Meet the Lab

Lab members 2026

Scott Parnell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Scott Parnell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology and a member of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies and the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities. He earned his BA in Biology from Texas A&M University and stayed at Texas A&M for his Ph.D. in developmental neurobiology studying mechanisms of Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) under the guidance of Dr. James West. After grad school, he then moved to UNC for his postdoctoral training in embryology in the laboratory of Dr. Kathy Sulik where he started examining the stage-dependent effects of early gestational alcohol exposure. In the latter stages of his postdoctoral work, he began studying the mechanisms of how alcohol disrupts early developmental processes. The Parnell lab continues this developmental mechanistic research by studying how alcohol and other drugs affect key cellular events during early embryogenesis. Scott teaches Anatomy to the medical students and teaches graduate students in the Cell Biology & Physiology curriculum. He also provides lectures on normal and abnormal embryogenesis in many different courses throughout UNC to public health students, nursing students, and dental residents. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors, cooking, sports, working on cars, and spending time on the water with his family. Email: sparnell@med.unc.edu

Eric Fish, PhD

Research Associate

Eric Fish earned his PhD from Tufts University under the co-mentorship of Drs. Klaus A. Miczek and Joe F. DeBold. A behavioral neuroscientist at heart, Eric joined the Parnell laboratory and was immediately inspired by the elegance of morphological phenotyping. The combined powers of behavioral and morphological phenotyping allow Eric to investigate the consequences of prenatal drug exposures across the entire lifespan, and how specific gene manipulations confer sensitivity or resistance to specific prenatal alcohol effects. His research interests have recently expanded to how cannabinoids can modulate the sensitivity to prenatal alcohol exposure by acting on a similar pathogenic mechanism. In his free time, Eric enjoys being outdoors and cheering for the Tar Heels with his family.

Dina Abu Rabe, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Upcoming info

Kayla Richardson

Graduate Student

Kayla Richardson is a fourth-year graduate student in the Parnell Laboratory. She received her BS in Chemistry from Pacific University, Oregon. She went on to start her biomedical research path with a post-bachelor research experience program (PREP) at Boston University. Where she worked in Dr. Camron Bryant’s Laboratory, phenotyping key aspects of specific substance use disorders (SUDs). Kayla is primarily interested in how drugs of abuse change molecular landscapes leading to changes in anatomy and behavior throughout the lifespan. Her lab work focuses on the endocannabinoid system, investigating the structure and function of this system during neurulation. Further, she investigates how alcohol dysregulates this system during embryogenesis to further elucidate alcohol’s teratogenic effects. To investigate this system, she takes a multidisciplinary approach — utilizing fluorescence microscopy, molecular biology techniques, and RNA sequencing. Kayla’s science is inspired by the human condition; specifically, she is interested in clinically relevant SUD models. Her developmental biology investigations are driven by the structure-function motif that is ubiquitous in science. Outside of the lab, you can find Kayla lounging with her cats — investigating the nuances of internet culture, cooking, and binge-watching terrible movies and tv-shows.

Violet Rowland

Graduate Student

Taraneh Sadritabrizi

Graduate Student

Taraneh Sadritabrizi is a graduate student in the Cell Biology and Physiology PhD curriculum at UNC, where she also earned her B.S. in Biology. In her previous research work, she studied the cellular and molecular mechanisms of chronic pulmonary disease development and repair using in vitro and in vivo model systems. She is excited to hone these skills in her dissertation work as she studies the cellular and molecular systems affecting genetic susceptibility to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and disruption to early embryonic development. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, as well as exploring and spending time outdoors.