Vivian Doan

Vivian Doan (she/her) is a member of the Yale College Class of 2026, pursuing a BS in Neuroscience on the pre-med track. In the Blumenfeld Lab, she works with her mentors Jerry Liu, PhD, and Samiksha Chopra. With Dr. Liu, she investigates how inhibitory inputs suppress subcortical arousal during focal limbic seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy. With Samiksha, she studies the mechanisms underlying impaired arousal and altered auditory processing and responsiveness during spike-wave discharges in absence seizures.

Outside of the lab, Vivian enjoys painting and running, and she also volunteers at the HAVEN Free Clinic. As a first-generation low-income student, she is committed to expanding access to both education and healthcare. She hopes that her work in the Blumenfeld Lab will support her goals of becoming both an educator and a physician.