Director
Dr. Beatriz Luna, PhD
Staunton professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh
Founder and Director of the Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development
Founder and President of the Flux Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Research
Dr. Luna’s research uses multimodal neuroimaging methods including: functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Magnetoencephalography (MEG), Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI). Her findings have led to influential developmental models emphasizing the implications of specialization of different brain systems with regards to cognitive development.
Faculty
Finnegan Calabro, PhD
Assistant Research Professor
Co-Director of the LNCD
Director of Undergraduate Education for the LNCD
ashley.clare.parr@gmail.com
Loeffler Building room 113
CV
Ashley Clare Parr, PhD
Research Instructor
Research
Dr. Parr’s research combines functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to understand how maturation within the brain’s dopamine system contributes to the developmental specialization of reward and cognitive control systems through adolescence.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Valerie Sydnor, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Research
Dr. Sydnor’s research program aims to chart how neurodevelopmental plasticity spatially and temporally unfolds across the youth cortex and to identify biological and environmental regulators of developmental timing. Her overarching scientific goal is to conduct research that can help guide interventions for youth that incorporate mechanistic developmental principles and that are delivered while the brain is undergoing demarcated periods of malleability.
Dan Petrie, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Research
Dr. Petrie’s research is broadly focused on the relationship between adolescent brain development and decision-making. Specifically, he is interested in the mechanisms that help facilitate the transition from goal-directed behavior to habitual behavior, and how adolescents may form habits differently than children and adults.
Graduate Students
Research Staff
Piya Verma
Research Specialist
Nathan Rockcastle
Research Project Coordinator
Alumni
Faculty
Maria Jalbrzikowski, PhD Assistant Professor, Psychology
Vishnu “Deepu” Murty, PhDJunior Faculty, now tenure-track Faculty at the Psychiatry Department of Temple University
Postdoctoral Fellows
Laura Cabral, PhDForm postdoctoral fellow researching brain network development in relation to psychopathology; white matter; neuroimaging
Bart Larsen, PhDCognitive Neuroscience Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow, now Postdoctoral Fellow at The Psychiatric And Developmental Imaging Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania
David Montez, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow and University of Pittsburgh Graduate Student, now Postdoctoral Fellow at the
Dosenbach Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine
Miya Asato, MDPostdoctoral Fellow, now Program Director, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency Program, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh;
Associate Director, Child Neurology Residency Program, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh;
Professor, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Kirsten O’Hearn, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow, now Assistant Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at Wake Forrest School of Medicine
Michael Hallquist, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow, now Assistant Professor of Psychology, UNC; Director of DEPENd lab
David Paulsen, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow, now Data Scientist at Prosper
Chuck Geier, PhDCognitive Psychology Grad Student and then Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Pittsburgh, now Professor at University of Georgia, Director of the Geier Lab for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Katerina Velanova, PhDAssistant Professor of Psychiatry
Science Writer
Suzy Scherf, PhDAssistant Professor of Psychology, Penn State
Graduate Students
Maria Perica, PhD
Orma Ravindranath, PhDGraduate Student
Brenden Tervo-Clemmens, PhDGraduate Student, now Postdoctoral fellow at
Scott Marek, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh Neuroscience Graduate Student, now Postdoctoral Fellow at the
Dosenbach Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine
Daniel Simmonds, MD, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh Neuroscience Graduate Student, now Pediatric Resident at the University of Maryland Medical Center
Aarthi PadmanabhanUniversity of Pittsburgh Cognitive Psychology Grad Student, now Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Laboratory
Kai HwangUniversity of Pittsburgh Cognitive Psychology Grad Student, now Lab Director of the Hwang Lab and
Assistant Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, The University of Iowa
Sarah Ordaz, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh Clinical Psychology Grad Student, now Licensed Psychologist, Assessment Clinic Lead with the Pacific Anxiety Group
Ana Almeida Rojo
CNUP Predoctoral Fellow – Rotation Student, now on rotation with Dr. Yanhua Huang, University of Pittsburgh Psychiatry Department
Kevin Dowling
MD/PhD Student in the MSTP Program, now on second rotation
Jasmine Hect
MD/PhD Student in the MSTP Program, now on second rotation
Sam Elliott
Research Staff
Alyssa Famalette
Research Specialist
Previous Research Specialist
Jennifer Fedor
Research Specialist
Anna Nelsonformer Assistant to the director, now in graduate studies as Pitt
Matthew Missar
Research Specialist
Laurie Thompson
former Research Specialist
Julia Lekht
Research Specialist, now studying to become a physician assistant
Kevin Seelaus Previous Research Assistant, now Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon University
Michelle Mathew Research Assistant
Elijah MerriamResearch Assistant, now Staff Scientist in the Section on Neurocircuitry of the NIMH
Melanie WildsLab Manager
Rajpreet ChahalResearch Assistant, now Graduate Student Researcher, University of California, Davis
Melissa ResutkoResearch Assistant, now Support/On-Boarding Analyst at Pacsoft
Andrew LynnResearch Assistant, now Graduate Student Researcher at Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brown University
Emily MenteAssistant to the Director, now Administrative Assistant at Winchester Thurston
Jessica GravesResearch Assistant, now Research Specialist
Catherine Wright, LSW School-Based Brief Mobile Therapist at Wesley Spectrum Services
Natalie NawarawongResearch Assistant, now Neuroscience Doctoral Program Graduate Student, Medical College of Wisconsin
Krista GarverResearch Assistant, now Digital Content Manager and Co-Founder at Realize Content
Laryssa RichardsResearch Assistant, now in Medical School
Ran Liu, PhDResearch Assistant, now Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University
Theresa Teslovich Woo, PhDResearch Assistant, now Clinical Research Fellow, Washington DC VA Medical Center
Trinity UrbanResearch Assistant, now Product Manager for Precision Imaging Metrics at Massachusetts General Hospital