Congratulations to the 2026 Student Scholar Symposium (SSS) presenters! This year, eight ADDL members presented posters at SSS to communicate the full scope of our lab’s research to the UCF community. See this year’s posters below: Doheny M, Murphy M, Cespedes R, Thibideau R, Popp C, Lighthall, NR. Toxic by […]
Undergrads
23 posts
A new paper in Scientific Reports by Jordan Schotz (ADDL PhD student), Trenton Lam (former ADDL RA), Dr. Natalie Ebner (UF), and Dr. Lighthall describes the effects of visual cues of trustworthiness on trust-related decision-making in social versus nonsocial economic game contexts. Using the Multi-Round Trust Game, this study showed […]
It is of utmost importance to the lab to cultivate a welcoming environment for our research participants. At the end of each session of our Reducing Misinformation & Exploitation and Deciding Brains studies, we collect feedback so that we may continue to improve and optimize the participant experience. Below are […]
Members of the AD&D Lab have long been committed to meaningful community engagement, using research as a tool to address the real-world needs of aging populations. Through active participation in community outreach events—such as at the “Science Café” event hosted by the UCF Disability, Aging, and Technology Faculty Cluster, the […]
Undergraduate research assistants in the Adult Development & Decision Lab learn and gain skills in many different domains. Check out what some of our recent undergrad RA alumni are up to now! Yogita Venkata (Undergrad RA; Class of ’23) joined the Clinical Psychology MA degree program at Northwestern University […]
Congratulations to Christian Yam and Nanisa Goyal on their selection for the 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program by the UCF Office of Undergraduate Research! The fellowship allows the two students to continue their research at the ADD lab over the summer while receiving a $2,000 stipend. Additionally, the students […]
The Florida Consortium on the Neurobiology of Cognition (FCNC) is an annual conference hosted to provide opportunities for researchers of Florida at all stages of their career to present their work, and network. Cognition researchers from across Florida gathered at University of Central Florida on May 8th and 9th. The […]
Congratulations to three of our undergraduate AD&D research assistants for winning Judges’ Choice Awards for their posters, presented at the 2025 UCF Student Scholar Symposium. Awardees and poster info (left to right): Kazi Salsabil (undergrad RA), Shayna Soares, Nichole Lighthall: “Fake or Real? Unmasking the Role of Personality, Cognitive Reflection, and […]
Congrats to our three AD&D Lab members who were selected for Judge’s Choice awards at the 2023 UCF Student Scholar Symposium! The studies presented include one 2nd year Ph.D. student project and two Honors Undergraduate Thesis projects. Awardees and poster info (left to right): Jordan Schotz (Ph.D. student), Nichole […]
Congratulations to AD&D Lab Honor’s Thesis student, Trenton Lam, for defending his Honors Thesis entitled, “The Effect of Past Betrayals on Trust Behavior”. His project found that while people who have not experienced betrayal trauma typically invest less in untrustworthy-looking partners in the Trust Game, victims of betrayal show similar […]
Congratulations to undergraduate researchers, Haily Follese, Trenton Lam, and Sadie Hughey, who have been awarded student research grants from the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) and the Learning Institute for Elders (LIFE) at UCF! And congratulations to undergraduate lab manager, Zounaira Shahzad, on her LIFE at UCF Disability, Aging & […]
As the capstone to his Summer Undergrad Research Fellowship, Trenton Lam presented at the UCF Summer Research Poster Showcase. Trenton’s summer project examined how trust-related behavior with new social partners is shaped by past betrayals of trust using a multi-round version of the Trust Game. His results showed that those […]
Congratulations to former AD&D Lab undergraduate research assistant, Michael Gordon who will begin a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology this fall at Boston College where he will receive a full graduate fellowship to support his doctoral training. While in the AD&D Lab, Michael received a Summer Research Award from the […]
Congratulations to AD&D Lab Honor’s Thesis student and lab manager, Krupali Patel, for defending her Honors Thesis entitled, “Examining the Relationship Between Mental Health Conditions and Risk Perception in Determining COVID-19 Preventative Behaviors”. Krupali will be graduating with Honors in the Major this semester and moving on to a post-baccalaureate […]
Congratulations to AD&D Lab undergraduate research assistant, Dalia El-Shafie, for defending her Honors Thesis entitled, “Physical activity moderates the relationship between APOE e4 status and working memory: The Health and Retirement Study”. Dalia will be graduating with Honors in the Major this semester and moving on to a graduate program in […]
Congratulations to former AD&D Lab research assistant, Kipras Varkala, who will be completing his Ph.D. in Cognition, Neuroscience, and Social Psychology at the University of South Florida. Kipras will be mentored by Dr. Geoffrey Potts and will study the role of executive systems in personality and mental illness. Best wishes, […]
During UCF’s coronavirus-related closure, the AD&D Lab stayed connected through weekly meetings on Zoom. Thank goodness for technology that allows us to conduct research and support each other through this bizarre and sometimes frightening moment in history.
Congratulations to AD&D Lab undergraduate research assistant, Samuel Rincon, who has accepted an invitation to join MIT’s Neuroscience Summer Research Experience Program. This summer internship program is funded in part by the MIT’s School of Science and the National Science Foundation. During the summer program, he will be involved in […]
Congratulations to AD&D Lab undergraduate research assistant, Yerika Germosen, for defending her Honors Thesis entitled, “The Nexus Between Prejudicial Attitudes and Cognitive Flexibility in Younger and Older Adults”. Yerika will be graduating with Honors in the Major this semester and moving on to complete her PhD in Neuroscience at the […]
AD&D labbers enjoyed lots of food, sun, and games to close out the 2017-2018 school year — including some creative brain-themed treats. We were also introduced to Lindsay’s revolutionary concept of “water spaghetti”!