Doctoral Student Alumni

Nina Beltran, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Research Assistant (2017-2020)
Doctoral Student (2020-2025)

Nina started working in the lab as a sophomore, in spring 2017 and became a UTEP RISE undergraduate scholar in 2018. As an undergraduate, Nina earned a competitive Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) through the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) for summer 2019, and was the very first person to graduate from UTEP with a B.S. in Neuroscience in December 2019. Nina began the UTEP Psychology Doctoral program in Fall 2020, and defended her masters thesis in 2023. During her graduate training, Nina was an active volunteer for Biomedical Research Awareness Day (BRAD) initiatives in El Paso. In 2024, Nina was selected as an ASPET Washington Fellow, and was selected to be a Scientist Mentoring & Diversity Program in Biotechnology Scholar. Nina defended her dissertation and graduated as the first PhD student from the Serafine Lab in Spring 2025, and is now a Manager, Clinical Development Trial Lead at Eli Lilly & Company.  

Other Lab Alumni

Amanda Alfsen
Undergraduate Research Assistant 
Fall 2019-Spring 2020

Amanda graduated in spring 2020 with a B.S. in  Psychology with minors in Biology and Chemistry.  She joined the Behavior Pharmacology Lab in Fall 2019 and assisted with ongoing projects. During her time at UTEP Amanda was Head of the Peer Leader program at UTEP, and facilitated workshops and assists students in their understanding of chemistry concepts. She was also a student member of the board of directors for the Peer-Led Team Learning International Society, and published the First Semester General Chemistry: Resource Book for Peer-Led Team Learning in Workshops. She was also a member of the Collegiate Double T Health Professions Honor Society and the Medical Professions Organization.  Amanda also engaged in volunteering with the RotaCare Clinic, the Family Drug Court, Project MOVE, and Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Summer Medical Camp.  She was accepted to participate in the DeBakey Summer Surgery Program at Baylor College of Medicine and is now enrolled in Medical School at The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.  ​

Adam Avila
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2018

Adam is a Biology major at UTEP who  joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in summer 2018 through the UTEP SMARTMIND summer research program. He spent his summer working on a project with Kayla investigating the effects of diet on the reinforcing effects of methamphetamine in female rats.

Nayla Bejarano
Undergraduate Research Assistant 
Fall 2019-Spring 2020

Nayla graduated with her B.S. in neuroscience in Spring 2020. She joined the lab in Fall 2019 and assisted with ongoing projects. While an undergraduate student at UTEP she was a member of Medical Professions Organizations and Double TT Health Professions Honor society. She also worked as a research assistant for the Leadership and Community Engagement program where she conducted interdisciplinary research. She is currently working on Latino mental health advocacy projects. Nayla started in UTEP’s Master of Public Health in Fall 2020.

Jazmin Castillo

UTEP BUILDing Scholar Summer 2022

Jazmin joined the lab through the BUILDing Scholars Summer Research Program in 2022 when she was a junior majoring in Psychology at Western New Mexico University. During her summer in the lab, Jazmine assisted Nina with her masters thesis investigating the impact of diet on sensitivity of rats to withdrawal from opioid drugs. 

Isabella Castro
​Undergraduate Research Assistant 2019-2023
UTEP BUILDing Scholar Summer 2021

Bella graduated with a B.S. in neuroscience. Bella joined the lab in the Fall of 2019 and completed a large conditioned place preference project in 2021 while participating in the UTEP SMARTMIND summer training program. Bella worked in the lab until 2023, and contributed to several projects. ​

Erika Denio
Undergraduate Research Assistant 2021-2022

Erika joined the lab in Fall 2021, after participating in research in several other labs on campus, including through the UTEP SMARTMIND program where she studied neuronal changes caused by nicotine and alcohol abuse. While in the lab Erika participated in several experiments and in 2022, Erika graduated with her B.S. in Neuroscience with a concentration in Psychology. Erika is currently working as a brain mapping/neurofeedback technician in a rehabilitation clinic. She plans to apply for graduate school next fall to continue research in addiction. 

