People
Principle Investigator
Nancy Dennis, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology
(Lab Director)
nad12@psu.edu
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 diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional MRI (fMRI) to explore the interaction of cognitive and neural processes involved in episodic memory. While my primary research investigates the neural correlates of item memory during both encoding and retrieval, my research also examines the neural processes associated with relational memory and false memory. 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. Other lines of research include both implicit learning and genetic neuroimaging.
Lab Manager
Simon Vandekar
snv5004@psu.edu
I recently graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. I am interested in the neural basis of Memory and psychosis. I have had neuroimaging experience working with EEG in the Human Electrophysiology Facility of SLEIC. In the CAN Lab I am responsible for scheduling, training and data analysis. While not in the lab I enjoy playing bass guitar and watching movies with my fiancé and rabbit.
Graduate Students
Avery Rizio
aar175@psu.edu
I graduated from Hamilton College in 2009, with a major in Psychology and a minor Anthropology.
I began my research in Psychology investigating single-cell activity from the rat superior
colliculus during reward magnitude task performance. For the past three years, however, my research
has focused on Directed Forgetting (DF), a process that occurs when individuals are instructed to
forget information they had previously memorized. I am currently working to develop a dual-process
model of DF that illustrates the relative contributions of both retrieval and encoding differences.
During my first year as a graduate student at Penn State, I hope to incorporate the CAN lab’s
focus on cognitive aging and use of fMRI with my interest in forgetting and false memories.
Christopher Stevens
cas5230@psu.edu
I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 with a major in Psychology and a concentration in Cognitive Science. My prior research includes projects on response preparation, collaborative learning, decision making, and episodic memory. My current research focuses on conscious control and skill acquisition. In the CAN lab, I am developing an experiment on implicit memory, a type of memory that occurs without awareness and is outside a person's voluntary control.
Undergraduate Honors Students
Jonathan Harris, Psychology
jdh5110@psu.edu
I am a senior at Penn State University. I'm majoring in psychology with a concentration in neuroscience, and my academic pursuit is to study brain function and its influences on cognition and behavior. The goal of my thesis is to identify the neural correlates of semantic encoding between living and non-living things across various categories of words.
Jonathan is also a 2009 Undergraduate Discovery Summer Grant recipient for his honors thesis entitled, “An fMRI investigation of successful memory for category-specific semantic processing”.
Deepa Ramasamy, Biology and Chemistry
dxr5015@psu.edu
I am working in the CAN lab as a senior honors undergraduate student in order to learn more about the specific functions of the brain as it relates to cognitive psychology. I am currently seeking a B.S. in Biology with intentions of going on to dental school after college.
Deepa will begin work on her thesis project, "Encoding during retrieval: an fMRI study" this Fall.
Ethan Zimmerman, Psychology
edz108@psu.edu
I am a junior majoring in psychology pursuing the neuroscience option. I have an interest in biological psychology which goes hand in hand with neuroscience. I am currently working in the CAN lab to learn more about the neurological basis of memory in older and young adults as well as to learn about ways in which older adult's brains change over time to compensate areas no longer functioning in memory storage and retrieval. I plan to go to medical school.
Undergraduates
Katherine Ross, Psychology
kmr5109@psu.edu
I am a senior majoring in Psychology with a focus on neuroscience at Penn State University. Currently, I am working in CAN Lab on my senior project, which investigates the affects of different retrieval tasks on false memories in older adults. In the future, I plan to continue research in graduate school while applying it to a more clinical setting.
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Katherine is also a recipient of both the Paul R. Cornwell Memorial Award and the President’s Fund Award for her senior project, “Effects of retrieval task on false memories in young and older adults.”
Brittany Coulter, Human Development and Family Studies
blc5071@psu.edu
I am a Human Development and Family Studies major with a minor in Gerontology. I am interested in the cognitive development in older adults and am working in the CAN lab as a research assistant.
Jessica Yeung, Psychology and Pre-Medicine
joy5035@psu.edu
I am a junior at Penn State. I’m trying to double major in Psychology with the neuroscience option, and Pre-Medicine with a minor in Human Development & Family Studies. I am definitely interested in learning a bit more about neurological basis and how it goes hand in hand with memory cognition in both young and older adults. My ambitions are to go to Medical School once I obtain my Penn State Undergraduate degree.
Bryant Seeley, Psychology
bas5183@psu.edu
I am a junior psychology major with a neuroscience option. The brain in general has always sparked my interest and while working in the CAN lab I hope to learn more about the functions of the brain relating to memory and cognitive psychology. Upon graduation I plan to attend graduate school to study either clinical psychology or neuroscience.
Kayleigh Christie, Science
kmc5378@psu.edu
I'm a sophomore at Penn State, majoring in Science with the Life Science option and a minor in Women's Studies. With hopes of attending medical school, I am working in CAN Lab as a research assistant to explore possible interests for the future.
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Carrie Pancurak, Psychology
cap5036@psu.edu
I am a junior at Penn State working on my BS in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. I am interested in studying biological processes of abnormal behavior. I plan on attending graduate school to study Behavioral Neuroscience. Along with working in the CAN lab, I also work in a Psycholinguistics lab studying the neural processes of bilinguists using ERP technology and data analysis. My ultimate goal is to research neurological processes and malfunctions of various psychopathologies such as Alzheimer's and dementia praecox and pioneer the development of cognitive-behavioral and occupational therapies.
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