Researchers in the Crook Lab come from diverse educational backgrounds and have many different career goals.  

PrincipAl Investigator

Dr. Robyn Crook 

I am an evolutionary biologist and behavioral neuroscientist. I received my undergraduate degree in Zoology at the University of Melbourne, Australia, in 2004. I moved to New York City to complete my Doctorate in Biology (Ecology, Evolution and Behavior) at the City University of New York. After developing an interest in how selection on behavior shapes the evolution of brains, I took a cellular neuroscience post-doc at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 2008. I started here at SF State as an Assistant Professor in 2015. My research lab's primary focus is the evolution and function of injury-induced behavior, including pain. My students work mainly on the model organism Euprymna, but also on other cephalopod species as pertinent questions arise. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with and published on all four of the major cephalopod taxa - nautilus, squid, octopus and cuttlefish - as well as with crustaceans and laboratory rodents.

In addition to running my research lab, I am the co-ordinator for the Physiology and Behavior Masters concentration, and I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the Physiology major and P&B Masters programs.  My current teaching assignments are Human Physiology Lab in the Fall, Neural Systems Physiology and non-major’s Human Physiology in the Spring, and Masters-level seminar classes in Physiology and Behavior.

Dr. Robyn Crook is an Allen Distinguished Investigator, a Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. She also holds an NSF CAREER award, and has previously been a Grass Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

Lab Members

PostDoctoral Fellows

Gabrielle Bostwick, PhD

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Crook Lab. Broadly, I’m interested in parallel innovations in sophisticated nervous systems across diverse phyla and the evolutionary pressures that have driven independent functional convergence. 

I completed my B.S. at University of California Davis, where I majored in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior and conducted research on mussel physiology at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. Next, I earned an M.S. from California Polytechnic State University (SLO) is in Biology. For my master’s project I did my laboratory research in Stem Cell Technologies at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA as part of the inaugural class of the California Institute of Regenerative (CIRM) Training Program.  In 2018 I earned my Ph.D. in Medical Science from the University of Florida in the laboratory of Dr. Leonid Moroz. My doctoral research combined classical neuroanatomical techniques with next-generation sequencing and cloning to map expression of conserved and novel secretory molecules and low molecular weight neurotransmitters in learning, memory, and visual centers of octopuses.  

In the Crook Lab, I plan to optimize molecular techniques to help us understand the cellular basis of neuronal communication in sensorimotor circuits of cephalopod arms and integration centers of the brain.  

Gabby is funded by the lab’s Allen Foundation “Neural Circuit Design” grant. 

Masters students

Kira Lemke - Class of 2025

I am currently pursuing my Master's degree in biology with a focus on physiology and behavioral biology at SFSU. I earned my bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Washington, where I was able to participate in a broad variety of research. Under the mentorship of Dr. Wacker, I explored bird diversity and habitat utilization, observed crow vocalizations in response to food, and was honored with a Mary Gates scholarship for my work on geographic variations in Steller's Jay vocalizations. I also contributed to a three-dimensional model of an octopus brain under the guidance of PhD student Dominic Sivitilli and conducted research on sand lance behavior in response to light through the Pelagic Ecosystem Function Research Apprenticeship at Friday Harbor Labs under Dr. Baker.

I am fascinated by functional connectivity, comparative neuroscience, and behavioral neuroscience. The unique nervous system of the cuttlefish makes it a promising model organism for behavioral neuroscience research. During my time as a Master’s student, I hope to study the behavior of the cuttlefish and learn how to study them in ways that could be used comparatively.

Upon graduation, I will pursue a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience. I aim to use comparative neuroscience to investigate the relationship between functional connectivity and behavioral disorders.

Kira is funded by a Genentech Fellowship, awarded by the SFSU SEO.

Diana Neacsu - Class of 2024

I am an international master’s student in the Physiology and Behavioral program at San Francisco State University. I completed my bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Waterloo in Canada. I am interested in visualizing the nervous system of cephalopod limbs to provide new insight and improve our understanding of how these limbs are able to move in sophisticated and complex ways.  

