Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D. || Director of the Education and Brain Sciences Research Lab at Vanderbilt University || Patricia and Rodes Hart Endowed Chair || Professor of Special Education, Psychology, Radiology, and Pediatrics || Contact: laurie.cutting@vanderbilt.edu
Micah D'Archangel, M.A. || Sr. Research Analyst || Micah has an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Martin. At the EBRL, Micah oversees data management and information technology for the lab. When not behind a computer, he can be found sketching or writing things that only exist in his head. || Contact: micah.a.darchangel@vanderbilt.edu
Isabella Martin, B.S. || Research Coordinator || Isabella received her B.S. in Psychology with an emphasis on Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Florida. Before coming to EBRL, she worked as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) providing behavioral therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder. She also gained research experience working with infants as an assistant in Dr. Lisa Scott’s Brain Cognition & Development Lab at UF. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, listening to house music, and exploring hiking trails. || Contact: isabella.a.martin@vanderbilt.edu
Kellam Schmudde, M.A. || Research Coordinator || Kellam received her B.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience as well as her M.A. in Special Education: Learning Disabilities from American University. Before joining our lab, she worked as a Research Specialist at the University of Virginia’s Brain Institute as well as a teacher and tutor for children with learning differences in Charlottesville and Washington D.C. In her free time Kellam can be found reading, going on a walk with her dog, or exploring all that Nashville has to offer. || Contact: kellam.schmudde@vanderbilt.edu
Sara DeVries || Program Coordinator || Sara is the recruitment coordinator and participant liaison in the lab. Sara is from Nashville, which makes her both a unicorn in this city and a white rhino in the lab. She graduated with a BA from Sewanee a very long time ago, and is grateful to be a tiny part of education adjacent and healthcare adjacent work. Sara has two children and hopes to go to all National Parks before they graduate high school. || Contact: sara.p.devries@vanderbilt.edu
Adam Otto, M.S. || Research Coordinator || Adam received his M.S. in Psychological Research Methods with an emphasis in Evolutionary Psychology from the University of Stirling, Scotland. During his graduate degree, he worked in a child development lab, studying how 2-year old’s revise their beliefs based on reliable and unreliable sources of information. He has previously worked at universities designing child development courses and advising undergraduate students. In his free time, Adam enjoys traveling, spending time with family, learning about animals, and eating pizza as much as possible. || Contact: adam.otto@vanderbilt.edu
Garret Walker || Research Coordinator || Contact: garret.walker@vanderbilt.edu
Amanda Martinez-Lincoln, Ph.D. || Postdoctoral Fellow || Amanda received her PhD in Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on understanding the underlying cognitive mechanisms of reading and mathematical skills in students with learning disabilities. || Contact: amanda.martinez-lincoln@vanderbilt.edu
Tin Nguyen, Ph.D. || Postdoctoral Fellow || Tin is drawn to figuring out and implementing ways and tools to elevate the lives of individuals facing disadvantaged circumstances—through community services and scientific research. He is excited to be a part of research projects studying problems that deal with how contextual variables, such as families’ socioeconomic backgrounds relate to children’s brain development and learning outcomes. || Contact: tin.nguyen@vanderbilt.edu;
https://www.tin-project.com/
Sarah Hughes-Berheim, Ph.D. || Postdoctoral Scholar || Sarah received her PhD from the University of Alabama in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Educational Neuroscience in 2023. Her research involves understanding how both text characteristics as well as individual differences, measured at behavioral, neural, and genetic levels, influence reading development. || Contact: sarah.hughes-berheim@vanderbilt.edu
Chenglin Lou, Ph.D. || Postdoctoral Scholar || He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Western University in Canada. His research focuses on neurological origins of reading functions and reading disabilities in children by analyzing multi-modal MRI (DTI, T1, fMRI). He is interested in exploring how the brain structure supports functional activation and cognitive functions during development. || Contact: chenglin.lou@vanderbilt.edu
Julia Garon-Bissonnette, Ph.D. || Postdoctoral Scholar || Julia is a postdoctoral research scholar on the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study. Her research aims to better understand how parent and child individual, interpersonal, familial, and psychosocial risk and protective factors intertwine and influence child development and focuses mainly on the perinatal period as a critical stage for human development. Outside the lab, she enjoys skiing, cycling, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. || Contact: julia.garon-bissonnette@vanderbilt.edu
