Stress and Neuromodulation Lab (SNL)

Our Team

Sanne van Rooij, PhD

Principal Investigator

Dr. van Rooij is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is Associate Faculty of the Neuroscience Graduate Program and Associate Director of Scientific Outreach and investigator at the Grady Trauma Project.

Dr. van Rooij completed her PhD in 2015 at Utrecht Medical Center in the Netherlands where she performed a pre/post-treament neuroimaging study with war veterans. She moved to Atlanta for her postdoctoral fellowship with the Grady Trauma Project. Mentored by Drs. Tanja Jovanovic and Kerry Ressler, she studied neural correlates of PTSD in acutely and chronically traumatized civilians and children using neuroimaging and psychophysiological assessments.

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In 2019 she joined the Emory Faculty and the main focus of her current research is identifying predictors for the development and persistence of PTSD, and the investigation of neuromodulation treatments. She is the director of the Stress and Neuromodulation Lab (SNL) since 2020.

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E: sanne.van.rooij@emory.edu

Sean Minton

Research Coordinator

Sean T. Minton is the Stress and Neuromodulation Lab’s Research Coordinator. He is also completing a Master’s in Social Work degree at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. In the future, Sean plans to help deliver trauma-informed care through communities-based initiatives using group fitness and recreational sports as an ancillary treatment modality. His research interests focus on the mediating effects of physical activity on adaptations to traumatic stress.  Sean also works to reduce the trauma burden of Black Atlantans while promoting more equitable access to care through Grady Trauma Project’s Anti-Racism and Research Dissemination (ARD) workgroup. He was awarded the Kerry Ressler Travel Award for his submission to the 2019 Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference. In his spare time, Sean enjoys cooking copious amounts of BBQ and climbing mountains with his wife and son.

Rebecca Hinrichs, MS, CCRP

GTP Program Director

Becky is the Program Director of the Grady Trauma Project and has been with the group since 2014. Becky holds a B.S. in Biology from Union College and an M.S. in Neuroscience from Emory University. She completed her early work in the study of small neuronal networks in invertebrates before joining GTP. Becky is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program and is a great first resource for all questions related to GTP. Her research focuses on the use of a simple physiological measurement of skin conductance response in the immediate aftermath of trauma as a predictor of the trajectory of PTSD related symptoms. email: rebecca.hinrichs@emory.edu

Cecilia (Ceci) Hinojosa, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ceci Hinojosa, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow currently working under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Stevens and Dr. Sanne van Rooij. Dr. Hinojosa completed her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso and her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Tufts University. At Tufts, Dr. Hinojosa focused on determining whether pre-treatment brain activation can predict treatment response to prolonged exposure therapy in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Currently, her research focuses on better understanding the neurocircuitry of PTSD using neuroimaging techniques and the role substance use may have in the development and maintenance of the disorder.

Mohammad (Mo) Sendi

Postdoctoral Fellow

Mo is a postdoctoral fellow at McLean Hospital with Drs. Kerry Ressler, Nikos Daskalakis, and Diego Pizzagali. He received his PhD in 2022 from Emory and Georgia Tech and worked in the lab with Dr. van Rooij. In 2021, he received a grant to study the effect of electroencephalogram (EEG) and works with the team to conduct this research.

Lois Teye-Botchway

Undergraduate Intern

Lois Teye-Botchway is a third-year student at Emory College of Arts and Sciences where she is double-majoring in Biology and Spanish. Born in Ghana, but raised in Atlanta for most of her life, Lois has always had a fascination and interest in science and community service.
Her interest in PTSD research began during the fall of 2020, when she began working as an intern in the SNL project. After a year of working in the lab, Lois has presented at the ISTSS research conference with an independent project regarding the effects of amygdala ablation on psychophysiological biomarkers of PTSD, with plans on completing an honor’s thesis during her senior year.
Lois aspires to pursue a career in medicine and plans to attend medical school after a gap year. When she is not busy with school, volunteering or lab work, she enjoys playing tennis, listening to music and binge-watching T.V. shows.

Joshua Zhao

Undergraduate Intern

Joshua is currently a sophomore studying neuroscience and behavioral biology. He is originally from Poughkeepsie, New York, but moved to and now lives in Taiwan. He is passionate about treating neurodegenerative diseases and helping those suffering from psychiatric disorders. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the guitar, swimming, and discovering new places to eat!