Education
Doctor of Philosophy: Medical Sciences – Neuroscience University of Florida Honors: Bryan Robinson Endowment, Grinter Fellowship
Awarded Funding: T32AG020499-16A1 Research Training in Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Cognition in Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease (August 2020-2023)
Bachelor’s Degree: Neuroscience, East Asian Languages & Literature (Japanese) Washington & Lee University Honors: Critical Language Scholar 2017, Andrew M. Hemm Senior Award for Excellence in Japanese 2019
Critical Language Scholarship Program, Japanese University of Shiga Prefecture Studied Japanese language and culture under a language-pledge for 8 weeks, living with a host-family for four weeks. Participated in a language-partner program with local Japanese students and US-Japan relations seminars with members of the American consulate in Osaka.
Teaching Experience
Visiting Assistant Professor (July 2025 – July 2026) Washington and Lee University, Department of Biology
Developed a blended seminar and discussion-based course, Biology of Aging (BIOL195E) in Fall 2026. Instructor for Anatomy and Physiology (BIOL260), a mixed lecture and laboratory course, in Winter 2026. Developed a four-week course, You’re Wrong About Biology (BIOL195F), for Spring 2026, examining well-known stories in biology where the popular narrative significantly differs from the scientific evidence.
Graduate Teaching Assistant (August 2022 – August 2024) University of Florida, College of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience
Teaching assistant for Functional and Comparative Neuroanatomy (GMS7795) and Molecular Pathobiology of Neural Disease (GMS6750) graduate-level courses. Lectured on various topics including Language, Cognitive Control of Motor Function, and Emotion. Assisted in creating the course syllabus and study guides, writing and reviewing test questions, grading essay assignments, hosting review sessions, and coordinating lecturer schedules.
Brain Awareness Week Lecturer (Spring 2020-2024) North Central Florida Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience Facilitated neuroanatomy lectures and activities for K-12 school groups across Alachua County. Personally lectured for 1st, 6th, 11th, and 12th grade classes and led a sheep brain dissection demonstration for high school groups.
Guest Lecturer (July 2021) Research Immersion in Science & Engineering, University of Florida Presented on topic Navigating Neuroscience, facilitating a discussion with high school students interested in future undergraduate research opportunities and scientific career paths in neuroscience.
Guest Lecturer (June 2021) Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Summer Health Professional Education Program Lectured on the topic Psychological Disorders, providing an introduction to categories of psychiatric diagnoses and treatments to undergraduate students interested in pursuing medical professions.
Brain Bee Tutor (October 2019) 3rd Annual Brain Bee, University of Florida Met weekly for the month of October with a group of local high school students to teach and review foundational neurobiology concepts and neuroanatomy to prepare for the annual Brain Bee competition.
Professional Experience
Graduate Research Assistant (August 2019 – August 2024) University of Florida, College of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience Research assistant in the lab of Dr. Sara N. Burke, examining the effects of age-related cognitive decline on learning and memory in a rodent model, focusing on both normal aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. Primary dissertation work focused on the efficacy of a weekly cyclic ketogenic diet as a therapeutic for age-related cognitive dysfunction. Experience with training rodents on various interactive touchscreen tasks, Morris Water Maze task, micro-infusions of pharmacological agents into the brain, blood collection for assessing metabolites, and statistical analysis and interpretation of results.
Summer Neuroscience Intern (May 2018 – August 2018) University of Florida, Summer Neuroscience Internship Program (SNIP) Research assistant in an animal behavior lab examining effects of aging on memory using a rodent model. Gained experience training subjects on object discrimination tasks using a physical maze and interactive touchscreen, handling rodents, feeding procedures, Keyence microscope fluorescent imaging, and Cryostat slicing of brain tissue.
Undergraduate Research Assistant (January 2016 – May 2018) Washington & Lee University, Department of Neuroscience Research assistant in an animal behavior lab, examining mechanisms of olfactory learning and memory in ants. Gained experience with general lab protocols (pipetting, specimen handling, data collection), associative learning paradigms, brain dissection, and behavioral analysis.