My master’s thesis focuses on building a connectome of the nervous structures within the arm of the Pygmy octopus, Octopus bocki. A connectome is a 3-dimensional visualization of all of the neuronal processes involved in a system including cell bodies, axons, dendrites, and glial cells that may be present. The 3-dimensionality of this type of research allows us to not only view the system at various angles but also gives us the opportunity to find patterns of organization that might not be visible in a 2-dimensional image. By using the software program Reconstruct, I will focus on tracing the axonal tracts that run throughout the entirety of the arm and the cells that compromise the sucker ganglia which are responsible for controlling the musculature of the suckers. I will also participate in guiding undergrads to accurately trace cells found within the intramuscular nerve cords in a collaborative effort with WEBKNOSSOS.  

After graduating from SFSU, I plan on pursuing a PhD in marine biology in order to continue researching cephalopods.  

Diana is supported by an Allen Distinguished Investigator Grant from the Frontiers Group of the Allen Foundation, to investigate motor circuit organization in cephalopods.

Research Technicians

Sarah Detmering - Research and husbandry technician

I am a research and husbandry technician in the Crook Laboratory. I graduated from University of Tampa with a B.S in Marine Science and Biology. As an undergraduate, I worked in Dr. Taegan McMahon’s disease ecology lab researching Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), an aquatic fungus that is causing amphibians around the world to go extinct. I worked on multiple projects at the lab, one being a prophylactic treatment for Bd currently being implemented in large scale experiments in the field. For the past two years I was a naturalist at San Francisco Whale Tours, bringing guests out to the Bay and the Gulf of the Farallones to educate them on local cetaceans and other marine animals. I am excited to join Dr. Crook’s lab to study cephalopod neuroscience and behavior and explore how we can improve the welfare of these animals in captivity.

Sarah is supported by an Allen Distinguished Investigator Grant from the Frontiers Group of the Allen Foundation, to investigate motor circuit organization in cephalopods

Incoming MS Students

Fall 2024

Applications for the Fall 2024 cycle close in Feb 2024

Crook Lab Alumni

2023

Abbigale Koenigsmark - MS Biology (Physiology and Behavior). Now PhD candidate, U Oregon

Rachel Parsons - MS Biology (Physiology and Behavior)

Undergraduate students: Noah Centino, Khadeejah Dos

2022

Research Technician: Skyler Deutsch (NSF REPS)

Undergraduate students: Megan Manahan, Ingrid Ortega, Alyssa Ng, Shannon Changizi, Jackie Uribe, Amanda Friedman

REU students: Connor Squellati (Pomona College), Johnathan Shia (Northwestern)

2020

Meghan Holst - MS Biology (Physiology and Behavior). Now PhD candidate, UC Davis

2019

Stephanie Bazarini - MS Biology (Physiology and Behavior). Now PhD candidate, UCSB

Ryan Howard - MS Biology (Physiology and Behavior). Now PhD candidate, Auckland University of Technology, NZ

Vivien Enriquez - MS Biology (Physiology and Behavior). Now PhD candidate, UCLA

2019

Ichigo Zachau - BS Physiology

Timothy Balilo - BS Physiology

Alan Fallahi - BS Physiology

2018

Hanna Butler-Struben - MS Biology (Physiology and Behavior). Now PhD student, UC Davis

Nasira Johnson - BS Marine Biology

Ana Martinez - BS Physiology

Joseph Abdelmessih - BS Physiology

2017

Samantha Brophy - BS Physiology. Now Research Specialist, Gladstone Institute, UCSF

Emily Zepeda - BS Cell & Molecular Biology. Now PhD Candidate, UC Davis

Robert Veline - BS Physiology. Now Research Specialist, UCSF

Katherine Stennette - REU BREED student.

Sara Tom - BS Physiology

Lemo Dayekh - BS Physiology

Peyman Bastani - BS Physiology

Robert Dasmarinus - BS Physiology

Sugar McQuarn - BS Physiology

2016

Kia Seehafer - REU BREED student. Now PhD Candidate, U. Minnesota

Paul Perez - BS Physiology. Now Senior Research Associate, Genetics core, UCSF

Christina Lardie - BS Physiology. Now paramedic, Sacramento County Fire Dept.

Lauren Lopes - BS Physiology. Currently at San Francisco General Hospital

Joshua Hernandez - BS Physiology

Stephanie Skidmore - BS Physiology