About
Rida Ismail is the Study Coordinator and Lab Manager for the Bickart Lab. She earned her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Biomedical Research from UCLA, graduating Summa Cum Laude with Highest Departmental Honors. During her undergraduate studies, Rida volunteered at the BrainSPORT Clinic, where she contributed to a football mouthguard study and a pediatric clinical trial investigating autonomic, imaging, and blood biomarkers for concussions, work that ultimately formed the basis of her senior Neuroscience Capstone. Her current research interests focus on sleep impairment in chronic concussion and heart rate variability differences between concussed and control populations. Rida is the recipient of the National Neurotrauma Symposium 2025 Faden Award for her research on Sleep Impairment as an Independent Predictor of Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms.