Principal Investigator
James Howard
Assistant Professor of Psychology
(781) 736-3252 | jameshoward@brandeis.edu | Lemberg Hall 88-104
Pronouns: he/him/his
Education: Ph.D. Neuroscience, Northwestern University
Graduate Students
Xiaolin Qiao
Ph.D. Psychology Candidate
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Xiaolin is a fourth-year doctoral student studying the effect of mental imagery on learning and decision making and the underlying neural mechanisms.
Education: M.A. Psychology, Brandeis University; B.A. Psychology, City University of Hong Kong
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Jared Newell
Ph.D. Neuroscience Candidate
Pronouns: he/him/his
Jared is a fourth-year doctoral student interested in understanding the role of the thalamus in decision making and learning by utilizing functional connectivity techniques. Prior to coming to Brandeis, Jared worked with zebrafish in a developmental neuroscience lab studying associative learning.
Education: B.S. Biology, Kansas State University
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Liam McMahon
Ph.D. Psychology Candidate
Pronouns: he/him/his
Liam is a third-year doctoral student investigating the neural basis of cognition. His research combines functional neuroimaging with brain stimulation to study how the human brain represents abstract information.
Education: B.A. Psychology, State University of New York at Geneseo
Master Student
Kieran Holmes
Class of 2027
Pronouns: he/him/his
Kieran is a first year master’s student interested in researching cognitive control. He is looking to investigate the effects of acute stress on goal-directed behavior and decision making.
Education: B.S. Psychological Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Undergraduate Students
Samara Glazer
Class of 2025
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Samara is a fourth-year undergraduate student completing an honors thesis in the lab. She is interested in investigating the neural mechanisms of addiction and their relation to sensory-based decision making.
Education: Pursuing B.S./M.S. Neuroscience, Brandeis University
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Tarah Sleight
Class of 2025
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Tarah is a fourth-year undergraduate student completing an honors thesis in the lab. She is interested in learning about neural mechanisms in decision making.
Education: Pursuing B.S. Neuroscience and B.A. Psychology, Brandeis University
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Rhea Menon
Class of 2026
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Rhea is a third-year undergraduate student interested in studying neural mechanisms and progressions of neurodegenerative diseases.
Education: Pursuing B.S. in Neuroscience and Minor in Computer Science, Brandeis University
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Sanjana Kumar
Class of 2027
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Sanjana is a second-year undergraduate student interested in studying the effects of neural plasticity in long term potentiation and how this contributes to neurodegenerative disease.
Education: Pursuing B.S in Neuroscience and a B.A in Health Science Social Policy, Brandeis University
Lab Alumni
Lauren Wolters
Education: B.A. Psychology and History, Skidmore College
Shenghan Wang
Education: M.A. Psychology, Brandeis University; B.A. in Economics, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics & Huron University College; B.S. in Psychology, Western University
Xukun Guo
Education: M.A. Psychology, Brandeis University; M.A. Human Development, Kobe University; B.S. Applied Psychology, Tianjin Normal University
Luci Liu
Education: B.A. Psychology, Brandeis University
Nicole Doherty
Education: M.A. Psychology, Brandeis University; B.S. Psychology and Biology Minor, University of Massachusetts Boston
Annabelle Fitch
Education: B.S. Neuroscience, Brandeis University
Rotation Students
Hannah Park
Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory
Education: Ph.D. Psychology Candidate, Brandeis University; M.A. Experimental Psychology, Brandeis University; B.A. Psychology, Sungshin Women’s University
Teodora Markova
Neurochemistry and Cognition Lab
Education: Ph.D. Neuroscience Candidate, Brandeis University; M.S. Neuroscience, Brandeis University; B.S. Psychology, McGill University
Claire Ciampa
Neurochemistry and Cognition Lab
Education: Ph.D. Neuroscience Candidate, Brandeis University; B.A. Psychology, Rice University