Adult Development & Decision Lab
UCF Department of Psychology
Adult Development & Decision Lab

Lab Members

ADDL Social Events

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LAB DIRECTOR

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Dr. Nichole Lighthall is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program. She also serves as the Interim Associate Dean for Research and Facilities in the UCF College of Sciences and a Faculty Fellow with the UCF Office of Research. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in gerontology from the University of Southern California. Before coming to UCF, Dr. Lighthall completed her postdoctoral training at Duke University in the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, with a postdoctoral fellowship from the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. The goal of her research program is to develop a neural model of decision processing that can be used to identify age-related vulnerabilities and pathways to compensation. She is particularly interested in how age-related changes to cognitive and affective components of decision making impact decision processing and quality. Dr. Lighthall is also a Co-Director of the Scientific Research Network on Decision Neuroscience & Aging, Executive Committee member for the Florida Consortium on the Neurobiology of Cognition, director of the UCF Learning & Longevity Research Network participant registry for Orlando-area older adults, and member of the Global Young Academy (2023 inductee).

**Dr. Lighthall will consider PhD student applicants for the Fall 2027 academic cycle (GRE not required).  Applicants must apply to the UCF Human Factors & Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program. 

Courses Taught:

  • Cognitive Psychology (undergraduate): EXP 3604 (formats: F2F, MM, W)
  • Motivation & Emotion (undergraduate): EXP 3304 (formats: MM, W)
  • Neuroanatomical Basis of Psychological Function (graduate): PSB 6348 (formats: F2F)
  • Neuroimaging Design and Analysis Methods (graduate): PSB 6352 (formats: F2F)

phone: 407-823-2216

email: nichole.lighthall@ucf.edu

Dr. Lighthall’s LinkedIn

POSTDOCS

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Dr. Shayna Soares is a postdoc working on the Florida Consortium to Reduce Misinformation and Exploitation in Alzheimer’s Disease study (FDOH 22A10). Previously, she worked with Dr. Corey Bohil in the Classification and Decision Laboratory at UCF, where she obtained her B.S. in Psychology on the Neuroscience track from UCF in 2019 and her M.A. In Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology in 2023. Recently, she obtained her Ph.D. in Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology under Dr. Nichole Lighthall. Her primary research interests are in applying uncertain decision-making theories to topics of a more political nature to provide a deeper understanding of political cognition issues (e.g., misinformation spread, increased polarization, and party label bias) as well as involving the use of neuroimaging techniques (fNIRS) to better understand the underlying neural correlates associated. Shayna’s LinkedIn Shayna’s ORCID

DOCTORAL STUDENTS

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Jordan Schotz is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology (HFC) program. He holds an M.A. in HFC from UCF and a B.A. in Psychology from Webster Vienna Private University. He aims to answer the question, “How are perceptions of trustworthiness and trust behavior influenced by the valence of visual cues across varying degrees of humanness?” His research uses economic decision games and a set of facial stimuli he co-created (VAFSS) to dissociate the effect of human-like visual cues from human mind perception in social contexts. VAFSS provides visual representations of over 300 UCF students that range from photographs to cartoon-ized virtual representations, as well as accompanying demographic and social characteristics. After graduation, he plans to teach in academia at a liberal arts institution and improve access to research opportunities. Jordan’s LinkedIn

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Maggie Doheny is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology program at UCF. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Alabama with a B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience, and worked in Dr. Laura Morett’s N.E.R.D. Lab as an undergraduate research assistant. She then worked as a post-baccalaureate research assistant in Dr. Heather Risser’s Family CARE and Parenting Lab in the Psychiatry Department at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Here at the Adult Development and Decision Lab, her research examines the cognitive and neural mechanisms that explain differences in social decision-making between remote and face-to-face interactions. Maggie’s LinkedIn Maggie’s ORCID

