Ann-Marie Torregrossa, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Dr. Ann-Marie Torregrossa is the Director of the University at Buffalo Center for Ingestive Behavior Research, the Area Head for Behavioral Neuroscience, and an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Torregrossa has been studying controls of food intake and food choice since her first job as a technician at the Bourne Behavioral Research lab. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Utah and completed her post-doctoral work at The Florida State University before opening her lab in Buffalo in 2015. She has been awarded the Ajinomoto Award from the Association for Chemoreception Sciences and the Epstein Research Award from the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior for her work on the role of saliva in taste and bitter food acceptance.
Contact information: B74 Park Hall, amtorregrossa@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0354
Jyothi Lakshmi, PhD, Laboratory Manager
Dr. Jyothi Lakshmi is an enthusiastic researcher. Holding a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, she has a strong passion for exploring molecular techniques. In 2024, she took on the role of lab manager in Dr. Torregrossa’s laboratory of taste and feeding, where she applies her skills to advance studies on salivary proteins. Beyond her scientific pursuit she finds joy in long walks and loves traveling to new destinations. With a curious mind and a love for both science and adventure, she’s always seeking new experiences and knowledge.
Contact information: B87 Park Hall, jyothila@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229
Verenice Ascencio Gutierrez, Graduate Researcher
Verenice earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Long Beach State in beautiful and sunny California. There, she was part of two ingestive behaviors/taste research labs and decided to keep pursuing research in the ingestive behavior field. Thus, she moved to Ann-Marie’s laboratory of taste and feeding in Buffalo, New York to become her lab technician and against all odds, decided to stay in Buffalo for her graduate career. She is now in the process of working on her dissertation and will be pursuing post docs in California.
Contact information: B78 Park Hall, vascenci@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0268
Emily Demieri, Graduate Researcher
Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology here at UB. During this time, she got her first hands-on experience with animals working in an auditory bioacoustics laboratory. After graduation, she worked as a technician in exercise and nutrition sciences where she first got exposed to the field of ingestive behavior. Finding great interest in this area of research, Emily joined the Torregrossa lab of taste and feeding in 2023 as a graduate student looking to earn her PhD in behavioral neuroscience.
When Emily is not in the lab, you can find her spending time with her cats or making music with friends.
Contact information: B87 Park Hall, edemieri@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229
Kamila Nixon, Graduate Researcher
Kamila earned her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience & Behavior at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, and her Master’s degree in Psychology from Long Island University. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Before moving across the state to Buffalo, she worked as a medical scribe/assistant alongside a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist who manages high-risk pregnancies. Kamila is now a graduate student in the Psychology Department looking to receive her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience while making tiny new rodent friends. She hopes to learn more about ingestive behaviors to help her fat cat slim down back home.
Contact information: B80 Park Hall, kamilani@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229
Sam Brooker, Graduate Researcher
Sam has lived in Western New York most of her life and came to UB as a transfer student in 2019. Highly interested in Behavioral Neuroscience research, Sam joined the lab in the summer of 2021 completing a project as a McNair Scholars Summer Research Fellow. Since then, she has been sucked (pun fully intended) into the world of saliva and ingestive behavior with no plan of turning back!
Originally, Sam was welcomed to the team as a lab tech/ lab manager. However, in the spring of 2024 Sam was accepted as a graduate student and will excitedly be completing her graduate work under Dr. Ann-Marie Torregrossa. Sam is passionate about behavioral neuroscience and is eager to take the opportunity as a graduate student to learn as much as she can about ingestive behaviors.
Contact information: B80 Park Hall, slbrooke@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229
Past members
Kimberly James
Kim earned her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. There she did some drug discrimination work with operant chambers and was part of an addiction laboratory studying alcohol. While her time in UWEC did include training Prince Mint the Third to play rat basketball, studying abroad in England, and floating down the Chippewa River, it was time to move for graduate school.
Thus, she chose to work with Dr. Torregrossa at UB after having a great interview while also missing out on one of the biggest snow storms Wisconsin saw that winter. Kim earned her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience and learned all about research involving saliva and ingestive behaviors. Kim is now faculty at the University at Buffalo!
Kristen Kay
Kristen Kay made all Dr. Torregrossa’s dreams come true by moving from sunny Florida to chilly Buffalo to be her research manager and run her lab in 2015.
Kristen studied biological sciences at Florida State University and has spent seven years cultivating her numerous lab skills under the tutelage of various distinguished professors. Kristen left the lab to begin her graduate work at the Cleveland Clinic in the Fall of 2019.
Kristen now has her PhD and works on cancer research at Cleveland Clinic.
Laura Martin
Laura Martin was born in Kansas City and spent 18 relatively unremarkable years there before moving to Tallahassee to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. At FSU, Laura met Dr. Torregrossa (who prefers to be called Ann-Marie) where she discovered her deep and abiding love of scientific research.
After several years working with Ann-Marie, Laura wanted to continue studying taste, so Ann-Marie asked her to move to Buffalo. Laura graduated from Psychology department in the middle of the Covid pandemic but still enjoys talking about saliva and spending time with her adorable dog. Laura is now a sensory scientist at the Coca Cola Company.