Mentors

Dr. Mustapha MoulouaProfessor Mouloua received his Maitrise (Post Graduate Diploma) in Industrial Psychology from the University of Algiers and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied/Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. He was a research fellow from 1992 to 1994 at the Cognitive Science Laboratory of The Catholic University of America and became an assistant professor of psychology at UCF in 1994. His research interests include attention and human performance, cognitive aging, automation, and aviation psychology.Professor
PSY 339 (Orlando)
Mustapha.Mouloua@ucf.edu

Professor Mouloua received his Maitrise (Post Graduate Diploma) in Industrial Psychology from the University of Algiers and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied/Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. He was a research fellow from 1992 to 1994 at the Cognitive Science Laboratory of The Catholic University of America and became an assistant professor of psychology at UCF in 1994. His research interests include attention and human performance, cognitive aging, automation, and aviation psychology.

Dr. Mark NeiderMark Neider is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Hofstra University. He also holds a M.A. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Cognitive/Experimental Psychology from Stony Brook University. After completing his doctorate, Neider spent five years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the interdisciplinary Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on understanding human perception and cognition in realistic contexts, and then using that understanding to develop training interventions and technological innovations for improving human performance in real world tasks and environments. Neider’s lab studies behavior across the age spectrum, from pre-adolescent children to the elderly. To examine behavior in the most realistic contexts possible, his lab utilizes a number of research methodologies including traditional behavioral paradigms, advanced eye tracking methods, driving simulation, and virtual reality.Associate Professor
PSY 327 (Orlando)
Mark.Neider@ucf.edu
(407)-823-4201

Interests: Attention, Visual Cognition, Perception, Skill Acquisition and Transfer of Training, Cognitive Aging, Distraction, Driving

Website: Applied Cognition and Aging Laboratory

Mark Neider is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Hofstra University. He also holds a M.A. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Cognitive/Experimental Psychology from Stony Brook University. After completing his doctorate, Neider spent five years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the interdisciplinary Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on understanding human perception and cognition in realistic contexts, and then using that understanding to develop training interventions and technological innovations for improving human performance in real world tasks and environments. Neider’s lab studies behavior across the age spectrum, from pre-adolescent children to the elderly. To examine behavior in the most realistic contexts possible, his lab utilizes a number of research methodologies including traditional behavioral paradigms, advanced eye tracking methods, driving simulation, and virtual reality.
Dr. James L. SzalmaJames Szalma is an Associate Professor in the psychology department at the University of Central Florida. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1990 and an MA in Applied Experimental/Human Factors psychology in 1997 from the University of Cincinnati. He received a Ph.D. in Applied Experimental/Human Factors psychology in 1999 from the University of Cincinnati. His primary research interests include human performance of cognitively demanding signal detection tasks, and the workload and stress associated with cognitive performance. He is also interested in the individual differences that contribute to variation in performance and stress response. His lab, the Performance Research Laboratory (PeRL), is currently investigating how operator characteristics and task characteristics interact to influence performance in systems utilizing adaptive automation, as well as the validity of Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory for performance evaluation in threat detection.Associate Professor/Director of the Ph.D. Program in HFC Psychology
PSY 351 (Orlando)
James.Szalma@ucf.edu
(407)-823-0920

Website: http://perl.cos.ucf.edu

James Szalma is an Associate Professor in the psychology department at the University of Central Florida. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1990 and an MA in Applied Experimental/Human Factors psychology in 1997 from the University of Cincinnati.  He received a Ph.D. in Applied Experimental/Human Factors psychology in 1999 from the University of Cincinnati. His primary research interests include human performance of cognitively demanding signal detection tasks, and the workload and stress associated with cognitive performance. He is also interested in the individual differences that contribute to variation in performance and stress response.  His lab, the Performance Research Laboratory (PeRL), is currently investigating how operator characteristics and task characteristics interact to influence performance in systems utilizing adaptive automation, as well as the validity of Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory for performance evaluation in threat detection.
Dr. Joseph Schmidt
Joe Schmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida. He received his Ph.D. in Experimental & Cognitive Psychology in 2012 from Stony Brook University. After receiving his doctorate, he spent two years as a Post-doctorate Research Fellow at the University of South Carolina’s Institute for Mind and Brain. After his Post-doctorate position, he spent over a year as a Research Support Specialist at SR Research. His primary research interest focuses on the interaction of memory and attentional systems and how they affect our broader cognitive functions. By simultaneously tracking eye movements and recording EEG/ERP he can measure both overt and covert shifts of attention which can then be related to the amount and intensity of memory representations. Much of his research focuses on how changes to a target representation held in memory affect our ability to guide attention to a target object in the world around us. Given that memory and attentional processes are involved in most tasks, his research interests are quite broad. Additionally, some recent collaborations include investigating saccade-contingent change-blindness in video viewing, investigating oculomotor control and attentional processes in stroke patients who suffer from aphasia and alexia, relative to age-matched and college-aged controls, as well as investigating attentional processes in infants, children, adolescents, and adult mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder and/or fragile-X disorder. Lab website: http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/awmlab/ (coming soon)
Assistant Professor
Joseph.Schmidt@ucf.edu
(407)823-5860

