LAB MEMBERS

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Dr. James Grau, PI

Dr. Grau earned his B.A. from the University of Colorado in Psychology and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. He then earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied learned helplessness and stress-induced analgesia. In 1987, Dr. Grau came to Texas A&M, where he is currently a Mary Tucker Currie Professor of Liberal Arts in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. His research interests focus on a number of topics, including learning, pain modulation, and the recovery of function after spinal cord injury.​​


Dr. James Grau CV

Gizelle Fauss, GRA​

Gizelle graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience from Texas A&M University in December of 2015. She is a current graduate student in the TAMIN program. Her research interests include how pain affects recovery after spinal cord injury and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms on which these processes rely. Gizelle’s current research investigates how brain-dependent systems are affecting these processes in the spinal cord, and the specific cell signaling pathways that potentially play a critical role in the expansion of secondary injury.​


Gizelle  Fauss CV

Jacob Davis, GRA​​

Jacob received a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in biology from Southern Utah University. Currently, he is working as a graduate research assistant under enrollment in the Behavioral and Cellular Neuroscience branch of Texas A&M’s Psychology department. His studies focus on how various anesthetics can affect recovery after spinal cord injury, particularly in the context of uncontrollable pain stimulus. Studies in progress seek to answer questions regarding cellular mechanisms of secondary injury, efficacy of anesthetics of different methods of action on promoting SCI recovery, and the timing with which anesthetics can prove effective in promoting this recovery.​​​


Jacob Davis CV

Kelsey  Hudson, GRA

Kelsey graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a Bachelor’s of Science in Cognitive Neurobiology. She is currently pursuing an MD/PhD through the Texas A&M College of Medicine and TAMIN. Her research interests range from the role of endogenous opiates in nociceptive induced secondary spinal cord injury to various facets of spinal learning and the role of the neuromuscular junction in learned behaviors.

Rachel Baine, GRA

​Rachel graduated from Texas A&M with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in neuroscience. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Health through the Texas A&M School of Public Health. Her research interests concern the potential role of sex hormones, specifically estrogen, in protecting against the detrimental effects of pain following spinal cord injury. 


Rachel Baine CV

​Travis Johnston, ​GRA

Travis received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Animal Science from Texas A&M University, where he is also currently pursuing a PhD in Behavioral and Cellular Neuroscience. His research interests include examining the effects of nociceptive stimuli-induced secondary spinal cord injury at the cellular level using confocal microscopy and how these effects influence recovery of spinal cord function.​


Travis Johnston CV

Paris Bean, Research Assistant​

Paris graduated with her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from Texas A&M in August of 2019. She is currently working as a full time research assistant in the laboratory. Her research interests includes looking at how nociceptive stimulation impacts hemorrhage and recovery after traumatic brain injury. ​

Megan Tarbet, Research Assistant​​

Megan graduated from Texas A&M University in May 2019 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. She completed an undergraduate thesis and is currently working as a full-time research technician within the laboratory. Her research interests include multiple aspects of spinally mediated learning including the conditions that lead to extinction of the learned behavior.