on utilizing single cell and spatial transcriptomics to identify molecular mechanisms mediating escalation of alcohol consumption and using drug repurposing to identify therapeutics that reverse this escalation.

Riccardo Barchiesi

Riccardo Barchiesi joined the Mayfield lab in January 2022. He has a background in biomedicine and completed his PhD with Drs. Estelle Barbier and Markus Heilig at Linköping University in Sweden, focusing on overlapping neural substrates of alcohol- and anxiety-related behavior in rats. Here, he is investigating mechanisms of escalated alcohol consumption and the role of neuroinflammation in alcohol-related behaviors. Click here for a list of publications.

Anna Warden

Anna is currently studying the molecular and transcriptional regulators of glial identity and function in neuropsychiatric disorders. Elucidation of transcriptional and epigenetic players using combinatorial NGS approaches such as bulk RNA-seq, single cell/single nuclei RNA-seq, and ATAC-seq may help develop strategies for drug screen platforms and potential therapy candidates for neuropsychiatric diseases. Anna obtained her degree in Chemistry at the University of Portland and her PhD degree in Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin. Anna is involved in multiple collaborations as a data analyst, outreach science programs and Women in Science discussions. Anna’s passions include clean code, snowboarding and Nordic baking.

Marion Friske

Marion started her postdoc in the Mayfield lab in January 2024. She studied Biochemistry and
Biophysics at the Universities of Bayreuth and Freiburg in Germany and completed her PhD in
Neuroscience with Dr. Spanagel at the Central Institute of Health in Mannheim, Germany.
During her PhD, Marion looked at translational transcriptomic signatures across animal models
of alcohol dependence and individuals with AUD. Now, she is expanding this work by utilizing
latest single cell and spatial transcriptomics methods to study cell type interaction processes in
alcohol dependent behaviors in rodents and humans. Outside of the lab, Marion enjoys playing
Tennis, watching German soccer and exploring Austin’s diverse recreational activities.

Elizabeth Kahanek

Elizabeth received her BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) and MS from Texas A&M University (College Station, TX). After graduate school, she spent five years in the Molecular Biology Core Facility at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park Research Division, providing laboratory and consultation services to Center faculty and students and developing new assays. When microarrays hit the scene, she relocated to Austin and began working for the UT College of Pharmacy, assisting with fabrication and hybridization of cDNA microarrays. After a few years, she transitioned to the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research and has been there ever since. Throughout her tenure, she has contributed technical expertise to numerous projects while also working to improve the efficiency, repeatability and quality of routine workflows. She is currently managing the Mayfield lab, expanding her bioinformatics skills, and learning the lab’s analysis pipeline for TagSeq data. When not at work, she loves to be outside (as long as it’s not too, too hot out) and enjoys growing things (or at least trying to grow things), especially things she can eat. She also has a very talented family and enjoys listening to their musical endeavors on the guitar and piano. 

Jessica McFarland

Jessica grew up in Austin and after starting at the University of Northern Colorado, graduated from UT with a chemistry degree. She has worked in other Austin institutions such as HEB and Alamo Drafthouse and now works at UT in the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research. These jobs also point to the things she enjoys doing in her free time- cooking and eating tasty food and watching movies. She also appreciates spending time with her family and friends. 

Wen Chen

Wen joined Dr. Dayne Mayfield’s lab as a Research Engineering/ Scientist Associate III in March 2023. He has double MS degrees of Molecular Zoology from Xiamen University, China and Plant Sciences from University of Arizona, USA, focusing on library construction and molecular mechanism of small RNA, respectively. Before he joined UT Austin, Wen worked in University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center as both a researcher on Retinopathy of Prematurity and the lab manager. Here, he is providing technical support of research at molecular, cellular, and animal level while also learning the RNA sequencing and analysis.

Aashna Mangal

Aashna joined the Mayfield lab in October of 2022. She is a freshman biology major and business minor
interested in neuroanatomy. After graduation, she aspires to attend medical school while also
continuing her research interests. She also enjoys going to concerts and making art.

Aryan Mangla

Aryan is an accelerated junior majoring in Neuroscience, with additional certifications in Pre-Health Professions and Forensic Science, and has been working in the Mayfield lab since October 2023. His academic interests focus on cellular and molecular neuroscience, along with general neuroscience lab practices. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing basketball, baking brownies, and watching horror movies. After graduation, Aryan plans to pursue a master’s degree, followed by an MD/PhD dual-degree program, to further his passion for neuroscience and medicine.

Jayna Dixon

Jayna received a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Educational Psychology from UT Austin. She worked in addiction counseling and auto insurance before returning to UT in 2006 to work at the Waggoner Center. She worked as the procurement officer, arranged travel, reimbursements, and coordinated guest speakers before moving on to her current position in grants management, HR, and fellowship administration. Outside of work she enjoys movies at Alamo Drafthouse, cooking, and spending time with her daughter.