Joe Schmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida.  He received his Ph.D. in Experimental & Cognitive Psychology in 2012 from Stony Brook University.  After receiving his doctorate, he spent two years as a Post-doctorate Research Fellow at the University of South Carolina’s Institute for Mind and Brain.  After his Post-doctorate position, he spent over a year as a Research Support Specialist at SR Research.  His primary research interest focuses on the interaction of memory and attentional systems and how they affect our broader cognitive functions.  By simultaneously tracking eye movements and recording EEG/ERP he can measure both overt and covert shifts of attention which can then be related to the amount and intensity of memory representations. Much of his research focuses on how changes to a target representation held in memory affect our ability to guide attention to a target object in the world around us.  Given that memory and attentional processes are involved in most tasks, his research interests are quite broad.  Additionally, some recent collaborations include investigating saccade-contingent change-blindness in video viewing, investigating oculomotor control and attentional processes in stroke patients who suffer from aphasia and alexia, relative to age-matched and college-aged controls, as well as investigating attentional processes in infants, children, adolescents, and adult mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder and/or fragile-X disorder.  Lab website: http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/awmlab/ (coming soon)
Dr. Nichole LighthallDr. Nichole Lighthall is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Applied Experimental and Human Factors program. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in gerontology from the University of Southern California. Before coming to the University of Central Florida, Dr. Lighthall worked as a postdoc in the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. The goal of her research is to develop a neural model of decision processing in human aging 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. In conducting this research, the Lighthall Lab utilizes an array of methodological approaches including behavioral manipulations, biomarker measurement, and functional magnetic resonance imaging.Assistant Professor
Nichole.Lighthall@ucf.edu
(407)-823-2216

Lab Website: http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/lighthalllab/

Dr. Nichole Lighthall is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Applied Experimental and Human Factors program. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in gerontology from the University of Southern California. Before coming to the University of Central Florida, Dr. Lighthall worked as a postdoc in the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. The goal of her research is to develop a neural model of decision processing in human aging 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. In conducting this research, the Lighthall Lab utilizes an array of methodological approaches including behavioral manipulations, biomarker measurement, and functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Dr. Corey Bohil
Dr. Corey Bohil is an associate professor in the Psychology Department’s Applied Experimental and Human Factors Program. He received his M.A. in cognitive psychology from Arizona State University, and his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Bohil completed a postdoctoral fellowship in quantitative psychology at the University of Illinois, and was a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies & Media at Michigan State University. Dr. Bohil’s research focuses on the cognitive processes that underlie categorization and decision making. Recent topics of research include the contributions of separate learning systems in the brain to category rule learning, and the influence of base-rate (relative prevalence) and reward information on decision criterion learning. His research makes use of computational modeling techniques, as well as functional near-infrared spectroscopy for neuroimaging of cortical activity.Associate Professor
PSY 321 (Orlando)
corey.bohil@ucf.edu
(407)-823-2755
Lab Website:  http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/bohil

Dr. Corey Bohil is an associate professor in the Psychology Department’s Applied Experimental and Human Factors Program.  He received his M.A. in cognitive psychology from Arizona State University, and his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.  Dr. Bohil completed a postdoctoral fellowship in quantitative psychology at the University of Illinois, and was a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies & Media at Michigan State University.  Dr. Bohil’s research focuses on the cognitive processes that underlie categorization and decision making.  Recent topics of research include the contributions of separate learning systems in the brain to category rule learning, and the influence of base-rate (relative prevalence) and reward information on decision criterion learning.  His research makes use of computational modeling techniques, as well as functional near-infrared spectroscopy for neuroimaging of cortical activity.
Dr. Daniel Paulson
Broadly speaking, we work to conceptualize the relationships between mood, cognition, and medical and functional aspects of health in ways that are informative to the evolving needs of mental health and medical professionals delivering integrated care to older adults. The American population is rapidly aging, with enormous growth of the population over age 65. Improving our understanding of adverse developmental and clinical trajectories has become a significant public health concern. In addition, depression throughout the lifespan is a major public health burden. Indeed, depression is broadly associated with adverse health outcomes including frailty, dementia, loss of independence, and increased mortality. Recently, we have turned our attention to the relationship between alcohol use, inflammatory markers, and health outcomes. Indeed, many older adults experience increasing levels of support from friends and family. Caregiving of older adults with life-limiting conditions is becoming increasingly common as the American population ages. Over 42 million Americans provide care to adults with limitations, and over 60 million provide functional support to another adult at some point each year. The economic value of informal caregiving is estimated at over $450 billion annually. Elder care in general is emerging as a critical public healthcare issue, with informal caregiving as one key aspect. Many older adults prefer to age in place, and despite the escalating challenges associated with aging and dementia care, many family members wish to provide in-home support for as long as possible. To promote these efforts, much of our research and clinical work focuses on caregiving relationships and caregiver support groups. In summary, our research represents the intersection of gerontology, health psychology, and clinical neuropsychology with an emphasis on depression, cognition, and caregiving. I hope to recruit one Clinical Psychology PhD student to the OLDeR Lab for the 2015 academic year. In particular, I am seeking applicants whose primary interests include clinical geropsychology. For more imformation about Dr. Paulson and the OLDeR Lab, please visit our lab website at http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/older/Assistant Professor
PSY 331 (Orlando)
Daniel.Paulson2@ucf.edu
(407) 823-3578