Jose Echeverri
​Undergraduate Research Assistant
Spring 2018-Spring 2019

​While at UTEP, Jose double majored in Biology and Psychology. and participated in the JAMP program and the American Society for Microbiology. Jose worked in the Behavioral Pharmacology Lab after taking Introductory Neuroscience with Dr. Serafine. He assisted with ongoing projects in the lab, including molecular assays, and left to work full time as a paid research assistant in Biological Sciences. Jose graduated with honors, and was named one of UTEP's Top 10 Seniors by the Alumni Association! Jose enrolled at Baylor Medical School in Fall 2019! ​

Madeline Elsey
​UTEP BUILDing Scholar (2019-2022)
LSAMP PRELS Post Baccalaureate (2023) ​

Madeline joined the lab when she was a Coronado High School senior in Fall of 2018. She graduated from Coronado and decided to continue her education at UTEP as a neuroscience major and began her appointment as a UTEP BUILDing Scholar in Fall 2019. Maddie graduated from UTEP in Fall 2022, after leading several projects, and participating In 2022 Maddie in the ASPET SURF Program! In 2023, Maddie was selected to participate in the LSAMP PRELS post baccalaureate program at UTEP and completed a final project in the lab related to exploring the impact of diet on chronic inflammatory pain and morphine antinociception.​

Grace Flores-Robles
Undergraduate Research Assistant/UTEP BUILDing Scholar Summer 2017

Grace graduated from UTEP in Psychology in Spring 2019. She worked in the Behavioral Pharmacology laboratory for a year, starting through UTEP NIH BUILDing Scholars program in 2017. Grace also worked in several other laboratories in the Department of Psychology, but within the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory she assisted with several ongoing projects including a sex differences project with Jeremiah. Grace started graduate school in Fall 2019 in the Basic and Applied Social Psychology program at the City University of New York!

Hunter Franks
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2018

Hunter joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in summer 2018 through the UTEP SMARTMIND summer research program, and he worked with Nina on a project to investigate the effects of daily administration of omega-3 fatty acids on sensitivity of rats to drugs of abuse. At the time he worked with us, Hunter was a senior at The University of Memphis working with Dr. Nick Simon studying risky behavior in animal models of addiction. 

Kayla Galindo
Graduate Research Assistant
2017-2021

Kayla joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory at UTEP in Fall 2017 after earning a bachelor's degree in biology, and a M.S. degree in bioinformatics from UTEP. During her M.A. studies in psychology, Kayla investigated the effects of diet on the rewarding and reinforcing effects of methamphetamine in male and female rats. Kayla also worked as a Research Assistant at the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, where she used her statistical analysis skills to help with ongoing projects. While in the Serafine Lab, Kayla also earned The Caetano Alcohol Research Award through the Latino Alcohol and Health Disparities Research Center, before graduating with her M.A. in psychology in 2021.​

Thelma Garcia
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2024

Thelma is a senior Neuroscience major who joined the lab in 2023. In 2024, Thelma was selected to participate in the UTEP SMARTMIND summer program! During SMARTMINDS Thelma worked under the mentorship of Nina and Dr. Serafine on a large project assessing the impact of diet on the adverse effects of morphine (including constipation and nausea). Thelma presented her results at the UTEP COUR 2024 Summer Research Symposium! Besides working in the lab, Thelma is also a member of the Association of Surgical Techologists, Director of the Diversity fo the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanic & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Paso Del Norte Chapter at UTEP, Vice President of the Institute of Cardiology at El Paso (ICEP) at UTEP and a member of several other organizations, including the Society for Neuroscience Sun City Chapter, the UTEP Honors Program, and the Medical Professions Organization at UTEP. Thelma plans to apply for medical school or graduate school, after graduation in Fall 2024. ​

Adrian Gonzalez
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2017

Adrian took Dr. Serafine's introduction to psychology course in fall 2016 and joined the laboratory as a volunteer research assistant in spring 2017. Adrian was admitted into the UTEP SMARTMIND program for summer 2017. While in the lab, Adrian worked on a project with Jeremiah investigating sex differences in drug sensitivity among rats eating different diets. At UTEP Adrain majored in Applied Mathematics. 

