Dr. Buss studies executive function using a combination of behavioral, neural, and computational methods. His research examines how perception and action are integrated to give rise to controlled, goal-directed behavior. Dr. Buss uses dynamic field theory, which is a class of dynamic systems models, to formally integrate behavioral and neural processes. Using this computational toolbox, his theoretical approach aims to explain how cognition arises from neural processes. His primary neuroimaging techniques are functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which allows for measuring functional neural activation in infancy and early childhood, and fMRI. In his free time, Dr. Buss likes to visit breweries, play volleyball, and hang out with his son.
|
Email: [email protected]
Rachel is a graduate of the Masters in Experimental Psychology program at UTK, with her thesis focusing on factors that affect visual working memory performance in young children. Rachel has been a part of the ABC Lab since Fall of 2016. She loves animals, and has a four-year-old cat here in Knoxville. In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading and crafting.
|
Kaleb Kinder
|
Kaleb obtained his B.A. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He is a Ph.D. student in the ABC Lab. Kaleb’s research focuses on cognitive control -
processes that support flexible, goal-directed thinking and behavior. Current projects include using fNIRS and fMRI to examine visual working memory encoding and movement tracking to examine selective attention. |
Hollee is a fourth year PhD student in the Cognitive and Developmental Science program. Her research focuses on the development of attention in young children. Specifically, children's ability to inhibit distractors in the environment. In her free time, Hollee enjoys quilting, cross stitching and watching movies.
|
Email: [email protected]
Jackie is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia. She is broadly interested in how early child experiences may influence socio-emotional development and contribute to the development of psychopathology. Jackie is also interested in exploring factors that may be associated with the development of anxiety and depression among children of anxious parents, and the downstream effects of early onset internalizing disorders. In her free time, she enjoys running and spending time at local coffee shops.
|
Email: [email protected]
Alexis is a first year Ph.D student in the Experimental Psychology program. She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelors in psychology. She is interested in language development and how it relates to executive functioning in typically developing children. She is from Memphis, Tennessee. In her free time, Alexis likes to go camping, attend concerts, and spend time with her family.
|
Anastasia Kerr-German
|
Anastasia previously worked as PI of the Brain, Executive Function, and Attention Research Laboratory in the Center for Childhood Deafness, Language, and Learning at Boys Town National Research Hospital. She is currently an assistant professor at Mercer University in Georgia.
|
Meagan Beckerson |
Meagan graduated from UTK with a Masters in Experimental Psychology. Her thesis focused on changes in functional connectivity associated with developing cognitive flexibility in childhood. She is now a member of the Cognition, Brain and Autism Lab at the University of Alabama, where she is pursuing her doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
|
Bhoomika Nikam |
Bhoomika served as lab manager of the ABC Lab for 2 years. Since being with our lab, she has gone on to complete her Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is currently seeing clients in the Knoxville community and in the Student Counseling Center at UTK. Bhoomika has 2 cats at home, and loves to cook and bake in her free time.
|
Kara Lowery
|
Kara graduated from UTK with a Ph.D in experimental psychology. Her dissertation examined working memory and color boundary precision in young children. She now works as a Research Associate at the social work office of research and public service at the University of Tennessee. In her free time, Kara enjoys watching Netflix, baking, and reading.
|
Jessica Defenderfer |
Email: [email protected]
Jessica earned her PhD in Audiology in the Spring of 2022 and is currently an audiology resident at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. She will earn her doctorate of Audiology (Au.D.) in May of 2023 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Jessica uses fNIRS and pupillometry to investigate the neurophysiological response underlying degraded speech perception and listening effort. When she’s not at work, she loves being outside, traveling, and making art.
|