Education

 

Postdoctoral Fellowship

2017-present: University of California, Davis

Advisor: Charan Ranganath, Ph.D.

 

Ph.D. Neurobiology and Behavior

2014-2017: University of California, Irvine

Advisor: Michael Yassa, Ph.D.

Dissertation: Domain selectivity and age-related vulnerability in the human medial temporal lobes

 

Ph.D. student, Psychological and Brain Sciences

2012-2013: Johns Hopkins University

Advisor: Michael Yassa, Ph.D.

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B.S. Psychology with Honors, summa cum laude

B.A. Philosophy with Honors, summa cum laude

2008-2012: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Advisor: David Knight, Ph.D.

Thesis: Negitave but not positive emotional images modulate the startle response independent of conscious awareness

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Other Research Experience

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Research Assistant

2011: Vanderbilt University

Advisor: Bruce McCandliss, Ph.D.

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Research Assistant

2009-2010: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Advisor: David Sweatt, Ph.D.

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Teaching

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Guest Lecturer - Motivation in Learning and Memory

2018: University of California, Davis

Primary Instructor: Charan Ranganath, Ph.D.

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Guest Lecturer - Basis and Basics of Functional MRI

2018: University of California, Davis

UC Davis Memory and Plasticity Program Mentorship Meeting

 

Guest Lecturer - Brain Dysfunction

2017: University of California, Irvine

Primary Instructor: Michael Yassa, Ph.D.

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Teaching Assistant - Human Neuropsychology

2015: University of California, Irvine

Primary Instructor: Michael Yassa, Ph.D.

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Discussion Section Leader - Biology: from DNA to Organisms

2014: University of California, Irvine

Primary Instructors: Marcelo Wood, Ph.D.; Kim Green, Ph.D.; Jorge Busciglio, Ph.D.

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Teaching Assistant - Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

2013: Johns Hopkins University

Primary Instructor: Michael Yassa, Ph.D.

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Teaching Assistant - Cognitive Psychology

2013: Johns Hopkins University

Primary Instructor: Jonathan Flombaum, Ph.D.

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Teaching Assistant - Brain, Mind, and Behavior

2011: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Primary Instructor: David Knight, Ph.D.

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Awards & Honors

 

National Scholars Honor Society, 2010

Psi Chi Honor Society, 2011

Leadership Alliance, Early Identification Program Fellowship, 2011

UAB Psychology Department travel award, 2011

UAB Psychology Department achievement award, 2012

First Place at UAB Ost Undergraduate Research Competition, 2012

UCI Biological Sciences William F. Holcomb Scholarship, 2014

ARCS/ROCHE Scholar Award, 2014-2017

James L. McGaugh Award for Excellence in Graduate Research, 2015

Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience Fellowship, 2015

UCI MIND Outstanding Predoctoral Scholar Award, 2016

UCI Chancellor's Club Fund for Excellence Fellowship, 2017

UCI Spring Meeting Award for Best Data Blitz, 2017

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Research Support

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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2013-2016 (stipend and fees)

NIA R21AG049220 co-written with advisor Dr. Michael Yassa, 2015-2017 ($250,000)

NIA T32AG0000096 Training Grant in the Neurobiology of Aging, 2016-2017 (stipend and fees)

NIA T32AG050061 Training Grant in the Neuroscience of Cognitive Aging, 2017-2020

UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center Pilot Award, Co-PI with Dr. Charan Ranganath, 2018-2019 ($32,000)

 

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Academic Services & Activities

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Advisor, UC Davis Advancing Diversity in Aging Resarch (ADAR) Program

Advisor, UC Davis Memory and Plasticity Program Mentorship Group

Judge, Center for Neuroscience annual poster contest, UC Davis, 2018

Ad hoc reviewer for the following journals:

Alzheimers & Dementia

Behavioural Brain Research

Cerebral Cortex

Cortex

eLife

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

Hippocampus

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

Journal of Neuroscience

Learning and Memory

Nature Communications

Nature Neuroscience

Neurobiology of Aging

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

NeuroImage

PLOS One

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA

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Professional Memberships & Affiliations

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Pavlovian Society, 2011-2013

Society for Neuroscience, 2011-present

Cognitive Neuroscience Society, 2012-present

Hippocampal Subfield Segmentation Summit, 2013-present

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Mentoring

Natalie DiProspero, 2013, 2017

Undergraduate Summer Research Assistant, later Ph.D. student

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Amanda Woodward, 2013

Undergraduate Summer Research Assistant

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Huy Ho, 2014-2016

Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Jessica Noche, 2014-2017

Undergraduate Research Assistant, later Junior Specialist

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Anna Smith, 2016, 2017

Undergraduate Summer Research Assistant, later Junior Specialist

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Jessica Macaluso, 2018-present

Research Assistant

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Ryan Bugsch, 2018-present

Research Assistant

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Laura Terlau, 2018

Visiting Scholar

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Brendan Cohn-Sheehy

Ph.D. Student (PI: Dr. Charan Ranganath)

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Publications & Presentations

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Please see my Publications page for a full list of my papers, talks, and poster presentations.

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