Ethan Hardin 
Undergraduate Research Assistant
UTEP MERTIUS Scholar 2018-2019/ UTEP BUILDing Scholar Summer 2018

 Ethan joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in Fall 2017 and was accepted into the Building Scholars summer research program for 2018, and then the MERTIUS program for the 2018-2019 academic year. During his time in the lab he worked on several projects and serves as our technology guru (a role which he still assists with currently). While an undergraduate student at UTEP, Ethan majored in Computer Science and minored in Mathematics. Ethan was also engaged in the Medical Professions Organization, Student Alumni Association, Miners Cyber Security Club, and the University Honors Program.

 Caroline Hernandez-Casner
Undergraduate Research Assistant/
​UTEP BUILDing Scholar 2015-2018

Caroline graduated in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in biology with a biomedical concentration. Caroline joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in Fall 2015, and published several peer-reviewed manuscripts (see publications tab for links) from her work in the lab. Caroline was a participant in the A-Prime Time program, the Medical Professionals Organization and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, and became a UTEP BUILDing Scholar in Fall 2016. Caroline's senior thesis was focused on examining the potential of "good fats" like omega-3 fatty acids to prevent or reverse the negative health consequences of eating a high fat diet. Caroline recently earned her masters degree at the University of Michigan and recently earned a competitive graduate student research fellowship from the National Science Foundation!

Edith Hernandez
Undergraduate Research Assistant 2016-2017

Edith graduated in Spring 2017 with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.S. in Biology. While at UTEP she was a RISE scholar, and worked in the laboratory of Dr. Castañeda. She worked in the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory during her senior year, assisting with ongoing projects. Edith was then a STAR-PREP Scholar at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and went to graduate school to earn her MD/PhD at the University of Minnesota in Fall 2019!

Ivan Herrejon
Undergraduate Research Assistant Spring 2017

Ivan worked in the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in Spring 2017 after taking Drugs of Abuse and Behavior with Dr. Serafine in summer 2016 and The Politics of Drugs in spring 2017. Ivan went on to become a RISE fellow at UTEP. 

Samirah Hussain
Graduate Research Assistant 2016-2017

Samirah joined the Behavioral Pharmacology in fall 2016 as a graduate research assistant, after graduating from California State University in Bakersfield, CA. Samirah is a California State University Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program Scholar. Samirah's project was focused on examining the effects of lorcaserin on high fat diet-induced enhanced sensitivity to quinpirole, a dopamine D2/D3 receptor agonist. Samirah is coauthor on a manuscript published in ​Behavioural Pharmacology from work she completed while at UTEP. 

Alicia Lopez
Undergraduate Research Assistant 2016

Alicia assisted with ongoing projects in the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in 2016. Alicia majored in Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry with a minor in French at UTEP. Before working with us, Alicia worked in Dr. Khan's Systems Neuroscience Laboratory for a year and earned two poster presentation authorships. She is also a member of the Medical Professions Organization and Zeta Tau Alpha, and held a prestigious congressional internship position with Beto O'Rourke in 2018.
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Sanjana Mada

​Medical Student Research Assistant

Sanjana worked in the lab when she was a 3rd year medical student at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso. Sanjana graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. Sanjana participated in pharmacology research in the past at UT Health San Antonio, examining the behavioral effects of benzylideneoxymorphine on opioid receptors. During her time in the lab, Sanjana contributed to a research collaboration between the Serafine laboratory and two faculty in Sociology/Anthropology at UTEP to examine stress among immigrant women seeking maternal health care in the Border region. Sanjana hopes to use these research experiences towards applications in addiction medicine as a practicing physician. 

