Whitney Stevens-Sostre, PhD

Biography

Advisor: Mrinalini Hoon, PhD

Keywords: retina, synaptic adhesion protein, synapses, receptors and ion channels, retinal neurons

Education
BS 2015, Biology, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM)
PhD 2023, Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI

Research
Dr. Stevens-Sostre is interested in understanding the mechanisms of circuit establishment and function in the mammalian retina. Her graduate training in the biophysics of hERG voltage-gated potassium channels led her to study how ion channels contribute to retinal circuit function and the intrinsic excitability of retinal neurons. Specifically, for her postdoctoral work, she combines single-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, high-resolution imaging, and transgenic models to investigate how voltage-gated ion channels regulate retinal circuit establishment, retinal ganglion cell excitability, and visual processing in the mammalian retina. She is a 2024 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Hanna Gray Fellow and an alumna of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) F99/K00.  Beyond the bench, Dr. Stevens-Sostre is the Founding President of Black In Biophysics, leading national initiatives that recognize and celebrate Black biophysicists, empower underrepresented scholars, and build inclusive scientific communities. Her research and career leadership have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Award and the 2026 Henry Grass Rising Stars in Neuroscience Award.

Publications