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Emma Churchill is a third-year Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology. She graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in Psychology and double minors in Gerontology and Counseling and Social Change. As an undergraduate, she worked in the Brain Development Imaging Lab. She subsequently earned an M.A. in Psychology on the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience track at San Diego State University, where she served as a graduate research assistant at the University of California San Diego Huntington’s Disease Clinical Research Center, investigating the effects of dual-task cognitive impairment on balance among individuals with premanifest, prodromal, and manifest Huntington’s disease. Emma also worked as a graduate research assistant with Salud Tech at University of California San Diego, contributing to research focused on the digital phenotyping of cognitive decline in Latino/a/x communities across San Diego. Her primary research interests lie at the intersection of technology and neuropsychology, with a particular focus on identifying cognitive and behavioral markers of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease and subjective cognitive decline. Following her PhD, Emma intends to complete a postdoc in Clinical Neuropsychology with the intent to become a clinical neuropsychologist in an academic medical facility. Emma’s Google Scholar

LAB MANAGER

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Jordan Sammarco is a project coordinator for the Florida Consortium to Reduce Misinformation and Exploitation in Alzheimer’s Disease (FDOH 22A10) and UCF Deciding Brains (NIH R01-AG072658) studies. She is a graduate of UCF and the Burnett Honors College with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Writing and Rhetoric. As an undergraduate, she spent two years in the Classification and Decision Lab as the lab manager and conducted an honors thesis utilizing VR meditation and fNIRS. Her research interests include functional neuroimaging and the development of preventative interventions for neurological disease. Jordan’s LinkedIn

PROJECT COORDINATORS

Lindsay Conner is a project coordinator for the Florida consortium to reduce misinformation and exploitation in Alzheimer’s Disease (FL Dept. Health 22A10) and Characterizing and modulating neurocognitive processes of learning to trust and distrust in aging (NIH R01-AG072658) studies. Originally from Florida, she studied neuroscience at University of Miami, followed by a Master’s program in Biomedical Imaging at University of California, San Francisco. Her previous research delved into mapping the influence of age-related changes in functional recruitment and structural brain integrity on episodic memory and value processing across adulthood. In particular, Lindsay is interested in applying neuroimaging methods (e.g., task fMRI, rs-fMRI, MRI, DTI, PET) toward identifying biomarkers of cognitive decline and potential compensatory mechanisms across healthy aging relative to the early development of Alzheimer’s disease. Lindsay’s ORCiD Lindsay’s ResearchGate

 

POST-BACCALAUREATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

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Samantha Tun is a second-year medical student at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. In 2021, she graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior and a minor in East Asian Languages and Culture. Before matriculating to med school, she worked as a research associate in the Fredericks Lab at Yale University for two years, investigating how advanced neuroimaging techniques can be used to understand how Alzheimer’s disease spreads across brain networks. Her interests at the Adult Developmental and Decision Lab include utilizing multimodal neuroimaging to better understand brain networks and understanding the neurological basis of executive function and emotional modulation.

 

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

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Tavisha Singh is a third-year student majoring in psychology and anthropology. Her research interests include decision-making, memory, language acquisition, and human factors in a virtual environment and with virtual avatars. After graduating, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology/human factors.

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Kat Montgomery is a fourth-year psychology student. His research interests include the complexities of human connection. Specifically, how individuals interact, build relationships, and influence each other. After graduating, he plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and explore his research interests by studying play therapy.

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Gaby Jimenez is a third-year undergraduate student in the Burnett Honors College, majoring in psychology and minoring in cognitive sciences. Her research interests include cognitive psychology and neuroscience, specifically how cognitive processes change throughout the lifespan and how they are impacted by neurodegenerative diseases. After graduating, Gaby plans to pursue a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology.

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Nanisa Goyal is a senior majoring in Health Sciences on the preclinical track and minoring in Entrepreneurship. Her interests in research include artificial intelligence and its effects on the medical industry and decision-making. After graduation, she aspires to attend medical school and specialize in pediatrics or dermatology. Nanisa’s LinkedIn.

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Matthew McGovern is a senior majoring in psychology with a minor in statistics. His interests include computational approaches to modeling human cognitive processes, such as perception, decision-making, and inference. After graduating, he plans to pursue graduate programs in cognitive psychology/science with a computational focus.

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Sydney Edwards is a junior majoring in Psychology on the neuroscience track with a minor in Health Science. Her research interests include cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on memory, language, and behavior in neurodevelopmental disabilities/disorders. After graduating, she plans to attend medical school to become a psychiatrist and improve mental health accessibility for disabled individuals.