Publications
Cooper TL, Uhlyar S, Atalugama S, Zambrano Rios D, Watson CM, Lubke KN, Burke SN (Expected Summer 2025) A Cyclic Ketogenic Diet Improves Spatial Learning and Memory in Aged, but not Young Rats and does not Affect Arc Expression in the Dentate Gyrus. In preparation.
Kennedy JP, Zhou Y, Qin Y, Lovett SD, Cooper T, Sheremet A, Burke SN, Maurer AP (2023) Visual cortical LFP in relation to the hippocampal theta rhythm in track running rats. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2023.1144260.
Qin Y, Sheremet A, Cooper TL, Burke SN, Maurer AP (2023) Nonlinear Theta-Gamma Coupling between the Anterior Thalamus and Hippocampus Increases as a Function of Running Speed. eNeuro, https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0470-21.2023.
Cooper TL, Thompson JJ, Turner SM, Watson C, Lubke KN, Logan CN, Maurer AP, Burke SN (2022) Unilateral Perforant Path Transection Does Not Alter Lateral Entorhinal Cortical or Hippocampal CA3 Arc Expression. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2022.920713.
Johnson SA, Turner SM, Lubke KN, Cooper TL, Fertal KE, Bizon JL, Maurer AP, Burke SN (2019) Experience-dependent effects of muscimol-induced hyperexcitation on mnemonic discrimination. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, Special topic: Learning and Memory, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2018.00072.
Research Presentations & Panel Discussions
Cooper TL (2023, July 24). Graduate Research [Panel for Undergraduates]. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Cooper TL (2023, May 11-12). A Weekly Cyclic Ketogenic Diet in Females as a Preliminary Therapeutic for Age-Related Cognitive Dysfunction [Poster Session]. Florida Consortium on the Neurobiology of Cognition, Jupiter, FL, United States.
Cooper TL (2023, February 17). Elucidating the role of hippocampal and perirhinal connectivity in a paired associates learning task [Poster Session]. North Central Florida Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Cooper TL (2022, November 11-15) Elucidating the role of hippocampal and perirhinal connectivity in a paired associates learning task [Poster Session]. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, United States
Cooper TL (2022, April 7-10). The Effects of a Weekly Cyclic Ketogenic Diet on Paired Associates Learning in a Rodent Model [Poster Session]. Cognitive Aging Conference, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
Cooper TL (2021, January 12). Cortical and Hippocampal Activity Altered with Loss of Perforant Path Fibers [Virtual Poster Session]. Global Connectome, Society for Neuroscience, Virtual Conference.
Cooper TL (2019, November 2). Undergraduate Program Admissions and Research Opportunities [Panel]. 3rd Annual Brain Bee, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Certifications
Inclusive Mentor Academy for Graduate Education (May 2023)
The Inclusive Mentor Academy for Graduate Education (IMAGE) is an 8-week training program at the University of Florida following curriculum developed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER).
Mentorship
Sophia Uhlyar (2023-2024), recent graduate of the University of Florida, applying to medical school in the 2026 cycle
Honors & Awards: University Scholars Program, 3rd place poster at NCF SfN regional conference 2024
Sihini Atalugama (2023-2024), 1st year medical student
Jerrica Francisco (SNIP, Summer 2023)
Professional Memberships & Service
Scholarship Evaluator for CLS Program and CLS Spark 2025, 2026
Member: Society for Neuroscience (January 2021-Present); Society for Neuroscience, North Central Florida Chapter (August 2019-2024); Japan Neuroscience Society (February 2022-Present); Psi Chi (Inducted May 2019); Japanese Honors Society (Inducted May 2019)
Additional Skills
Data Analysis & Statistics: R/RStudio, SPSS, GraphPad Prism, Image J, Adobe Photoshop, Jamovi
Animal Models: Rodent, Xenopus, Ant
Rodent Handling & Behavior: Injections (intraperitoneal and subcutaneous), Oral Gavage, Survival Surgery (cannula implanataion, viral injection), Blood Collection (tail vein), Perfusion, Morris Watermaze, Paired Associates Learning (PAL), Object-Place Paired Association (OPPA)