Meet the Team
Principal Investigator
Expertise: Cognitive neuroscience, executive function, neuromodulator systems (dopamine, acetylcholine), aging.
Education: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Neuroscience, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley; Ph.D., Neuroscience, University of Michigan; B.A., Neuroscience, Oberlin College.
Program Manager
Megan joined the lab in September 2023 as the research program manager. She is the primary point of contact for study participants, manages the administrative aspects of the research, and is spearheading new initiatives for diverse community engagement. Her previous research involved the biospychosocial aspects of chronic pain and muscle physiology.
Education: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Biomechanics, Biodesign Lab, Harvard University; Ph.D., Psychology/Exercise Physiology, Ohio University; M.S. Exercise Physiology, Ohio University; B.S. Exercise Science, St. Ambrose University.
Research Assistants
Research Interests: Mariah is interested in the psychological effects that adoption and institutionalization have on mental health outcomes in children and adolescents. Her previous research experiences include working for the All of Us Research Program through Massachusetts General Hospital, being a research assistant for the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab through Brandeis University, and working on multiple published studies about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline staff at MGH.
Education: B.A., Psychology, Sociology, Brandeis University
Research Interests: Alex is interested in developmental psychology. His past research focused on early social and cognitive development, specifically looking at potential biomarkers for healthy childhood development.
Education: B.S., Psychology, University of Miami
Research Interests: Johanna's research interests include the neuro-biological basis of mental illness and structural/functional brain changes in aging.
Education: B.S., Neuroscience, University of Rochester
Postdoctoral Fellows
Research Interests: Hsiang-Yu used a multimodal approach including pupillometry assessment, MRI, and modeling during her Ph.D. to investigate decision-making and reward learning in aging. Her current research interests include PET and pupillometry study to understand how age-related decline in the catecholaminergic functioning such as dopamine or norepinephrine may affect decision-making in old age and how it may be related to brain network activity or tau pathology.
Education: Ph.D., Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden
Research Interests: Tom studies how catecholamine synthesis modulates age-related changes in cognition and functional brain network architecture. His work combines multimodal neuroimaging with analysis methods from network science. During his Ph.D., Tom used fMRI to study how brain networks interact over time during rule-learning and abstract reasoning tasks.
Education: Ph.D., Computational Neuroscience, Boston University
Research Interests: Jenny’s research centers on the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms underlying motivation and decision-making across the adult life span. To study this, she uses a variety of techniques, including behavioral, neuroimaging (fMRI, PET), and translational (EMA, passive sensing) methods.
Education: Ph.D., Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University
PhD Students
Research Interests: Jourdan has worked in psychological assessment, eye-tracking, MRI and animal model research in the past. Her current research interests use fMRI and PET imaging techniques to understand how individual differences in dopamine release are related to higher-level cognition and brain network activity.
Education: M.A., Psychology, Brandeis University; B.A., Neuroscience, Boston University.
Research Interests: Claire’s current interests involve studying how the dopamine and norepinephrine systems are related to mechanisms of resilience and reserve in aging, and how these mechanisms impact structural and functional brain changes in healthy older adults. Before starting a Ph.D. at Brandeis, Claire worked as the lab manager in the Neurochemistry and Cognition Lab.
Education: B.A., Psychology, Rice University.
Research Interests: Teodora's research interests include neuroimaging and neuromodulation, specifically looking at how the serotonin system works to compensate for changes related to normal and pathological aging. In the past, she has worked on understanding the evolutionary purpose of chronic pain using mouse models, as well as on characterizing the proteome of RNA granules.
Education: M.S., Neuroscience, Brandeis University; B.S., Psychology, McGill University
Research Interests: In the past, Rachel has worked in psychological assessment and imaging techniques such as fNIRS, MRI, and PET. Her current research interests use fMRI and PET imaging techniques to understand sex differences of catecholaminergic functioning in age-related cognitive decline and what roles these difference may play in brain network activity or tau pathology.
Education: B.A., Psychology, Brandeis University
Research Interests: Daisy's research interests are centered within the domains of Aging, Cognition & Perception, and Memory changes associated with aging and underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative illnesses. e.g Alzheimer's disease.
Education: B.S., Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell; A.S., Public Administration and Social Service Professions, North Shore Community College
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Research Interests: Isaac runs neuropsychological testing sessions for the Brandeis Aging Brain Study and the Aging, Memory, and Emotional Salience studies. After college, Isaac plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience with the ultimate goal of running his own lab studying complex cognitive function.
Education: Pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience with minors in Computer Science and Linguistics
Research Interests: McKenna is assisting with the Memory and Eye Tracking in Aging (META) study, as well as the neuropsychological battery. After college, McKenna plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience with the ultimate goal of researching pharmaceutical development.
Education: pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience and Biology with a minor in Anthropology
Alumni
Education: Pursuing an M.P.H., University of Massachusetts Amherst; B.S., Biology, Stonehill College; Former Lab Manager
Education: B.S., Biology, Kansas State University; Former Rotating Neuroscience PhD Student
Education: Pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience with minors in Psychology and Studio Art; Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Education: Pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology; Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
B.S., Biochemistry, Elon University; Former Lab Manager
B.A., Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder; Former Research Assistant