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Mykayla Bland is a junior majoring in Biomedical Sciences on the Pre-Medical Track with a minor in sociology. Her research interests include medical decision making as well as adult cognitive development. She plans to further her education post-graduation by getting her master’s degree in the science of anesthesia. In the future she aspires to obtain her CAA and work as a certified anesthesiologist assistant.

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Nathan McGovern is a freshman majoring in computer science. His research interests include computational modeling of cognition and computer vision. After graduation, he plans to pursue graduate programs in cognitive science or AI.

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Rodolfo (“Rudy”) Cespedes is an honors undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a concentration in neuroscience, a minor in Cognitive Sciences, and an Undergraduate Research Certificate. He serves as a research assistant in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience across multiple labs, contributing to human-subject data collection and literature synthesis. His research interests center on clinical neuropsychology and neurocognitive function across neurological conditions, with a focus on biomarkers of neurocognitive decline. He also serves as a teaching assistant for core psychology courses and plans to pursue a career in academic medicine and clinical research.

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Madeline Sisto is a senior transfer student at UCF, majoring in Psychology on the clinical track. Her research interests include adolescent psychology and forensic psychology, specifically the impacts of trauma and mental disorders, and the motivation behind behaviors. After graduation, she plans on pursuing graduate school, focusing on clinical psychology.

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Madeline Wong is a fourth-year undergraduate student double majoring in Psychology and Spanish. Her research interests include neurodegenerative conditions, bilingual care, and neuroplasticity as it relates to rehabilitation. After graduation, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and become a neuropsychologist.

 

LAB ALUMNI

Postdoctoral Scholars

  1. Shensheng Wang (05/23 – 10/25; Postdoc Scholar, Neuroscience of Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology) Shensheng’s ResearchGate

Doctoral Students

  1. Xiaoqing Wan (graduated 2022, Human Factors & Cognitive Psychology PhD; Senior Manager of Investment Performance & Competitive Research, Charles Schwab)
  2. Kylie Fernandez-Lee (graduated 2021, Human Factors & Cognitive Psychology PhD; Research Psychologist, Naval Air Warfare Center Training Simulation Division)

Graduate Certificate Students

  1. Christina Diaz Griep (completed 2020, Cognitive Science Certificate Program; UX Research Consultant, End To End User Research)
  2. Ian Dalton (completed 2016, Cognitive Science Certificate Program; Data Engineer, 3Z Brands

Community Outreach Coordinator

  1. Carla Leinbach (08/24-08/25; UCF College of Nursing PhD Student, Healthy Aging Lab)

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Advisees

  1. Grace Casanova (class ‘24, Psychology; Aging Studies and Theater Minor; MBA, UCF Business School; Administrator, Right Accord Private Duty-Home Health Care)
  2. Alyssa Hayes (class ’24, Psychology; Incoming Ph.D. Student & Lab Manager, Social-Cognitive and Affective Development Lab, University of Florida)
  3. Trenton Lam (class ’23, Biomedical Sciences & Psychology; Medical Student, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)
  4. Krupali Patel (class ’21, Psychology; MEd, Child Studies, Vanderbilt University; Research Coordinator, Mood Emotion and Development Lab, Vanderbilt University)
  5. Melissa Merz (class ’17, Psychology; Director of Educational Development, HMP Education)

Post-Baccalaureate Research Assistants

  1. Ailliy Garcia (1/26-4/26; Nursing Assistant II, Orlando Health)
  2. Kazi Salsabil (08/25-11/25; Counseling Intern, Matthews Family Counseling)
  3. Jordan Sammarco (01/25-05/25; Lab Manager & Project Coordinator, ADDL)
  4. Suzanne Engelmeier (01/25-02/25)
  5. Barbara Ratliff (01/25-02/25)
  6. Liana Santos 08/24-05/25
  7. Maria Eugenia Gonzalez Caragiannis (05/24-07/25; Research Technologist, CASCADE Lab, Penn State)
  8. Grace Casanova (05/24-01/25; Administrator, Right Accord Private Duty-Home Health Care)
  9. Carla Leinbach (06/23-08/24; UCF College of Nursing PhD Student, Healthy Aging Lab)
  10. Amber Blount (01/23-07/23; Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
  11. Christina Diaz Griep (01/19-05/20; UX Research Consultant, End To End User Research)
  12. Ian Dalton (10/15-05/16; Data Engineer; 3Z Brands)

