Walter received his BA in physics from Florida International University in Miami, Florida in 2011. He stayed at FIU and completed his PhD in chemistry under supervision of Dr. Jaroslava Miksovska in 2016. He then moved to Pasadena, California to pursue postdoctoral training in systems neuroscience under supervision of Dr. Carlos Lois. In January 2023 Walter moved to San Francisco to start his laboratory at the University of California San Francisco in the Department of Physiology.

Shruti completed her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, India, in 2024. After graduation, she joined the Dubal Lab as a postdoctoral fellow for a short time before moving to the Gonzalez Lab at UCSF in 2025. Her research explores how different brain regions communicate during learned behaviors, with a focus on song production in zebra finches. She is especially fascinated by how the brain organizes and coordinates such complex motor behaviors. Outside the lab, Shruti enjoys reading and discovering new food places around the city.

Vincent received his BA in Biology: Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis in 2021. During undergrad, he worked with Dr. Paul Shaw to investigate how sleep regulates gene expression to reverse cognitive deficits in Drosophila.  After graduating, he stayed at Wash U until 2022, working with Dr. Jordan McCall to interrogate circuits mediating stress-induced binge eating in mice.  After joining Dr. Walter Gonzalez’ lab in 2023, Vincent began investigating how failures in information transfer between brain regions cause behavioral mistakes in zebra finches.  Outside of lab, he enjoys exploring new places, rock climbing, and listening to music.

Davide Benedetti, MD is a PhD student in the Gonzalez Lab at UCSF studying sleep-dependent memory in songbirds. Trained at the University of Pisa, he brings human/mouse/bird experience and skills in EEG/ERP, Neuropixels, calcium imaging, and machine-learning for biosignals. Prior work with Umberto Olcese and SRI’s Human Sleep Lab yielded first-author papers and open-source tools. At UCSF he builds closed-loop acquisition/stimulation pipelines to test how offline reactivation during sleep shapes zebra finch vocal learning.

Ruth is a junior specialist with an educational background in computer science and a master’s degree in medical imaging. She worked various projects ranging from breast cancer, skin lesion and Alzheimer’s disease sub-typing using both classical image analysis and current deep learning techniques. Her area of interest is in the use of artificial intelligence in medicine and particularly in computational neuroscience. She’s currently working on an open-source atlas based Neuropixel trajectory planning project and wavelet-based spike sorting algorithm. Over the weekend, Ruth enjoys hiking and exploring the Bay Area.

Yadira Rodriguez is an Animal Care Technician in the Gonzalez Lab specializing in daily husbandry, health monitoring, and enrichment of songbirds. She brings experience in vertebrate animal care from mice to songbirds. Yadira holds a B.S. in Animal Science from UC Davis (2023).

​Leila is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Neuroscience and Public Health. Enthusiastic about the field of neuroscience, her diverse interests span areas such as histology, neuroplasticity, neurodegenerative diseases, and sleep. Eager to engage further with this field, Leila plans to pursue her PhD after graduation. Outside of lab, she is a Trader Joe’s enthusiast and loves foreign film scores.

Bryan is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Molecular and Cell Biology, set to graduate in 2027. With a keen interest in neuroscience, he is particularly fascinated by the mechanisms of memory and brain functionality. Outside of the lab, Bryan enjoys running and playing basketball. 

Arushi Neravetla is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, double majoring in Neuroscience and Molecular Therapeutics. Fascinated by the rapid advancements and emerging applications in neuroscience, she is driven by a deep curiosity to explore the facets of the brain. Arushi plans to matriculate into medical school following graduation. Outside the lab, she enjoys writing poetry, listening to music, and working out.