DCNL - People



	Chandan Vaidya, Ph.D., Principal Investigator Chandan Vaidya, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Georgetown University and an investigator at the Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC. Her graduate training is in Developmental Psychology from Syracuse University and her post-doctoral training is in Cognitive Neuroscience from Stanford University. Dr. Vaidya's research program is focused upon characterizing the functional neural architecture of adaptive mechanisms during the life span. Adaptive mechanisms promote goal-directed behaviors that allow us to adjust effectively to our environment. Her research focuses on two types of adaptive mechanisms - 1) Processes that require little effort such as learning from environmental regularities without intention or conscious awareness (termed implicit memory and learning); and 2) Processes that are effortful such as voluntary control over thoughts and actions (termed executive control). Further, her studies investigate how these adaptive mechanisms differ across individuals, particularly with respect to genetic functional polymorphisms of the dopamine system (e.g., DAT, COMT). Her research involves multidisciplinary methods, comprising behavioral, neuropsychological, and structural and functional brain imaging. Studies include normally developing children and adults as well as those with developmental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Stephanie Bean, Lab Manager Stephanie graduated from Georgetown University in 2009 with a B.A. in Psychology. While at Georgetown, Stephanie was an undergraduate research assistant in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab for three years, work which culminated in a senior honors thesis about the effect of emotion on logical reasoning in adults. She currently coordinates ongoing projects in the lab, managing the various components of the research process. She plans to pursue graduate studies in the Fall of 2011. Devon Shook, Research Assistant Devon graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 with a B.S. in Physics and Psychology. He previously worked as the lab manager (2006-2009) and as a research assistant, he continues to analyze fMRI and behavioral data. Xiaozhen You, Post-Doctoral Fellow Xiaozhen graduated from Florida International University in 2010 with a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering where she specialized in medical signal (EEG) and imaging (fMRI of language) analysis in pediatric populations with autism and epilepsy. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2005. Her post-doctoral work at Georgetown will involve fMRI and DTI analyses of attention and emotion in pediatric developmental disorders. Ericka Burgos, M.A., Graduate IPN Student Ericka is a fifth-year graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience. She graduated from George Mason University with a B.A. in Psychology and, in 2005, an M.A. in Biopsychology. Her research interest is in reward systems in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders. Her current project examines salience processing in children with and without ADHD. Melanie Stollstorff, M.A., Graduate Psychology Student Melanie received her B.Sc. at the University of Toronto, where she specialized in Physiological Psychology. Her Master's research investigated cognitive control in deductive reasoning using fMRI. Melanie is currently pursuing her Ph.D. degree in the Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience Program in the Psychology Department at Georgetown. She uses genetics, fMRI and behavioral testing to study the neurobiology of higher cognition. She is investigating reasoning, working memory and inhibitory control in adults and also in children with ADHD. She hopes that her research will lead to a better understanding of the neural bases of higher cognition and also help diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. Evan Gordon, Graduate IPN Student Evan graduated from Duke University in 2004 with a B.S. in Psychology. He is a third-year graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience. Evan uses functional neuroimaging to understand the network organization of the human brain. He is interested in investigating how the strength of brain networks affects cognition, as well as how genes regulating the neurotransmitter dopamine can affect those networks. Eric Murphy, M.A., Graduate Psychology Student Eric received his B.A. in Biopsychology from Oberlin College in 2003, and his M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago in 2004, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience Program in the Psychology Department at Georgetown. His research at Georgetown will use functional neuroimaging techniques to study the interactions between emotion and attention regulation systems in autism and ADHD. He is particularly interested in studying the relationship between functional and structural connectivity in these systems. Undergraduate Research Assistants Daniel Bercik, Georgetown University, Class of 2011 Helen Burton, Georgetown University, Class of 2011 Anila D'Mello, Georgetown University, Class of 2012 Adam Fine, Georgetown University, Class of 2012 Brisas Flores, Georgetown University, Class of 2011 Andrew Malzberg, Georgetown University, Class of 2011 Nick Parrott Lab Alumni Ph.D. Students Kelly Barnes - Received Ph.D. in 2008, currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Washington University, St. Louis. Undergraduate Students Jane Dewire, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2008-2010 Lindsay Anderson, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2008-2009 Stephanie Bean, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2006-2009 Michael Billington, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2006-2008 Colin Brody, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2006-2008 Joshua Henderson, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2006-2008 Brett Robinson, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2006-2008 Meg Benner, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2004-2006 Leslie Claracay, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2004-2005 Jonathan Gardner, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2004-2005 Julie Balzano, Undergraduate Honors Thesis Student, 2003-2004 Marianne Huger, Undergraduate Research Assistant Casey Hoffman, Undergraduate Research Assistant Vanessa Rakaczky, Undergraduate Research Assistant Rosie Gomez-Lobo, Undergraduate Research Assistant Rotation Students Lauren Pepe, Rotating IPN Student, 2010 Laurie Glezer, Rotating IPN Student, 2004 Elizabeth Lacey, Rotating IPN Student, 2004 Sylvie Song, Rotating IPN Student, 2004 Post-Doctoral Fellows Philip Lee, Ph.D. - Currently a third-year student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Lab Staff Jen Foss-Feig, Lab Manager, 2004-2006 Mara Fleischer, Research Assistant, 2004-2005 Lauren Kaplan, Lab Manager, 2003-2004 Sarah Noonan, Lab Manager, 2001-2003 Collaborators Children's National Medical Center William Gaillard, M.D. Laura Kenealy, Ph.D. Lauren Kenworthy, Ph.D. Ben Yerys, Ph.D. Georgetown University Darlene Howard, Ph.D. Barbara Schwartz, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago Mark Stein, Ph.D. Ed Cook, M.D. Catholic University of America James Howard, Ph.D. Stanford University Vinod Menon, Ph.D.
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