Non-Student Grant Project Coordinators

  1. Samantha Tyler (01/25-12/25; Incoming M.A. Student in Clinical Psychology, UCF)
  2. Milena Alvarado Giler (01/25-05/25; M.S. Student in Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics, Virginia Tech)
  3. Zounaira Shahzad (05/23-09/24)

Undergraduate Research Assistants

  1. Rylie Thibideau (08/25-04/26; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  2. Chiara Popp (08/25-04/26; Incoming Post-Bacc Pre-Med Student, University of Virginia)
  3. Andrea Del Aguila (05/25-04/26; Incoming M.S. Student in Industrial & Organizational Psychology, UCF)
  4. Ava Niles (06/25-04/26; Incoming Psy.D. Student in Clinical Psychology, Florida Tech)
  5. Yauna Taylor (02/25-04/26; Patient Care Technician, Davita Kidney Care)
  6. Amanda Rodriguez (09/24-04/26; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  7. Camila Coronado (01/25-04/26; Legal Assistant, Veliz Katz Law)
  8. Macey Murphy (08/24-04/26; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  9. Ailliy Garcia (10/23-12/25; Nursing Assistant II, Orlando Health)
  10. Bhargav Vyas (6/23-04/26; Incoming M.D. Student, Florida State University)
  11. Hannah Butler (3/25-11/25; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  12. Kazi Salsabil (7/24-8/25; Counseling Intern, Matthews Family Counseling)
  13. Sophia Fernanda Sakakibara Olgini Capello (5/24-11/25; Incoming Ph.D. Student, Indiana University)
  14. Haley Flynn (10/24-11/25)
  15. Christian Yam (10/24-11/25)
  16. Katelyn Lopez (6/25-11/25; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  17. Grace Smith (02/25-11/25; Undergraduate Student in Molecular/Cellular Biology, UCF)
  18. Anna Hubbard (09/24-04/25; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  19. Maria Eugenia Gonzalez Caragiannis (02/24-05/24; Research Technologist, CASCADE Lab, Penn State)
  20. Jasmine Dave (10/23-04/25)
  21. Juweyriyah Khurshid (10/23-04/25)
  22. Leilani Cordoves (02/24-05/25; Ph.D. Student in Psychology, George Mason University)
  23. Milena Alvarado Giler (09/23-12/24; M.S. Student in Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics, Virginia Tech)
  24. Liana Santos (08/24-05/25)
  25. Lake Miller (08/23-05/25; Behavioral Health Technician, Helping Hands Family Autism Services)
  26. Haily Follese (04/22-05/25; Site Contributor, Research Girl Inc.)
  27. Nicolette Pelchat (11/23-05/25; M.S./Ed.S. Student in School Psychology, Florida State University)
  28. Miranda Kraenzlin (11/23-05/25; Registered Behavior Technician, Els for Autism)
  29. Hannah Mavres (05/24-05/25)
  30. Grace Casanova (01/23-05/24; Administrator, Right Accord Private Duty-Home Health Care)
  31. Ayna Ghulldu (02/24-12/24; Undergraduate Student in Biomedical Sciences, UCF)
  32. Zachary Beaujon (01/24-11/24; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  33. Joseph Fadhli (01/24- 08/24; Undergraduate Student in Health Sciences, UCF)
  34. Michael Burnham (03/24-10/24; Design Engineer 1, Software Engineer, Big Top Manufacturing LLC)
  35. Sipho Langa (04/24-10/24; Research Software Engineer, Causal Inference & Machine Learning, SAS Institute)
  36. Kaitlyn (Kait) Tolley (05/24-09/24; M.A. Student in Christian Counseling, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary)
  37. Louis Achillea (11/23-07/24)
  38. Sydney Gillis (10/23-04/24; Counseling Intern, Life Journey Counseling and Consulting, LLC & Master of Counseling Education Student, UCF)
  39. Justin Barolette (09/23-05/24; Research Coordinator, Clinical Affective Neuroscience Lab, University of Georgia)
  40. Teodora Anica (06/23-08/23)
