People

I graduated from The Catholic University of America with my PhD in 2004 and did my postdoc at Duke University. My research focuses on elucidating the cognitive and neural mechanisms that support learning and memory in young and older adults. I employ both behavioral and neuroimaging methods, including functional MRI (fMRI) to explore the interaction of cognitive and neural processes involved in episodic memory. My research investigates the neural correlates of episodic memory during both encoding and retrieval, focusing on the neural processes associated with relational memory and false memory. Other areas of research in my lab focus on implicit learning and cognitive control of memories. With respect to cognitive aging, my research concentrates on the examination of age-related neural markers of cognitive decline, as well as mechanisms for neural compensation.

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I completed my undergraduate education at George Mason University in 2016 (B.S. in Psychology) and my graduate training at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2023 (Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology). While at UNC, I conducted various behavioral experiments related to human memory with my graduate mentor Neil Mulligan. While in graduate school, I investigated a variety of topics including the role of emotions in memory, the effect of practice on metacognitive judgments about memory performance, and the impacts of various factors on eyewitness memory performance. Currently, I am investigating the neural correlates of true and false memories in younger and older adults, as well as whether age-related memory deficits can be mitigated through cognitive interventions. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, reading, and playing video games.

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I graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with my B.S in Psychology in 2020 and again with my M.S. in Psychology in 2022. My research focuses on associative and false memory in younger and healthy older adults as well as the neural mechanisms underlying these types of memory. My master’s work focused specifically on a form of associative memory support, called unitization, across time and varying amounts of interference. Currently I am working on examining the neural correlates of unitization, as well as utilizing multivariate analytic approaches to examine schematic false memories. In my free time I enjoy running, playing guitar and hanging out with my cat.

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I graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the spring of 2021 with a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Science and minor in Biomechanics. I received my Master’s of Science from Penn State in the fall of 2024. My research interests lie under the umbrella of episodic memory, namely how people use it, how it fails, and how those failures change how people subsequently use, and depend on, their memory in the future. In my free time, I enjoy reading, rock climbing, and treating my dog to the great outdoors.

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I graduated from Rutgers University-New Brunswick in May 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science. I received my Master’s of Science from Penn State in the fall of 2024. I am interested in cognitive aging, specifically as it affects associative memory and memory errors in older adults. My undergraduate honors thesis investigated the effects of recency on immediate visual recognition. In my free time, I like to read, go for walks, and play sudoku.

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I graduated from Purdue University in 2023 with a B.S. in Brain and Behavioral Sciences. My previous research focuses heavily on neuroimaging using EEG and fMRI, specifically with cognitive and clinical studies. As a lab manager at the Cognitive Aging and Neuroimaging Lab, I strive to immerse myself in fMRI analysis and pursue my research passions of memory, cognitive aging, and neuroimaging. My hobbies include listening to music, hiking, reading, and playing video games.

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Websites:
https://www.shaarp.org/

Hi, I am a current fourth-year, first-generation student here at Penn State! This is my first lab experience, so I am super grateful and excited to be a part of the CAN study. In my free time, I enjoy working out and spending time with friends.

I am a fourth-year undergraduate honors student majoring in biobehavioral health and minoring in neuroscience. My hobbies include listening to music, playing the piano and ukulele, watching rom-coms, and traveling. In prior courses, I enjoyed learning about the information processing model and how brain structure affects function. Through communicating with our research team and participants, I hope to gain a memorable learning experience in how aging influences the brain’s memory processes.

I am a third-year undergraduate student studying psychology and criminology. I enjoy learning about how the brain processes information and studying memory. In my free time, I like to go to the gym, read, and spend time with my friends. I am very excited to gain new experiences working in this lab and to learn valuable information about conducting research.

I am a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. This is my first lab experience, and I am excited to hopefully gain research skills and build connections. In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors, playing the drums, and spending time with my friends and family.