Researchers

Jessica Stark 

Jessica is a clinical psychology graduate student. Her research interests are focused on early identification of cognitive decline and interventions to promote healthy aging. Jessica’s goal is to promote individualized treatments to prevent or ameliorate cognitive dysfunction, and to educate our aging population through community outreach. In her free time, Jessica enjoys spending time with friends and family, running, and exploring new cities.

Matthew Stauder

Matthew is a graduate student in Clinical Psychology. He graduated in the Ohio State University Class of 2018 with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience. After graduation, Matthew coordinated clinical trials in the Neurological Clinical Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research interests involve advancing our understanding and promotion of brain health – physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning – throughout the adult lifespan. In his spare time, Matthew enjoys all sorts of exercise and sports, reading about history and current events, and listening to comedy podcasts.

Annie Lee

Annie is a Clinical Psychology graduate student. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2019 with a B.A. in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology, and a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience. Following graduation, she worked at the WashingtonUniversity School of Medicine, running MRI scans, and working with diffusion and EEG data. Her research interests include early detection and prevention of cognitive aging. In her free time, she enjoys finding new restaurants and cafes, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Jena Moody

Jena joined the MINDSET lab in 2018. She is a recent graduate of St. Olaf College and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology. Her research interests include stress, TBI, and the relationship between the brain and behavior. Outside of lab, she enjoys running, going to her cabin in northern Minnesota, and spending time with family and friends.

Kate Nolan

Kate is a graduate from Stony Brook University with a master’s in Neuroscience. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology. Her research interests include TBI and the relationship between brain and cognition. In her free time, Kate loves to read European historical fiction, bake cookies for her loved ones, and travel.

Erica Howard

Erica graduated from Fordham University in 2017 with a B.S. in Neuroscience. She then worked with neurodegenerative disease patients at the University of Pennsylvania before joining the MINDSET lab in 2021. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology. Her research interests include brain injury and its interaction with other biopsychological risk factors for neurodegeneration. For fun, Erica enjoys traveling, auto racing, and hanging out with family and friends.

Savana Jurgens

Savana graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Psychology and Biology in 2020. Before joining the MINDSET Lab, she worked as a research assistant on a study examining the long-term effects of stress and TBI in veterans at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.  Her research interests include neural and genetic correlates of symptom outcomes in TBI and stress-related disorders. Outside of the lab she enjoys hiking, music, travel and the occasional reality TV binge.

Nicole Saltiel

Nicole joined the MINDSET lab in 2022 as a clinical psychology Ph.D. student with an emphasis in neuropsychology. Prior to beginning her Ph.D. at OSU, she conducted research on neurodegenerative diseases and TBI at the Roskamp Institute and the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease and CTE Centers. Her research interests include neuroimaging markers of early-stage neurodegenerative disease and risk/resilience factors for cognitive decline including sex, cardiovascular fitness, head trauma exposure, and sociodemographic factors. 

Jessica Cloud

Jessica is a graduate student in the Cognitive Neuroscience program. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 2018 with a B.A. concentrating in Psychology and Computer Science. Following graduation, she worked at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, focused primarily on the collection and analysis of MRI and EEG data. Her research interests include identifying modifiable factors related to healthy brain aging. In her free time, she enjoys riding horses, hiking, and spending time with her many animals.

Grace Amadon

Grace is a graduate student in Clinical Psychology interested in improving classification of traumatic brain injury and understanding the reciprocal impact health behaviors (e.g., physical activity) have on long-term brain health. In 2021, she earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Humanities in Medicine at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and went on to work as a post-baccalaureate research coordinator in the Brain Injury Research Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Outside of work and school, you can find Grace in the gym, out exploring the city, or playing with her golden retriever, Breck.   

Olivia Horn

Olivia is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program. She earned a B.S. from the University of Georgia in 2021 and spent the following years conducting research on preclinical Alzheimer’s disease at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her research interests focus on early detection of cognitive decline and lifestyle factors that impact healthy brain aging. Outside of the lab, she can be found reading, hiking, or spinning a flag.

Stacey Park

Stacey is a graduate from The College of Wooster with a B.A. in Psychology. Her research interests include the relationship between the brain and cognition, mental health, and TBI using brain imaging tools. Outside of lab, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her close friends.

Abigail Bowsher

Abigail joined the Buckeye Brain Aging Lab in June 2022. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a Certificate in Forensic Populations. Her research interests include age-related cognitive decline, the early detection and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease & mild cognitive impairment, and the implementation of practices to promote healthy aging. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and exploring new places with family and friends.

Jillian Graham

Jillian is a graduate from Belmont University with a B.S. in Neuroscience and joined the Buckeye Brain Aging Lab in May of 2023. Her research focuses on investigating sex differences in various risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease, with an emphasis on determining why women have a higher diagnostic rate compared to men. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, finding new restaurants, and spending time with her friends, family, and cat, Dixie.

Noor Chaudhry

Noor Chaudhry joined the BBAL in May 2023. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 2023 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. Her research interests include all things social psychology, with a current interest in the effect of cognitive decline on social cognition, as well as the protective effects of social support on healthy brain aging and physical and mental wellbeing. In her free time, she enjoys reading, trying to make art and music, watching Netflix, and hanging out with her family and friends.

Sydney Rohl

Sydney is a senior undergraduate student at The Ohio State University studying Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish. Her research interests include neurological changes post injury and treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Outside of the lab, she is a Neuroscience Ambassador, a mentor for College Mentors for Kids, and a member of the pre-health sorority Delta Omega Kappa. In her free time, she loves to read, cook, and play with her dogs.

Carissa Tanner

Carissa is an undergraduate senior studying psychology at the Ohio State University and she plans to attend medical school after graduation. She has been a General Chemistry TA since August 2022 and she loves teaching others/mentoring. She is interested in understanding the relationships between sleep and other every day influences that can shape a person’s mind and cognitive decline. She looks forward to studying neuroimaging and how it can serve as predictive factors for this decline. In her free time, she enjoy playing volleyball, spending time with friends, traveling, and reading.

Emma Weisgerber

Emma is a senior undergraduate studying psychology and biology with a minor in American Sign Language. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school. She is interested in treatments for cognitive decline, particularly in relation to neurodegenerative disorders and brain injury. She is also interested in the relationship between physical activity levels and memory. In her free time, she enjoys diving, coaching her dive teams, watching any Buckeye sporting event, going to the gym, reading, and listening to AJR.

Olivia Eshleman

Olivia is an undergraduate senior studying Neuroscience at the Ohio State University. Olivia is interested in understanding the relationship between computational speed of the brain and lifestyle choices, particularly through various forms of imaging. In her free time, Olivia enjoys tennis, gardening, playing video games, and knitting.