Michaela’s research interests include studying neural circuit physiology and the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). Michaela completed her Ph.D. in Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics at the University of Miami, where she studied the biophysical properties of a voltage-gated potassium ion channel (KCNQ2), which is responsible for regulating cell membrane excitability, and how genetically inherited mutations throughout the protein's structure can lead to altered ion homeostasis and cell dysfunction. These channelopathies ultimately result in neonatal epilepsies and neurodevelopmental disorders. She joined the Pokam Lab in January 2023 and her current work focuses on neural network excitability changes after TBI, the functional role of ion channels and transporters in neurons and glial cells, and how their dysfunction contributes to TBI pathophysiology, cell hyperexcitability, and the development of seizures and PTE. Michaela uses in-vivo and ex-vivo electrophysiological techniques, as well as two-photon imaging, to uncover the chronic changes in neural network signaling after TBI in our lab's translational models. Michaela's research is supported by The American Epilepsy Society's Postdoctoral Fellowship (as of August 2024). When she is not in the lab, she enjoys being outside with her dog, yoga, and playing soccer.