Broadly speaking, we work to conceptualize the relationships between mood, cognition, and medical and functional aspects of health in ways that are informative to the evolving needs of mental health and medical professionals delivering integrated care to older adults. The American population is rapidly aging, with enormous growth of the population over age 65. Improving our understanding of adverse developmental and clinical trajectories has become a significant public health concern. In addition, depression throughout the lifespan is a major public health burden. Indeed, depression is broadly associated with adverse health outcomes including frailty, dementia, loss of independence, and increased mortality.  Recently, we have turned our attention to the relationship between alcohol use, inflammatory markers, and health outcomes.

Indeed, many older adults experience increasing levels of support from friends and family.  Caregiving of older adults with life-limiting conditions is becoming increasingly common as the American population ages. Over 42 million Americans provide care to adults with limitations, and over 60 million provide functional support to another adult at some point each year. The economic value of informal caregiving is estimated at over $450 billion annually. Elder care in general is emerging as a critical public healthcare issue, with informal caregiving as one key aspect. Many older adults prefer to age in place, and despite the escalating challenges associated with aging and dementia care, many family members wish to provide in-home support for as long as possible.  To promote these efforts, much of our research and clinical work focuses on caregiving relationships and caregiver support groups.

In summary, our research represents the intersection of gerontology, health psychology, and clinical neuropsychology with an emphasis on depression, cognition, and caregiving. I hope to recruit one Clinical Psychology PhD student to the OLDeR Lab for the 2015 academic year. In particular, I am seeking applicants whose primary interests include clinical geropsychology.

For more information about Dr. Paulson and the OLDeR Lab, please visit our lab website at http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/older/.
Dr. Mindy Shoss
Mindy Shoss, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program. She joined the UCF faculty in December 2015 after serving on the faculty of Saint Louis University. She holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Houston. She also holds a B.A. from Washington University in Saint Louis with majors in Psychology and Economics, and a minor in Applied Statistics and Computation. Dr. Shoss conducts research in the areas of work stress, counterproductive work behavior, job insecurity, adaptability, and interpersonal interactions at work. She is particularly interested in the impact of economic conditions and the changing nature of work on employee well-being and behavior. She directs the Work Stress in Context Lab (WSC Lab, pronounced “Whisk” to reflect the ever-changing nature of work and organizations), which takes a contextual perspective towards understanding employee well-being and behavior. From an application perspective, Dr. Shoss has been actively involved in efforts to apply research in I/O psychology to address issues of burnout and professionalism within medical training environments. Her lab has also worked with several organizations on projects related to employee engagement and workplace culture. Dr. Shoss is a member of the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology, the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Global Organisation for Humanitarian Work Psychology, the Positive Relationships at Work Microcommunity, and the Time Microcommunity. She was a 2015 recipient of an American Psychological Association Achievement Award for Early Career Professionals. She is a member of the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology’s Scientific Affairs committee and is incoming chair of the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology’s program at the 2017 American Psychological Association Convention.Associate Professor
PSY 347 (Orlando)
Mindy.Shoss@ucf.edu
(407)-823-2560

Mindy Shoss, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program. She joined the UCF faculty in December 2015 after serving on the faculty of Saint Louis University. She holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Houston. She also holds a B.A. from Washington University in Saint Louis with majors in Psychology and Economics, and a minor in Applied Statistics and Computation.

