Sarah Perry

Sarah Perry is a Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she studies how genes and neural circuits interact to shape decision-making and impulsive behavior. Working in the Roesch lab, her research focuses on how epigenetic regulation, particularly through HDAC5 manipulation, alters activity in the anterior insula, a brain region involved in integrating reward, risk, and internal state to guide behavior. Using rodent models, electrophysiology, and decision-making tasks, she examines how molecular changes can reshape neural encoding of reward expectation, cues, and outcomes, ultimately influencing impulsivity, cognitive control, and risk evaluation. Her work aims to connect neural mechanisms to broader questions in psychiatry, including substance use vulnerability, anxiety, and maladaptive decision-making. Outside of research, she writes short stories and performs stand-up comedy, using humor and narrative as parallel tools for exploring human behavior. She shares her work and scientific perspectives on X (@Sarahperry2001) and through contributions to ScientistsHub.com, where she continues developing her voice as both a scientist and communicator

PhD – UMD (2028)