Arantxa Martinez
Undergraduate Research Assistant 2018-2019

Arantxa she joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in Fall of 2018 after taking a course with Dr. Serafine. Arantxa is a member of Psi Chi the international honor society in psychology and graduated in Spring 2019. Arantxa assisted with ongoing projects in the lab, and is now a case manager for an outpatient mental health clinic in El Paso, TX.

Natalia Martinez
Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022-2024)
​2023 SMARTMIND Summer Student

Natalia joined the lab in summer 2022 just after graduating 7th in her class at Americas High School in El Paso. Natalia is an incoming freshman at UTEP who will be studying psychology. She hopes to pursue a graduate degree in psychology after finishing her studies at UTEP.  Natalia was selected to participate in the UTEP SMARTMIND summer program in 2023!

Reina Mendoza
Undergraduate Research Assistant & SURPASS Student
Summer 2019-Summer 2020

Reina graduated with a B.S. in psychology and literature with a minor in math. Rae joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Lab in Summer of 2019, and during her time at UTEP she also worked with Dr. Veronica Whitford in her cognitive psychology laboratory conducting eye-tracking research. In summer of 2020 Rae participated in the Campus Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives SURPASS summer program. She also served as the vice-president of UTEP’s branch of Psi Chi: The National Honors Society in Psychology. Rae began graduate studies as a doctoral student in Fall 2021 at the University of Arizona.

Gabriela Naime 
Postbaccalaureate Research Assistant 
2023-2025​

Gabriela started working in the lab in October of Fall 2023 and graduated with a B.S. in Neuroscience from UTEP in December 2023, magna cum laude. While in the lab, Gabriela assisted Nina with ongoing projects and earned co-authorship on manuscripts. She also worked as a part time lab manager in Dr. Potter's lab in the Department of Psychology. Additionally, while at UTEP Gabriela was a member of the Teen Survivor club (which collaborates with EPCC to volunteer at local family-centered events and fundraise for underserved communities in the greater EP area). Gabriela is beginning graduate school in Fall 2025 at Texas State University. 
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Guillermo Ornelas, Jr.
Undergraduate Research Assistant & SURPASS Student
2020-2022

Guillermo joined the lab in Spring 2020 after graduating with his associate’s degree in general studies in sciences from EPCC in Fall 2018, then graduated as valedictorian from Transmountain Early College High School in Spring 2019. He has a deep interest in the neuroscientific basis of psychological disorders and wants to become a psychiatrist. Guillermo was selected to participate in the UTEP COURI SURPASS program in summer 2021 and worked on a collaborative project with our colleagues at the University of Southern Mississippi. Guillermo grauduated from UTEP in Fall 2021, and started at Yale medical school in August 2022. During the summer of 2022 he participated in a summer research program called START@Yale investigating how consciousness is impaired in epilepsy. ​

Alyssa Parra
​2022 SMARTMIND Undergraduate Research Assistant 

Alyssa graduated with her degree in psychology from UTEP. She joined the lab through the UTEP SMARTMIND summer research program in 2022, and worked with Nina on her thesis project focused on the impact of diet on the antinociceptive effects of drugs. Alyssa recently started a new position with Emergence Health Network in El Paso, TX!

Jeremiah Ramos
Graduate Research Assistant 2015-2019

Jeremiah worked as a research rotation student in the Behavioral Pharmacology Lab from 2015-2019. His help was critical for setting up the lab when Dr. Serafine arrived at UTEP. His efforts resulted in multiple co-author publications, one first author publication and an additional first author manuscript currently under review.  Jeremiah is now  at The University of Colorado Denver where he works on multiple grant funded initiatives to increase student success in STEM disciplines. One initiative involves curriculum reform of intro level science courses with the goal of increasing retention and overall success of underrepresented populations. Jeremiah also trains advanced students via his role as the program coordinator for Maximizing Access to Research Careers, a NIGMS funded training grant that prepares outstanding students to attain their doctoral degrees. In addition to his administrative role, Jeremiah is also Adjunct Faculty at The University of Colorado Denver, where he teaches Statistics and Research Methods and Senior Seminar in Professional Development. 

