Meet the team
Dr Sana Hannan
Principal Investigator
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Sana joined Lancaster University in September 2023 as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Neuroscience, where she leads the NEON Lab. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience from UCL (2019) and a Bachelor of Medical Science (BMedSc) degree from the University of Birmingham (2014). Prior to establishing the NEON Lab, Sana held postdoctoral research fellow positions at UCL and the Montreal Neurological Institute in Canada.
Samantha-Jo Hollings
Research Technician
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Sammy joined the NEON Lab in August 2025 as a Research Technician, and supports our experimental studies investigating how sleep-related brain activity contributes to memory processing. She holds a MSc in Applied Neuropsychology from the University of Bristol (2022) and a BSc in Psychology from Lancaster University (2020). Sammy has also worked as a Researcher at Galen Research.
Leanna Keeble
PhD Student
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Leanna joined the NEON Lab as a PhD student in October 2024. Her project focuses on understanding the role of sleep architecture in offline memory processing in the human brain, using EEG and behavioural testing. Leanna holds a MSc in Psychological Research Methods (2024) and a BSc in Psychology (2022) from Lancaster University.
Umesh Mudavath
Visiting Researcher
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Umesh joined the NEON Lab in January 2025 as a Visiting PhD student. His project is focused on characterising neurophysiological features of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, using EEG recordings. Since 2022, Umesh has been pursuing his PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati.
Sofia Antoniazzi
MRes Student
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Sofia joined the NEON Lab in October 2025 as a MSc by Research (MRes) student. Her project is focused on understanding the complex links between late-onset epilepsy and dementia in older adults. Sofia holds a BSc in Biochemistry from Lancaster University (2025), where she completed her third-year dissertation project in the NEON Lab.
Summer Rickard
Research Assistant
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Summer has been working in the NEON Lab since May 2025 as a casual Research Assistant through the Psychology Employability Programme, supporting our experimental studies on sleep and memory. She is currently a second-year BSc Psychology student at Lancaster University.
Alumni
- Andrea Mosqueda-Jolly, Research Assistant (2025)
- Joan Kolo, Summer Research Intern (2024)
- Tamzin Holden, MSci Biochemistry (2023-24)
- Laura Yianni, MSci Biology (2023-24)