Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor

Nickname: Will Last Name Pronunciation: jar-Dee-no Pronouns: he/him/his

Will is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Principal Investigator of the Giardino Laboratory, and faculty member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, Bio-X, and Maternal Child and Health Research Institute at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He earned a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Washington, a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Oregon Health & Science University, and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford.

Will serves as an academic and research mentor for numerous undergraduate, graduate level, and postdoctoral trainees, and is active in teaching neuroscience coursework at Stanford. Outside of the lab, he enjoys skiing, hiking, and playing the drums.

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Postdoctoral fellow

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Brittany earned her B.S. in Biology from Savannah State University in 2015, her M.S. in Biomedical Research in 2017, and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences and M.S. in Clinical Research dual degree in 2023, all from Morehouse School of Medicine. Her dissertation investigated the mechanisms in which sleep regulation alter behavioral responses to social stress and the role of biological sex in this interaction under the direction of Dr. Christopher Ehlen.

Brittany joined the Giardino Lab in July 2023 and aims to study sex differences in the neurocircuitry of the amygdala and BNST involved in interactions between sleep regulation, addiction, and stress response. Additionally, she aims to investigate the interaction of addiction, mental illness, and sleep disruption in human models. When she’s not in the lab, Brittany enjoys sleeping, dancing, painting, skating, nature hikes, and serving her community.

Neurosciences PhD student

Allison graduated with her B.Sc. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester in 2019. As an undergraduate student, she worked at the UR Medical Center, as well as spent two summers working at UCSF. Following her graduation, she spent a year working at the DZNE site in Munich, Germany as a 2019-2020 Fulbright Study/Research Scholar. Allison joined the Stanford Neurosciences IDP in September 2020 and joined the Giardino Lab in June 2022. At Stanford, Allison has served as a Student Admissions Representative for the Neurosciences IDP and participates in the Science Pen Pals program. Within the lab, Allison is interested in how early life stress and adversity contributes to substance use and sleep disorders in adulthood, with a particular focus on the impact to BNST neuropeptide circuitry. Outside of the lab, Allison loves exploring parks and nature preserves throughout northern California, turning puzzles into art, and making her own coffee blends.

Postdoctoral fellow

Ivy earned a B.S. degree in Physiology/Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 2017. Following her undergraduate and postbaccalaureate research experiences at Scripps Research, she pursued her graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles where she earned her Ph.D. in Psychology in 2024 under the guidance of Dr. Melissa Sharpe. Her dissertation focused on characterizing the role of a lateral hypothalamic-midbrain neural circuit for reward learning and the impacts of methamphetamine experience on this circuit and its cognitive function.

In September 2024, Ivy joined the Giardino Lab as a postdoctoral scholar. During her postdoctoral training, Ivy aims to study the functional heterogeneity of neuronal subpopulations in BNST circuitry for reward motivated behaviors that contribute to drug addiction by combining her background in associative learning with the lab’s extensive toolkit in neurogenetics, modulation, and monitoring techniques. When not in the lab, Ivy can be found doodling, snacking on potato chips, dramatically reacting to reality TV, or jamming out to 2000s top hits.

Master’s Student

Malia is a co-terminal Master’s student studying biology at Stanford University. Her research interests center on the neural mechanisms linking early life stress to the later development of psychiatric disorders and substance use.

Outside of the lab, Malia enjoys hiking, running, coffee, and spending time with her cat.

Undergraduate Researcher

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Aniyah is an undergraduate at Stanford University from Southern California studying Human Biology (emphases in Brain & Behavior and Medical Humanities) and Creative Writing (Poetry Track). She is passionate about the intersection of neuroscience and women’s health and hopes to pursue a research and clinical career studying the neurobiology of emotional states of dysregulation like stress and addiction. With the Giardino Lab, she is investigating the neural and behavioral links between sleep, memory, and substance use disorders, particularly in the BNST. She is also interested in exploring the sex differences of stress and addiction neurocircuitry and has previously studied sex differences of spinal cord circuits involved in chronic pain relief.

Outside the lab, Aniyah is President of Stanford American Medical Women’s Association (SAMWA) and an Executive Director of Stanford Women in Medicine (SWIM). In her free time, she loves making and experiencing all forms of art, taking long wandering walks, spending time with friends, and advocating for her neurodiverse communities.

Undergraduate Researcher

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Erin is an undergraduate at Stanford University prospectively studying Human Biology with a minor in Sustainability. Her interests lie within neuroscience and lifestyle medicine, with a particular focus on how sleep influences stress regulation and optimal performance. 

Outside of research, Erin works at the O’Donohue Family Farm, volunteers at Cardinal Free Clinics, and runs a pop-up matcha bar on campus. In her free time, she enjoys pilates, hiking, and traveling.

Graduate Rotation Student

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Lucy earned her B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Mount Holyoke College (MHC) in 2023. As an undergraduate, she conducted research with Dr. Marta Sabariego at MHC and worked for two summers under the supervision of Dr. Julia Lemos at the University of Minnesota. Following her graduation, Lucy spent two years as a Post-baccalaureate Fellow in the lab of Dr. Veronica Alvarez at the National Institute of Mental Health studying how early life adversity alters striatal reward circuitry to increase vulnerability to alcohol drinking in mice.

In September of 2025, Lucy began her graduate studies in the Stanford Neurosciences IDP and joined the Giardino Lab as a rotation student. During her rotation, Lucy hopes to conduct EEG sleep recordings to characterize the effects of early life adversity on sleep. Outside of the lab, Lucy likes to spend time reading, hiking, rock climbing, and baking sourdough.