Lab Alumni
Christina Zonker (Research Assistant 2023)
Christina graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a B.A. in Psychology. She joined OHSU in October of 2022 as a volunteer research assistant for Dr. Nigg’s lab at the Center of ADHD Research and was brought on full-time in July of 2021. She currently works part-time for Dr. Jeanette Johnstone in the Science, Nutrition, Affect & Cognition in Kids (SNACK) lab studying the effects of micronutrients/multi-nutrients in kids with ADHD and emotional dysregulation.
Alex Heinrich (Research Assistant 2022-2023)
Alex graduated from Portland State University with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy. His educational background in psychology and philosophy have provided him with a solid understanding of human behavior and the intricacies of the human mind. He is deeply interested in the field of neuroscience and is eager to further his education by pursuing a Ph. D. in Neuroscience research.
Andrew Turgeon (Research Assistant 2022-2023)
Andrew graduated from Smith College in 2021 with a B.A. in Biology and a minor in Psychology. His previous research experience focused on how impulsivity moderates the relationship between ADHD and bulimia symptoms. He is interested in pursuing a degree in Clinical Psychology.
Jessica Faraca (Research Assistant 2021-2022)
Jessica graduated from Washington State University in 2020 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Psychology. Her previous research experience focused on neural mechanisms of pain modulation and animal models for opioid withdrawal. She is interested in addiction research exploring relationships between reward seeking behavior and the development of substance use disorders.
Jackson Lee (Summer Research Intern 2022)
Jackson Lee is a rising third year undergraduate student studying neuroscience at Amherst College. His past research experience includes working with zebrafish to study the effects of hormone treatment on signal transduction in noise damaged hair cells. In the future, he is interested in pursuing a career in both medical treatment and research.
Enedina Zepcan (Research Assistant, 2022)
Enedina, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, graduated from Lewis and Clark college in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Neuroscience and Hispanic Studies. Her previous research focused on the effect of bilingualism on executive functions in young adults; prosocial behavior in children; and the effect of gut microbiom dysbiosis on the brain and behavior of children. She is interested in pursuing a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience.
Kate Barnes (Research Assistant, 2022)
Kate graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in Computational Cognitive Science. Previously, she conducted Data Science research analyzing factors contributing to the popularity of online media. She is interested in applying Computer Science methods to Psychology research, particularly in computational models of emotion. She also has a background in community building with non-profits, and she values bridging the gap between research and community.
Interns, Summer 2018
Left to right: Top Row: Jacob Walter (University of Chicago), Bella Meyn (Lake Oswego high school, Saturday Academy ASE intern), Bahati Nkera (University of Massachesetts Amherst, OHSU Equity Program intern), Bottom Row: Yoonseo Song (Camas High School, Saturday Academy ASE intern), Adie Fecker (University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences Summer Internship Program)
Darby Dyar, B. S. (Research Assistant 2016-2018)
Darby received her B.S. in Psychological Science from Purdue University. She worked on several studies while in the lab including a study in collaboration with Dr. Bonnie Nagel's Developmental Brain Imaging Lab. She played a key role in the Translational NeuroEconomics lab in all aspects of participant recruiting and running, as well as writing projects and managing summer and undergraduate research assistants and interns.
Austin Phanouvong, B. S. (Research Assistant, 2016-2018)
Austin was an undergraduate scholar at Portland State University and majored in Biology and minoring in Chemistry. He joined the lab as a research intern through the PSU BUILD EXITO program, and stayed on as a research assistant briefly after graduation to assist on a project assessing cognitive effort discounting and its role in self-control.
Travis Moschak, Ph.D. (Graduate student, 2008-2014)
Major area of research while in the lab: neural correlates of impulsivity in rats and mice
NRSA (F31 AA020741): Determining the neurological and behavioral substrates of ethanol and discounting
Education: B.S., Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Dissertation title: The role of ethanol and neuroanatomical regions in sensitivity to delay and sensitivity to magnitude of reward. View Dr. Moschak's dissertation
Gabriel Searcy, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral fellow, 2012)
Major area of research while in the lab: impulsivity and risk-taking in cigarette smokers
Education: Ph.D. Western Michigan University
Dissertation title: Short-term nicotine abstinence and decision-making. View Dr. Searcy's dissertation
Clare Wilhelm, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral fellow, 2006-2009)
Major area of research while in the lab: impulsivity in selected lines of rats including the effects of environmental and alcohol manipulations
NRSA (F32 AA017035): Impulsivity and effects of alcohol in high and low alcohol drinking rats
Education: Ph.D. Oregon Health & Science University
Dissertation title: Methamphetamine-induced disruption of dopamine homeostasis: the ins and outs of transport. View Dr. Wilhelm's dissertation
Rachelle Yankelevitz, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral fellow, 2009-2011)
Major area of research while in the lab: humans’ self-control and risk taking under the influence of alcohol
NRSA (F32AA020447): Alcohol’s effects on sensitivity to social and nonsocial information [awarded but returned]
Education: Ph.D. University of Florida, Gainesville FL
Dissertation title: Some effects of economic context on pigeons’ choices in situations of diminishing returns. View Dr. Yankelevitz's dissertation
Christa Helms, Ph. D. (Graduate student, 2001-2007)
Major area of research while in the lab: control of rodent behavior by schedules of reinforcement, and its interaction with the pharmacological effects of ethanol
NRSA (F31 MH070219): Areas of amygdala and frontal cortex in outcome learning
Education: B.A., Psychology, Reed College, Portland OR
Dissertation title: Adaptation of choice behavior in concurrent chains schedules and the role of the basolateral amygdala. View Dr. Helms dissertation