Team

Dr. Costa grew up in the Brazilian Amazon, in the city of Belém. He obtained his BSc in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Pará, in his hometown. He later received a Masters degree in Physiology from the Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, and a Doctoral degree from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and Goethe University, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Dr. Costa then joined the National Institute on Drug Abuse for his postdoc, where he worked on how dopamine signaling and orbitofrontal cortex activity shape latent learning and the construction of cognitive maps.

Dr. Costa has received several recognitions for his work, including a K99/R00 pathway to independence award from the NIDA/NIH, a BBRF NARSAD Young Investigator Award, and being selected as an Allen Institute Next Generation Leader. 

In 2024 Dr. Costa joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham as an Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in the Department of Psychology (College of Arts and Sciences), and secondary appointments at the Department of Neurobiology (Heersink School of Medicine) and the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (School of Engineering). 

Research Staff

Michael McFerrin, PhDLab manager and research scientist
mcferrm@uab.edu

Dr. McFerrin grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, before moving to Huntsville, Alabama as a teen with a life-long dedication to science. After high school he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from UAH, studying biochemistry and protein crystallography. Seeking an advanced degree, Mike found his true passion in neuroscience, ultimately earning his PhD from UAB studying normal astrocytes and volume regulation in malignant glioblastomas. Following a brief post-doc at UBC in Vancouver, British Colombia, he returned to UAB to work on projects ranging from Parkinson’s disease to age-related macular degeneration. Mike has enjoyed two-week trips to Japan and France, but usually enjoys cooking, puzzles, crafts, and sharing the occasional cheesecake with friends.

PhD students

Remy FontenotBNS PhD Rotation Student
rfonteno@uab.edu

Remy is from Houma, Louisiana and graduated from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish. He is currently a working towards a PhD through UAB’s Behavioral Neuroscience program.


Hobbies: hiking, biking, tennis, reading, and watching movies

Adela HarveyGBS PhD Rotation Student
adela@uab.edu

Adela is a native of Fort Myers, Florida and joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 2020 to pursue her undergraduate studies. She successfully completed that phase of her academic journey, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and a Master of Science in Biotechnology in 2023. Continuing her dedication to the field, Adela is currently pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience at UAB’s Graduate Biomedical Sciences program.

 

 Hobbies: Running, reading, & cooking 

Research assistants

Ritik RautResearch Assistant
rraut@uab.edu

Ritik Naresh Raut grew up in India, in the city of Nagpur. He obtained his Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering from Nagpur University in his hometown. He later earned a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 2024.

Ritik has gained professional experience as a Software Developer at Mindbase Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, where he worked on software development and engineering solutions. He also worked as a Teaching Assistant for a Machine Learning course under Professor Wang at UAB and as a Data Analyst at NVL LABS UAB under Professor Nuria Vendrell Ilopis, contributing to research in neuroprosthetic learning while working with the NWB (Neurodata Without Borders) format.

In 2025, Ritik joined the K.M. Costa lab, where he is engaged in cutting-edge research at the intersection of computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and data science.

Ritik’s expertise spans artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and data analysis.  He received multiple certifications, including those from IBM and Stanford Online, and has experience with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow and PyTorch, as well as databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL. 

Undergraduates

Aryona Clay
aclay2@uab.edu

Aryona grew up in Hoover, Alabama. She is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in forensic science and African American studies. She is also a Resident Assistant (RA) in UAB's Student Housing & Residence Life.

Hobbies: reading, baking, and arts/crafts

Julia Shelby
shelbyjr@uab.edu

Julia grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They are currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice at the University of  Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She also works as a Resident Assistant (RA) with UAB's Student Housing & Residence Life.


Hobbies: Photography, drawing, and model building.

Kody Ewing
kjewing@uab.edu

Kody is originally from Alabama. He is pursing a bachelor's degree in Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry. He is also an Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's student in Multidisciplinary BioMedical Science concentrating in Neuroscience.  

Hobbies: Olympic Weightlifting , board riding ( skateboarding and surfing), drawing/painting.

Elias Mrug
emrug@uab.edu

Eli is from Birmingham, Alabama. He is majoring in Neuroscience and pursuing a minor in bioinformatics. He is also a student in UAB's Early Medical School Acceptance Program (EMSAP).

Hobbies: playing the piano, solving math puzzles, and gardening.

Brandon Amaya Ortiz
bnamayao@uab.edu

Brandon was born In Greensboro, North Carolina and moved around all his life. He has lived in several states in the U.S such as California, Georgia, and Michigan as well as cities in Mexico such as Irapuato, Guanajuato, and Monclova. He is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Psychology, and hopes to continue my studies in a graduate program in the future. 

Hobbies: photography, learning about video game development, reading, and cooking. 

Alumni

Igor Rocha - Postdoc

Brian Lear - Master student

Chandana Chennayagunta - Research assistant

Somya Balyan - Undergraduate volunteer

Kierra Pitts - Undergraduate volunteer

Tommy Coxxwell - Undergraduate volunteer