  41. Christopher Zizzo (08/23-07/24; Undergraduate Student in Psychology, UCF)
  42. Sarah Velez-Osorio (08/23-12/23; Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology, Northwestern University)
  43. Isabella Lima (04/23-07/24; D.O. Student, Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine)
  44. Parker Sawyer (02/23-07/24; Victim Advocate, Office of the State Attorney 9th Judicial Circuit)
  45. Andrei Nesterenko (11/22-05/23; Undergraduate Student in Biomedical Sciences, UCF)
  46. Alyssa Hayes (08/22-05/24; Incoming Ph.D. Student & Lab Manager, Social-Cognitive and Affective Development Lab, University of Florida)
  47. Aidan Ray (04/22-05/23; Recruiter II, Leapros Skilled Trades)
  48. Katina Chris (04/22-05/23)
  49. Sadie Hughey (04/22-07/22)
  50. Yogita Venkata (04/22-08/23; M.A. Student in Clinical Psychology, Northwestern University)
  51. Amber Blount (05/21-12/22; Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
  52. Zounaira Shahzad (05/21-05/23)
  53. Trenton Lam (01/21-05/23; Medical Student, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)
  54. Adriana Seda (01/21-12/21)
  55. Ishara Jean-Francois (01/20-05/21; Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, Cleveland State University)
  56. Yolirys Aponte-Lopez (01/20-05/21; International Admissions Analyst, West Texas A&M University)
  57. Dalia El-Shafie (01/20-12/20; Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology, University of Tulsa)
  58. Alexander Avdellas (01/20-08/21)
  59. Krupali Patel (06/19-08/21; Research Coordinator, Mood Emotion and Development Lab, Vanderbilt University)
  60. Ramis Mukhtar (06/19-11/19; Strategy & Product Performance, Centene Corporation)
  61. Breanna Thomas (06/19-04/20; Consultant in I/O Psychology, SHL
  62. Salim Mouloua (02/19-06/19; Ph.D. Student in Human Factors and Applied Cognition, George Mason University)
  63. Samuel Naranjo Rincon (01/19-04/20; Ph.D. Candidate in Computational and Data Science, Washington University St. Louis)
  64. Breanna Davey (06/18-07/19)
  65. Michael Gordon (05/18-12/18; Ph.D. Candidate in Counseling Psychology, Boston College)
  66. Lara Suarez (01/18-08/19; Mental Health Counselor, Blue Cat Neuropsychology and Intervention LLC)
  67. Kipras Varkala (01/18-08/19; Independent Data Scientist & Data Analyst, Private Clients & Contract Engagements)
  68. Deborah Amburgey (01/18-08/19; Research Coordinator, Pediatric Behavioral Health Lab, University of Florida)
  69. Yerika (Germosen) Alvarez (01/18-05/19; Quality Improvement Specialist, Vibrant Emotional Health & Mental Health Counselor Intern, Heart Bonds Counseling)
  70. Madelaine Guernsey (01/18-06/18)
  71. Melissa Vargas (05/17-08/17)
  72. Jessalyn Landeta (05/17-12/17)
  73. Karina (Garcia) Ross (06/16-04/17; Multimedia Solutions Analyst, Deloitte)
  74. Isabella Tripoli (06/16-12/16; Senior Software Engineer, Guardant Health)
  75. Adrian Torres (06/16-12/16; Resident Physician in Diagnostic Radiology, HCA Florida Healthcare )
  76. Erin Doucet (06/16-12/17; Customer Success and Operations Manager, Poppy)
  77. Amber Goerner (06/16-12/17; Research Scientist, Lab Manager, University of South Florida)
  78. Richard Bowen (01/16-12/16; Environmental Policy Analyst, US Environmental Protection Agency)
  79. Alison Bell (01/16-05/16; Research Coordinator, TANGO2 Research Foundation)
  80. Andressa (Faria) Franca (01/16-05/16; Human Resources Business Partner, Stantec)
  81. Alexa Abitabilo (01/16-12/16)
  82. James Ross (08/15-12/16)
  83. Melissa Merz (08/15-05/17; Director of Educational Development, HMP Education)
  84. Drew Doyle (08/15-12/15; Statistics Instructor, UCF)