Kundu Lab Team Members

David Fague is a PhD student in the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. David is from Fulton, Missouri, and attended the University of Missouri for an undergraduate degree in biological engineering, minoring in computational neuroscience with certificates in neural engineering systems & signals. In the Kundu Lab, David is analyzing spectral power data during object encoding and maintenance to contribute to the object working memory study. David also works in Dr. Satish Nair’s research lab where his research focuses on designing and simulating biophysical single-cell neuronal models for realistic dendritic computation and algorithms for model computational reduction using cable theory for dendrites.

Hamid Nourbakhshi holds an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Tehran, a second M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an M.A. in Psychology also from Mizzou. He came to Mizzou in 2021 as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Philosophy and in Spring 2023 moved to the Department of Psychological Sciences to pursue a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience in Dr. Nelson Cowan's Working Memory Lab. There, he studies how visuospatial working memory, visual perception, and visuospatial imagery interact. In the Kundu Lab, he extends this work into intracranial human electrophysiology, using iEEG recordings to study perception, imagery, and working memory in patients undergoing pre-surgical epilepsy monitoring.

Walt Omelyusik has a Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Master of Science in Data Science and is pursuing his PhD in the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is interested in finding ways to push the boundaries of machine learning with insights from neuroscience.

Ariana Pritha holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Psychology from the University of New Mexico and an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, where she studied multi-omics biomarkers associated with dementia with Lewy bodies. She started at Mizzou in 2026 to pursue her MD–PhD. training. In the Kundu Lab, she uses intracranial human electrophysiology data to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying working memory and cognitive network function. Her current research goals are to understand frontotemporal network interactions during visual and auditory working-memory tasks and to push forward translational neuroscience research.

Jad Salha earned his Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, where he worked with Dr. Dominique Durand on recording and analyzing electrophysiological activity within breast tumors. He is interested in using electrophysiology and neural signal processing to study the brain networks underlying working memory.

Kayla Spence is a medical student and Rural Scholar at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. She holds bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences, psychology, and chemistry from Mizzou, with a minor in computational neuroscience. Since 2023, she has worked as a neurodiagnostic technologist in MU Health Care’s Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, where she has built specialized, hands-on expertise in intracranial recordings, from bedside acquisition to reading them in real time. In the Kundu Lab, she brings that clinical perspective to the working memory study and is developing a data extraction workflow for a retrospective review of seizure outcomes following neuromodulation for drug-resistant epilepsy. She is especially interested in how epileptiform activity is localized and treated, and plans to pursue a career in neurosurgery and the clinical neurosciences.

Durdona Tolibjonova is an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri majoring in Biological Sciences with minors in Chemistry and Computational Neuroscience. She is interested in exploring the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence to better understand brain function. Her research interests focus on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nerve degeneration and repair, particularly across neurodegenerative diseases and peripheral neuropathies, with the goal of identifying shared pathways that could inform innovative therapeutic strategies.