Principal Investigator
Debadatta Dash, Ph.D.
Lab Director
Dr. Dash is the director of the B.R.A.I.N. Lab and an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Tarleton State University. His research bridges brain-computer interfaces, human cognition, and AI, combining neuroimaging and computational neuroscience to decode brain function. Before joining Tarleton, he worked at Sonera and Meta on human-computer interaction and completed a postdoc at NIH investigating motor learning and memory consolidation. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2021, focusing on speech-BCIs with MEG and AI.
Graduate Students
Gabriel Ossei, M.S.
Graduate Research Assistant
Gabriel completed his M.S. in Data Science in the Department of Mathematics at Tarleton State University. He has over 5 years of professional economic research experience, specializing in transforming complex datasets into impactful real-world solutions. He is passionate about data science applications to neuroscience to enhance human communication and accessibility. In the lab, as a graduate research assistant, he works on the human-computer interaction project, focusing on multimodal neuroimaging applications to decode behavior from biosignals.
Postbacc Students
Nathanael Solagratia, B.S.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nathan is a Senior at Tarleton State University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, expected to graduate in May 2026. In the lab, he works on the speech-BCI project, contributing to developing LLM models for real-time decoding. He is passionate about data science, generative AI, and applied machine learning.
Undergraduate Students
Lesly Rebollar-Hernandez
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lesly is a senior at Tarleton State University pursuing a double major in Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Pre-Medicine. She holds several student leadership roles, including serving as a Peer Mentor, Fundraising Chair of Kappa Delta Chi sorority, as well as the Secretary and Co-Founder of the Pre-physical Therapy Club. In the lab, she works on identifying the central and peripheral mechanisms of neurological disorders with multimodal recognition systems, including fNIRS, EEG, and MMG. She is passionate about advancing her knowledge in health science while fostering mentorship, professional growth, and community engagement.
Noemi Nava
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Noemi is a first-generation college student and a junior at Tarleton State University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience. She is part of the T3 program here at Tarleton, which supports her academic growth and leadership development. In the lab, Noemi works on the motor learning project investigating the beneficial effects of rest to motor memory consolidation using MEG and EEG. Noemi aspires to pursue a Ph.D. and become a pediatric neuropsychologist to have a positive impact on the life of children by helping them navigate through cognitive challenges.
Gavin Sailer
Undergraduate Research Volunteer
Gavin is a neuroscience undergraduate student at Tarleton State University. His interest is in age-related cognitive decline and the mechanisms that create changes in memory and cognition. His goal is to contribute to research that deepens our understanding of the neuroscience of aging and memory decline to create effective approaches for prevention, treatment, and care. In the lab, Gavin supports the project involving memory consolidation in Aging and Stroke.
Hailey Oubre
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Hailey is a first-generation college Freshman at Tarleton State University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science within the concentration of Pre-Veterinary Medicine. During high school, she took sign language classes for 3 years, worked at Paleface Veterinary Clinic as a Veterinary Assistant for 3 years, and was a part of Lake Travis High School’s FFA in her senior year. She is involved with Tarleton SERVES and Tarleton’s Pre-Veterinary Medical Association. In the lab, she works on the wearables and the sign language recognition project. She also manages the data collection in the lab. Hailey aspires to practice Veterinary medicine.
Danica Ponder
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Danica is a second-generation Tarleton student and Junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a minor in Kinesiology. Post-graduation, she plans to attend a Master of Physician Assistant Studies and aspires to work in family medicine. She is passionate about health and wellness, values building strong relationships, and firmly believes that “laughter is the best medicine.” In the lab, she works on the stroke-rehabilitation project, focusing on the effect of stroke on learning and post-stroke depression.
Alan Davila
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Alan is a first-generation senior at Tarleton State University pursuing a Bachelor’s in Computer Science with a concentration in Computer Engineering. Alan is passionate about AI-driven brain-computer interfaces. In the lab, He works on the speech-BCI project, focusing on developing models to improve EEG-based speech decoding.
Atreyu Henry
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Tre is a junior majoring in Computer Science with a concentration in Software Engineering. His technical interests include AI development, software engineering, and machine learning. Tre is passionate about building innovative technologies and expanding the role of AI in solving real-world problems. In the lab, he works on the human-computer interface projects including gesture recognition and silent speech recognition using EMG, MMG, and EEG.
Lab Alumni
- Arunima Pathak, M.S., Data Science
- Dillon Gatlin, B.S., Computer Science
- Aaron Hodges
- Dhilan Rohatgi