Principal Investigator

Dr. DeMarco is an Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, and director of the DeMarco Advanced Research in Neurorehabilitation (DARN) Lab. He is a cognitive neuroscientist and licensed and ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist. His recent NIDCD K99/R00 award focuses on a novel technique, functional anomaly mapping, which may hold promise as a reliable, individualized biomarker for stroke-related dysfunction throughout the brain.

Lab Manager

Hillary graduated from Emory University in 2025 with a B.S. in Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology and B.A. in Sociology. She is currently interested in the neural correlates of longitudinal stroke recovery relating to language processes. She hopes to attend medical school in the future where she will continue to work with stroke patients. Outside of research, Hillary loves running, experimenting with new recipes, traveling, and reading Haruki Murakami novels.

Research Associate

Zoe graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2024 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Chemistry. While still remaining a staff member, Zoe is starting a psychology masters program in Fall of 2026 at Catholic University. Her goal is to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology where she can apply her experiences with clinical populations and EEG to become a neuropsychologist one day. Outside of the lab Zoe enjoys cheering on UNC basketball, being on the water, and going to yoga classes.

PhD Candidate

Rahul Gurram graduated with high honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2021, with a B.S. in Neuroscience and minors in Chemistry and French. Rahul is currently interested in real-time mechanisms of spoken language processing, and how these mechanisms may differ in typical versus disordered populations. When not in lab, Rahul enjoys reading philosophy and science fiction, brewing specialty coffee and tea, and playing tennis and board games with his friends.

PhD Candidate

Sara is a PhD candidate in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at Georgetown and is co-mentored by Dr. Peter Turkeltaub and Dr. Andrew DeMarco. Before joining the DARN Lab, she worked as a research assistant at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University, where she studied primary progressive aphasia. She holds a BA in Neuroscience from Hendrix College and an MS in Health Informatics from Jacksonville University. Her research focuses on neuroplasticity and recovery mechanisms following brain injury, particularly within the reading network after stroke. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, playing volleyball, and spending time near the water.

Clinical Research Recruiter

Meron graduated from Virginia Tech in 2024 with a B.S. in Clinical Neuroscience and a minor in Psychology. Her research interest lies in the disease mechanisms of neurological disorders and their impact on cognitive function. She hopes to gain substantial experience in stroke research and attend graduate school down the line. Outside of research, Meron loves playing chess, painting, watching food content and trying new recipes. 

Research Assistant

Wongel is a junior at Georgetown University majoring in Biology of Global Health and minoring in Economics. Her interests are particularly at the intersection of neuroscience and data science particularly in combining behavioral, imaging, and graph theory approaches to analyze language processing and executive function in post-stroke aphasia subjects. Outside of lab, Wongel enjoys tinkering with tools and projects, reading historical texts, and practicing her latte art.

Research Assistant

Nina is a sophomore at Georgetown University with academic interests in Neurobiology and Disability Studies. She is interested in exploring the intersection of neuroscience and behavioral studies through the lens of communication. Outside of lab, Nina likes to go on runs, read, play the piano and spend time with her friends.

Research Assistant

Savannah is a junior at Georgetown University majoring in Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has a particular interest in neuroplasticity and the mechanisms that sustain all biological functions, especially those that involve neural networks. She also fosters a deep interest in computer science and enjoys locating the intersection between programming and scientific theory to study patterns and systems more efficiently. When outside of the lab, Savannah enjoys sketching, drawing, listening to music, and frequenting the monuments.

Research Assistant

Sofia is a junior in the Georgetown University College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Neurobiology and minoring in Linguistics. She is very interested in human cognition and its intersection with biological mechanisms and pathology. Additionally, she hopes to further explore her interest in developmental neuroscience. In her free time, Sofia plays on Georgetown’s Ultimate Frisbee team and loves listening to music, trying new foods, learning about languages, and going on adventures with her friends.

Research Assistant

Jujhar is a Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical student at Georgetown University. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Computer Science. He is interested in using computational tools to accelerate biology and translate research into clinical applications. His long-term goal is to pursue medicine while contributing to innovations at the intersection of technology and healthcare. Beyond the lab, Jujhar enjoys traveling, playing basketball, and capturing landscapes through photography.

Research Assistant

Swann is a sophomore in the School of Health at Georgetown University majoring in Healthcare Management, on the Pre-Medical track. She is interested in researching how neuroplasticity allows the brain to continuously grow and form new connections, particularly how this could impact future developments regarding neuro-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In her free time, Swann enjoys jewelry-making and other arts and crafts, doing ballet, travelling, and shopping. 

Research Assistant

Ashwin is an undergraduate at the University of Virginia studying biology. Since joining the team in November of 2025 he has worked on two projects: doing quality control of lesion images with Dr. Shattuck and developing a model to predict NIH Stroke Score evaluations using MRI scans with Dr. DeMarco. Outside of the lab Ashwin enjoys lifting, reading, playing chess, learning languages, and watching wrestling. 

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ryan is a cognitive neuroscientist. He received his PhD in psychology from Rutgers University - Newark, and his research leverages modeling and neuroimaging to understand the computational mechanisms and neural substrates that support healthy language processing and language recovery following stroke. His time outside the lab is spent reading, playing guitar, and lifting weights.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Elizabeth is a cognitive neuroscientist with an interest in developing a more comprehensive understanding of word retrieval in adults with stroke-induced brain damage, specifically, how they retrieve words and how language network failures prevent them from successfully retrieving words. Her previous research has used electroencephalography to examine the impact of semantic relationships on lexical retrieval in individuals with aphasia and age-matched controls. Her current training focuses on gaining experience with neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI to gain more insight into the brain-behavior relationship.  She has also received an American Heart Association grant co-sponsored by Andrew DeMarco, PhD, CCC- SLP, and Peter Turkeltaub, MD, PhD.

Trevor is a language acquisition researcher with experience in functional neuroimaging methods. His interests lie in the acquisition of syntax and the associated changes in the brains. He is currently a T32 postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery at Georgetown University, supervised by Peter Turkeltaub, MD, PhD and Andrew DeMarco, PhD, CCC-SLP