People
People
People
Principal Investigator
Rebecca Spencer, PhD
Professor, Psychological & Brain Sciences (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Post-doctoral fellow, Neuroscience (University of California, Berkeley)
PhD, Neuroscience (Purdue University)
BA, Biology & Kinesiology (Hope College)
Rebecca runs the show – at least when there’s enough coffee to keep her going. She also teaches Science of Sleep (Psych 391), Behavioral Neuroscience (Psych 330) and Neurobiology of Disease (NS&B 891) to name a few. An ultra-marathoner, she applies her skills as a scholar-athlete herself to her role as Faculty Athletic Representative for UMass.
Lab Staff
Bethany Jones, PhD
PhD Neuroscience (University of Arizona)
BA Psychology (Ohio University)
Bethany is interested in the neural processes by which sleep changes memory representations and how factors such as aging and emotional salience affect these processes. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing with her dogs, and spending time outdoors.
Jen Holmes, EdM
EdM Educational Psychology & Neuroscience (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
BA Psychology (Boston University)
As project coordinator for the Preschool Nap Study, Jen is interested in how sleep impacts early childhood development and learning, as well as what social and environmental factors can affect our ability to get good quality sleep. When she's not helping kids nap, she can be found tending to her houseplants, reading anything from Dostoevsky to Vogue, and taking photos of her cats.
Lena Gaudette
BS Psychology (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Lena graduated from UMass Amherst with a B.S. in Psychology on the Neuroscience Track. She is interested in the effects of sleep on memory during early childhood development, and utilizes her background in working with young children in her research. When she’s not in the lab or spending time with children, she enjoys reading a good book, tending to her plants, thrifting, and spending time outside.
Post Docs
Lindsey Mooney, PhD
PhD, Psychology (University of California, Davis)
MA, Psychology (University of California, Davis)
BS, Psychology (Xavier University)
Lindsey's work centers around the development of memory and cognition in very young children using various neuroimaging techniques. She is interested in the role of sleep in supporting memory consolidation as well as the trade-off between precision and generalization memory. Currently Lindsey is focusing on napping behavior as it pertains to memory development. Beyond the world of brainwaves, she enjoys boba, memes, and being in nature whenever she can.
Graduate Students
Katrina Rodheim
PhD-track Neuroscience and Behavior
MS, Integrative Physiology (University of Colorado, Boulder)
BA, Cognitive Science (University of California, Merced)
Katrina is interested in the impacts of ovarian hormones on sleep, circadian rhythms and emotional processing in women across their lifespan. In her spare time she enjoys perusing petfinder.com, playing volleyball, and visiting the New England coastlines as much as possible!
Morgan Barnes
MS Track Neuroscience & Behavior
BS Biology
BS Psychology
Morgan graduated from UMass Amherst in 2023 with degrees in Biology and Psychology on the neuroscience track. She is interested in sleep and memory consolidation in young adults, and is particularly interested in local aspects of sleep. She is an EEG girl at heart. In her spare time, she enjoys fishing, playing with her cats, and eating sushi in bed.
Eunsol Noh
PhD-track Neuroscience & Behavior
MS Biomedical Engineering (The University of Texas at Dallas)
BS Biomedical Engineering (Jeonbuk National University, South Korea)
Eunsol's research interest lies in investigating the impact of sleep and aging on
memory consolidation by interpreting neural signals. Presently, Eunsol is focused
on analyzing resting-state EEG, PSG, and fMRI data to see how the brain state
modulated by memory consolidation during sleep influences memory
consolidation. Outside of her research, Eunsol enjoys playing tennis and
basketball, as well as watching horror and zombie films.
Lab Alum
Gina Mason (Post-doc, Brown University)
Ahren Fitzroy (Data and Applied Scientist, Microsoft)
Lauri Kurdziel (Assistant Professor, Merrimack College)
Ed Pace-Schott (Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)
Phil Desrochers (Post-doc, Boston University)
Lauren Szymula (PhD Program, University of Maine)
Wilbeth Lugo (PhD Program, Iowa State)
Rebecca Brossoit (PhD Program, Colorado State University)
Rebecca Owen (Monterey Institute of International Studies)
Jessica Kent (Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California)
Caitlin Dillon (Research Associate, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine)
Keenan Mehan (MD program, Harvard Medical School)
Kurt Schultz (MD Program, UMass Medical School)
Katherine Dempsey (Research Scientist, Baystate Hospital)
Enma Pardilla-Delgado (PhD Program, University of Notre Dame)
Billy Anderson (Research Scientist, SUNY Stony Brook)
Mike Brickhouse (Research Scientist, Harvard/MGH)
Michelle Sunm (PhD Program, SUNY Buffalo)
Jessica Wilson (PhD Program, Duke)
Bengi Baran (Assistant Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa)
Caroline Norton (MD Program, UMass Medical School)
Helen Root (PhD Program, University of Alabama)
Sam McHugh (PhD Program, University of California)
Ashkata Sonni (Broad Research Communication Lab Manager, MIT)
Amanda Cremone-Ciara ( Assistant Professor, Merrimack College)
Olivia Hanron (MD Program, UMass Med School)
Chloe Andre (PhD Program, University of Georgia)
Eunsol Noh (PhD-track Neuroscience & Behavior)
Sanna Lokhandwala (PhD-track Developmental Science)
Kyle Kainec (PhD-track Neuroscience & Behavior)