Dr. Shoss conducts research in the areas of work stress, counterproductive work behavior, job insecurity, adaptability, and interpersonal interactions at work. She is particularly interested in the impact of economic conditions and the changing nature of work on employee well-being and behavior. She directs the Work Stress in Context Lab (WSC Lab, pronounced “Whisk” to reflect the ever-changing nature of work and organizations), which takes a contextual perspective towards understanding employee well-being and behavior.

From an application perspective, Dr. Shoss has been actively involved in efforts to apply research in I/O psychology to address issues of burnout and professionalism within medical training environments. Her lab has also worked with several organizations on projects related to employee engagement and workplace culture.

Dr. Shoss is a member of the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology, the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Global Organisation for Humanitarian Work Psychology, the Positive Relationships at Work Microcommunity, and the Time Microcommunity. She was a 2015 recipient of an American Psychological Association Achievement Award for Early Career Professionals. She is a member of the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology’s Scientific Affairs committee and is incoming chair of the Society for Industrial/Organizational 
Psychology’s program at the 2017 American Psychological Association Convention.
Dr. Amie Newins
Dr. Newins received her B.A. in Psychology from Mercer University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Tech. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Durham VA Medical Center. She then worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the Mental Illness Research and Treatment fellowship program at the VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center and the Durham VA Medical Center. Following her fellowship, she worked as a Staff Psychologist in the Substance Use Disorders Clinics of the Durham VA Medical Center before joining the faculty at UCF. Dr. Newin’s research interests are broadly focused on the relationship between anxiety and behaviors and events that are associated with health risk. In particular, she is interested in the identification of risk factors for sexual assault victimization as well as the development of risk reduction programs. She is also interested in the relationship between anxiety and substance use. Her research has particularly focused on the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences as well as PTSD and substance use.
Assistant Professor
326 (Orlando)
Amie.Newins@ucf.edu
(407-823-1719

Dr. Newins received her B.A. in Psychology from Mercer University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Tech. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Durham VA Medical Center. She then worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the Mental Illness Research and Treatment fellowship program at the VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center and the Durham VA Medical Center. Following her fellowship, she worked as a Staff Psychologist in the Substance Use Disorders Clinics of the Durham VA Medical Center before joining the faculty at UCF.

Dr. Newin’s research interests are broadly focused on the relationship between anxiety and behaviors and events that are associated with health risk. In particular, she is interested in the identification of risk factors for sexual assault victimization as well as the development of risk reduction programs. She is also interested in the relationship between anxiety and substance use. Her research has particularly focused on the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences as well as PTSD and substance use.


Dr. Jeffrey S. Bedwell
Lab Website: Mood, Personality, and CogniTion (MPACT) Secondary Joint Appointment: Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine Licensed Clinical Psychologist (Florida – PY 7264) Member, American Psychological Association Member, Society of Biological Psychiatry Member, Society for Research in Psychopathology a Dr. Jeffrey Bedwell joined UCF in 2004 after completing his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Georgia, with a predoctoral clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina/Dept. of Veterans Affairs Consortium in Charleston, SC. Prior to graduate studies, Dr. Bedwell received a B.S. in Psychology from James Madison University and worked for several years as a full-time research assistant at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Bedwell’s research lab, the Mood, Personality, and CogniTion (MPACT) Lab, uses a transdiagnostic NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach to examine the underlying causes of reduced motivation (avolition), reduced pleasure (anhedonia), depressed mood, and narcissism, including how these relate to changes in cognition. The long-term goal of this research is to improve treatment and prevention efforts targeted toward these specific symptoms. For more information on Dr. Bedwell’s research, please see: Mood, Personality, and CogniTion (MPACT) Lab.Associate Professor
PSY 322 (Orlando)
Jeffrey.Bedwell@ucf.edu
(407)-823-5858

Lab Website: Mood, Personality, and CogniTion (MPACT)

-Secondary Joint Appointment: Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine
-Licensed Clinical Psychologist (Florida – PY 7264)
-Member, American Psychological Association
-Member, Society of Biological Psychiatry
-Member, Society for Research in Psychopathology


Dr. Jeffrey Bedwell joined UCF in 2004 after completing his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Georgia, with a predoctoral clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina/Dept. of Veterans Affairs Consortium in Charleston, SC. Prior to graduate studies, Dr. Bedwell received a B.S. in Psychology from James Madison University and worked for several years as a full-time research assistant at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Bedwell’s research lab, the Mood, Personality, and CogniTion (MPACT) Lab, uses a transdiagnostic NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach to examine the underlying causes of reduced motivation (avolition), reduced pleasure (anhedonia), depressed mood, and narcissism, including how these relate to changes in cognition. The long-term goal of this research is to improve treatment and prevention efforts targeted toward these specific symptoms. For more information on Dr. Bedwell’s research, please see: Mood, Personality, and CogniTion (MPACT) Lab.