Neurocognitive Development Lab

Lab Members

Tracy Riggins, Ph.D. CV

Associate Professor • Department of Psychology • Biology/Psychology Building 2147J

Tracy Riggins received her Ph.D. in Child Psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. She completed postdoctoral fellowships in pediatric neuroimaging at the University of California, Davis and the University of Maryland, School of Medicine in Baltimore. The goal of her research program is to provide better understanding of the neural bases of cognitive development, particularly in the domain of memory. The empirical research conducted in her laboratory (known as the Neurocognitive Developmental Lab or NCDL) involves both typically developing children and children at-risk for cognitive impairments and uses a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging methodologies. Findings from her research have shown accelerated rates of change in children’s episodic memory abilities during early childhood that are associated with changes in hippocampal structure and function. Recently, she has begun to explore how individual differences in experiences such as sleep or parenting impact memory and brain development. Her research has been funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Riggins currently teaches an undergraduate course in Developmental Psychology (PSYC355) and a graduate seminar on Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

Current Graduate Students

Tamara Allard

Tamara is a fifth-year graduate student in the Developmental Area of the Psychology Department. She graduated from Washington State University in 2018 with a B.S. in psychology and a B.S. in kinesiology. Her research interests include health and lifestyle factors that impact the early development of episodic memory, specifically sleep, diet, and exercise.

Jade Dunstan

Jade is a third-year graduate student in the Developmental Area of the Psychology Department. She graduated from Boston College in 2016 with a B.S. in in Psychology and held a full-time Research Assistant position in the Gaab Lab at Boston Children's Hospital from 2016-2020. Her research interests include the neural mechanisms underlying the development of autobiographical memory in children.

Yuqing Lei

Yuqing is a fifth-year graduate student in the Cognitive and Neural Systems Area of the Psychology Department. She graduated from Scripps College in 2018 with a dual degree in psychology and neuroscience, as well as a minor in computer science. Her research interests include applying behavioral modeling and neuroimaging methods to understand cognitive functions such as memory and decision making.

Brooke Kohn

Brooke is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Area of the Psychology Department. She graduated from Kenyon College in 2018 with a B.A. in in Psychology and a minor in English. She has held full-time Research Assistant positions in the Nelson and Faja Lab at Boston Children's Hospital (2018-2021) and Dr. Moriah Thomason's lab at New York University (2021-2022). Brooke is interested in studying dimensions of dyadic synchrony and environmental stressors that influence neurodevelopmental trajectories and child self-regulatory capabilities.

Dunsin Akinyemi

Dunsin is a graduate student at Temple University pursuing her dual master's degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences and Health Informatics. She graduated from Morgan State University in 2019 with a B.S in Biology and a minor in Psychology. She currently holds a position as a Scientific Information Analyst supporting the NIH. Dunsin has done previous research work with the NCDL as a BSOS SRI scholar and has worked in different research labs at MSU as an NIH-ASCEND scholar. Her research interests include studying ecological factors that affect children's neurocognitive behavioral outcomes.

Staff

Adriane Davis

Lab Manager
Georgia State University (2020)
Major: Neuroscience

Zehua Cui

Postdoc
University off Georgia (2022)
Major: Human Development and Family Science

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Neurocognitive Development Lab. I received my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Georgia in 2022. My research focuses on examining the impact of early life stress at multiple ecological contexts (e.g., family, school, neighborhood, etc.) on children’s socio-emotional, behavioral, brain, and cognitive development. In addition, I seek to explore and identify multilevel processes and protective factors that elucidate the developmental mechanisms of resilience among children in adverse contexts.

Undergraduate Student RAs

Emily Herberholz	Immanuela-Nicole Enwesi	Jennifer Tabet	Kayla Kellner	Mark Wehland
Mary Lorenz	Meghna Pandey	Rhea Tiwari	Sonya Leikin	Darshini Babu Ganesh
Anna Karan	Christian Diaz	Annette Eldo

Lab Alumni

Abby Hsiung	Ada Wong	Agnes Varghese	Alan Siegel	Alexa Noppenberger
Alexis Spiotta	Alice Jackson, Ph.D	Alicia Gordon	Alison Gruber	Alison Robey, Ph.D
Allie Isrin	Allison Jean	Allison Weber	Amber Wallace	Amna Zehra
Anastasiya Filippova	Andrew Cherenzia	Andrew Garinther	Arcadia Ewell	Avery Arena
Avi Eisenstein	Becka Banerjee	Ben Weinberg	Bridget Sundel	Brittany Baum
Carli Fine	Chris Parker	Clara Ehrman	Dana Schindler	Daniela Vasquez
Danielle Flores	Dasylia Willoughby	Dayna Mazza	Dee Adedipe	Eliana Abel
Eliana Sudikoff	Elianna Lopez	Elizabeth Dolin	Elizabeth Woytowicz	Emily Burr
Emily Kim	Erin Van Seeters	Faith Champion, Ph.D	Galya Oberman	Giovanna Morini
Hima Patel	Isabel Wilder	Jamie Rosen	Jamie Schwartz	Janet Adelola
Jeanne Caron	Jennifer Taylor	Jenny Sloane	Jessica Albrecht	Jessica Grisez
Jessica Kreuger	Jon Segars	Jordana Zwerling	Julia Wall	Julie Adhya
Kaitlyn Gardner	Katherine Lopez	Kelly Walsh	Kelsey Canada, Ph.D	Kelsey Woods
Kemy Ndubuizu	Kimia Abtahi	Kishan Dharmasena	Kyle Schiller	Laura Prindeze
Lauren Howard, Ph.D	Lauren Rabon	Lauren Rather	Lauren Weiss	Lena Meredith
Leslie Rollins	Lia Rios	Lindsay Gerber	Liz Mulligan	Louis Marti
M. Graciela Mujica	Maggie Sundel	Maria Massiani, M.S.	Marianne Sales	Marissa Clark
Martin Folkoff	MaryEmily Ballas	Meghan Graham	Melissa Robinson	Meredith Polm
Miles Stroud	Mills Wallace	Morgan Botdorf	Naeha Gupta	Nari Lee
Nikki Schoenbrun	Nikki Thaker	Nimra Naeem	Nina Shea	Noah Myers
Olivia Antezana	Paige Munshell	Pooja Patel	Poorna Sreekumar	Pradhab Kirupaharan
Preston Ge	Rachel Peissner	Rae Herman, Ph.D	Rylee Duncan	Samantha Holder
Samuel Seidenberg	Sanaa Amin	Sarah Blankenship	Sarah Dean	Sarah TanVeer
Schuyler Ames	Selamawit Addissie	Shane Wise	Shannon Janney	Sharon Amir
Sigalle Bahary	Sonali Patel	Sope Lanlokun	Sruthi Ganesh	Stephanie Lidd
Stephanie Lighter	Sucheta Swaminathan, M.S.	Svetha Mohan	Tammy Tran	Theresa Bullen
Vanessa Williams	Victoria Smith	Vivian Zohery	Zachary Cherna, Ph.D