OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Dr. Anita Cservenka is an associate professor in the School of Psychological Science, and the director of the SUN Lab. Her research lab is interested in understanding risk factors for and consequences of adolescent and young adult alcohol and substance use on neurocognition and the effects of substance use on health. Her lab uses surveys that assess substance use, personality, mental health, as well as laboratory-based tasks of neurocognitive functioning to help understand the relationship between substance use and health outcomes.
Denna Alnasser is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Public Health and minoring in Psychology and Nutrition. She plans on pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental and Occupational Health after graduating.
Megan Campbell is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Human Development and Family Sciences. Her career interests consist of pursuing a graduate degree in counseling and becoming a licensed professional counselor.
Lacey Donahue is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and minoring in Psychology. Her interests are focused on behavioral neuroscience and the science behind mental health. She plans to attend graduate school for cognitive science or neuroscience after graduating from OSU.
Julia Donner is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology. After obtaining her degree, she plans on pursuing graduate studies with an emphasis in neuropsychology to gain a deeper understanding of brain-behavior relationships. Cognitive functioning, brain development, and addiction science are her main interests.
Alina Hyk is a fourth-year Honors College student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Computer Science and Statistics. She is also an RA in a couple of other labs, as well as President of OSU’s Psi Chi chapter. Her main research interests are AI, especially natural language processing models and unsupervised learning, as well as neural networks and cognition.
Ashleigh Sizemore is a former post-baccalaureate student in Psychology. She plans to apply for Clinical Psychology PhD programs with a career goal in assessment. Her research interests involve ADHD and substance use.
Dakota Smith is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology. She is interested in the neuropsychological mechanisms of substance use and their therapeutic implications. After graduation, she plans to pursue a degree in Clinical Psychology.
Jess Cavalli is a sixth year graduate student pursuing a PhD in Psychology with a specialization in Health Psychology. She is particularly interested in understanding how young adult substance use impacts biopsychosocial functioning, such as cognition, emotion, and stress, as well as the mechanisms underlying substance use and addiction, and its comorbidity with other psychopathologies.
Chris Mullin is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the School of Psychological Science. His research interests include investigating the impact of substance use on memory, learning, and academic performance, as well as the science of teaching and learning in general. He is passionate about teaching and hopes to become a college professor upon graduation. Chris is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but happily relocated to the beautiful West coast along with his two cats - Charisma and Perception.
Jorie Casey graduated with an Honors B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2019. She now resides in Baltimore, MD, where she is working towards a Master’s degree in Nursing at Johns Hopkins University. She plans on working in critical care after she graduates.
Julieanne (Dotson-Bossert) Clark graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 2018 and received a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from New York University in 2022. She is working as a Speech Language Pathologist in an outpatient rehabilitation center in South Dakota with a specialty in pragmatic language, articulation, and dysphagia therapy. Her future plans include moving to Maine to continue to progress in her field working with clients and researching communication disorders.
Sabrina Denton graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and Biology in 2019. Following graduation she gained clinical experience in Oregon as a physical therapy aide and personal caregiver, and later in Washington as a medical assistant in a dialysis center and an orthopedic surgical center. Sabrina now attends the Physician Assistant Program at Duke University and plans to begin her career in primary care in an underserved area. She plans to pursue a DMSc degree following PA school so that she may be contribute to neurodegenerative disease research further in her medical career.
Prudence Graves graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 2019. Her interests include brain development in at-risk youth as well as emotional processing and its related structures. She is currently working as the head of the electric department for a company that builds ceramic kilns in Portland.
Nolan Gunter graduated with a B.S./B.A. in Math and Economics in 2021. Nolan is now a third year PhD student in Biostatistics at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include causal inference, high-dimensional data analysis, and epidemiology. He hopes to graduate and contribute to ongoing HIV/AIDS research.
Marika Huffer graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 2020. She now lives in Baltimore, MD, and is working towards an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Johns Hopkins University. Marika also works as a psychometric testing assistant with the Division of Medical Psychology and a graduate research assistant with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Sarah Lahanas graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 2017, and was manager of the SUN Lab from 2017-2019. She currently works for the Department of Human Services determining eligibility for government assistance.
Jessie Li graduated with Honors and a double degree in BioHealth Sciences (Pre-Med) and Psychology in 2019. She is currently a student at Pacific University in the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program, in the Neuropsychology emphasis, with aspirations to become a board-certified neuropsychologist. She is particularly interested in healthy aging and cross-cultural considerations in neuropsychology.
Alyssa MacKenzie graduated with an Honors B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2021. She currently resides in Phoenix, AZ where she is working as a STEM teacher in interim before heading back to school to pursue a higher degree.
Lucianne Ryan graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 2021. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she currently works and volunteers in the nonprofit space, specifically for mental health and suicide prevention. She plans to pursue a related Master’s degree, such as Public or Health Administration.
Sara Tajanlangit is a fourth year undergraduate student majoring in advanced chemistry and psychology. She plans to pursue graduate school for clinical or social psychology as well as the Fulbright Grant program for psychology studies in East Asia.
Kimberly Vele graduated with an Honors B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry in 2021. She currently works as a Registered Behavioral Technician providing therapy services to individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder using Applied Behavioral Analysis. She plans to pursue graduate studies related to this field and other neuropsychological disorders.
Lab alumni not pictured: Anda Gherghe, Autumn Long, Casey Huggins, Daniel Fuller, Jada Garvin, Kaylene Abraham, Kendra Lew, Zareena Bokhari
Sara Tajanlangit, 2019 Recipient
Prudence Graves, 2019 Recipient