Adriana Rico
​Undergraduate Research Assistant 2016 ​

Adriana took Dr. Serafine's Drugs of Abuse and Behavior course during the summer of 2016 and joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in Fall of 2016. Adriana briefly worked with Caroline and Samirah, assisting with ongoing projects. Adriana graduated in December 2016 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
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Oscar Sandoval
Undergraduate Research Assistant & RISE Scholar
Spring 2019-Summer 2021

Oscar graduated with his B.S. in neuroscience in Summer 2021. He joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Lab in Spring 2019 and led two projects exploring the effects of probiotic supplements on sensitivity of rats to drugs. Oscar was selected to participate in the RISE scholar training program in Fall 2019. Oscar started his graduate studies as a doctoral student at Miami University in Fall 2021.

Manuel "Alex" Serna-Castillon
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2019

Alex participated in a summer research rotation through the SMARTMIND program at UTEP in 2019, while enrolled as a s a biology major from Princeton University. Alex's summer project involved working with Kayla investigating the effects of eating a high fat diet on the reinforcing effects of ethanol. Alex presented his research at the 2019 Summer COURI Research Symposium and returned to Princeton to finish his degree, with aspirations to attend medical school.

Paloma Serna-Castillon
Undergraduate Research Assistant 2017-2019
UTEP MERTIUS Scholar 2018-2019/ UTEP BUILDing Scholar Summer 2018

​Paloma worked in the lab while enrolled as a nursing major involved in UTEP’s Honors Program, the Student Alumni Association, and Medical Professions Organization. Paloma joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory in Fall 2017 after taking Introduction to Psychology with Dr. Serafine. Paloma was accepted into the UTEP NIH BUILDing Scholars 2018 summer program, and then the MERTIUS program for the 2018-2019 academic year, and led a  project with Kayla to examine the rewarding effects of methamphetamine in male and female rats eating different diets.

Ana Paulina Serrano
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2022

Ana Paulina is a native El Pasoan who graduated as valedictorian from Coronado High School in 2021. She is currently enrolled at Harvard University majoring in neuroscience on the Pre-Med track. She hopes to attend medical school upon graduation on her way to becoming either a neurologist or neurosurgeon. Ana Paulina was selected for the UTEP SMARTMIND program for the summer of 2022, during which she assisted Nina with her thesis project studying the impact of diet on some of the adverse effects of morphine. 

Carli Poisson
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2016

Carli majored in neuroscience at Wesleyan University. She participated in a summer research rotation through the SMARTMINDs program at UTEP in 2o16. Carli's summer project involved investigating the effects of dietary supplements as potential therapeutics to reverse some of the negative health consequences caused by eating a high fat diet. ​Carli won first place at the 2016 UTEP Campus Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives Summer Symposium! Carli is a coauthor on a recent publication from her efforts during the SMARTMIND summer program. Carli recently graduated with her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota!

CJ Woloshchuk
SMARTMIND Summer Student 2016

CJ participated in a summer research rotation through the SMARTMINDs program at UTEP in 2016. CJ's summer project involved investigating the effects of current pharmacotherapies for obesity as potential therapeutics to reverse or prevent the effects of eating a high fat diet on drug sensitivity. ​​She graduated in May 2017 from American University with her B.S. in psychology, with a minor in biology. CJ is a coauthor on a recent publication from her efforts during the SMARTMIND summer program. CJ recently graduated with a clincial MA in psychology from UTEP!

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