Jessica Butts, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator
Department of Bioengineering, Neuroengineering Initiative
Rice University
HHMI Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Huda Zoghbi Lab, Baylor College of Medicine (2019 – 2023)
Ph.D. Bioengineering, University of California – San Francisco and Berkeley (2018)
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis (2013)
Research Interests: The brainstem, understanding how neurons differentiate, multi-omics
Hobbies: Running, cooking, trying new restaurants, watching F1, and saltwater aquariums!
Hometown: Decatur, Il
Graduate Students
Madison McLaren
Department: Rice Bioengineering
B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Research Interests: Neuroscience, computational biology, single cell RNA sequencing
Hobbies: Video games, board games, legos, spending time with family and friends
Hometown: Pittsville, MD
Jon Montes
Department: Rice Bioengineering
B.S. Chemistry, Norfolk State University
Research Interests: Neuroengineering, Neurodegenerative disorders, Neurodevelopmental disorders
Hobbies: Video games, Music, Surfing, Muay Thai
Hometown: Virginia Beach, VA
Undergraduate Students
Alex Sansom
Rice University ‘26, B.S. Bioengineering, Minor in CAAM
Research Interests: Computational biology, genetic engineering, plant biology
Hobbies: Ultimate frisbee, working at summer camp, history
Hometown: Winchester, MA
Ayah Razaq
Harvard University ‘28, A.B. Neuroscience
Research Interests: Neurodevelopment, oncogenesis, epigenetic regulation of neural fate, bioethics
Hobbies: Gardening, reading, video games, baking
Luke Mann
Rice University ’27, B.S. in Bioengineering
Research Interests: Genomics, Cell and Gene Therapy, Protein Engineering, Oncology
Hobbies: Motorsports, fishing, running, eating sushi and cooking steak
Hometown: San Mateo, California
Lab Alumni
Currently BioEngineering PhD student at Rice University
Joseph Quinlan
Rice University ‘25, B.S. Bioengineering
Currently Chemical Engineering PhD student at University of Michigan