Andrea Burgess, B.S. || Doctoral Student || Andrea is a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program. She received her B.S. in Interdisciplinary Educational Neuroscience from the University of Florida. Her research interests include the joining of different neuroimaging techniques to understand typical and atypical reading development, and how music instruction and intervention play a role in this process. In her free time, she enjoys spending all of her money on live music events. || Contact: andrea.n.burgess@vanderbilt.edu
Natalie Huerta, M.S.Ed || Doctoral Student || Natalie is a doctoral student in the special education department. She received her B.A. in psychology from Yale University and her M.S. Ed in early childhood general and special education from Bank Street College of Education (NYC). She is a certified early childhood general and special education teacher. Her research interests include reading disabilities, intervention efficacy and improvement, and the role of executive functions in reading acquisition. In her spare time, Natalie likes cooking, doing puzzles and learning to play the guitar. || Contact: natalie.huerta@vanderbilt.edu
Emily Harriott, B.S. || Doctoral Student || Emily is a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program. She received her B.S. in Communication Sciences & Disorders and Neuroscience from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). Her research interests include the behavioral and neural predictors of language development and reading acquisition, and how those predictors can be used to diagnose language and reading disorders earlier than current methods allow. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, biking, kayaking, Irish dancing, and watching sports. || Contact: emily.m.harriott@vanderbilt.edu
Addie Cavender, B. S. || Doctoral Student || Addie is a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program. She received her B.S. in Developmental Psychology from University of Minnesota. || Contact: addison.c.cavender@vanderbilt.edu
Lab Alumni
Past Ph.D. Committee and Mentorship Tin Nguyen | PhD in Neuroscience (2023), Vanderbilt University. Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University Sage Pickren | PhD in Special Education (2023), Vanderbilt University. Current: Educational Consultant Cailey Kerley | PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2022), Vanderbilt University. Current: Data Scientist III, Trilliant Health Ben Conrad | PhD in Neuroscience (2021), Vanderbilt University. Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University Cameron McKay | PhD in Neuroscience (2021), Georgetown University. Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, Georgetown University Darren Yeo | PhD in Neuroscience (2021), Vanderbilt University. Current: Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technical University Neena Saha | PhD in Special Education (2020), Vanderbilt University. Current: Vice President, Science of Reading, Metametrics. Katherine Aboud | PhD in Educational Neuroscience (2019), Vanderbilt University. Current: Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University Eric Wilkey | PhD in Neuroscience (2018), Vanderbilt University. Current: Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University George Castle | PhD in Speech & Hearing Sciences (2018), Vanderbilt University. Current: Clinical Assistant Professor Communicative Sciences and Disorders, New York University Stephen K. Bailey | PhD in Educational Neuroscience (2018), Vanderbilt University. Current: Director, Data & Analytics, Immuta Shelley Arnold | PhD in Special Education (2015), University of Sydney. Laura Barquero | PhD in Special Education (2015), Vanderbilt University. Mary Brindle | PhD in Special Education (2013), Vanderbilt University. Current: Assistant Professor at University of New Mexico Amy Clements-Stephens | PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2013), John Hopkins University. Current: Senior Program Officer at The National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Qiuyun Fan | PhD in Biomedical Engineering (2013), Vanderbilt University. Current: Instructor in Radiology at Harvard Medical School Nicky Dietz | PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience (2004), Georgetown School of Medicine. Current: Practicing Physician Dilip David | PhD in Psychology (2003), Loyola University. Current: Practicing Psychologist
Past Postdoctoral Mentorship and Junior Faculty Sophia Vinci-Booher, PhD | Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University (2023). Julia Garon-Bissonnette, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University (2023). Chenglin Liu, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University (2023). Tin Nguyen, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University (2023). Andrew Lynn, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University (2023). Current: Assistant Professor, University of Louisville Mercedes Spencer, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University (2022). Current: Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Katherine Aboud, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University (2021). Current: Research Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University Stephanie Del Tufo, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University (2019). Current: Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware Miranda Richmond, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Univ. of Texas San Antonio (2017). Sheryl Rimrodt, MD | Associate Professor, UT Southwestern Medical Center (2016). Current: Medical Director of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center Brooke Soden, PhD | Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University (2016). Nicole Davis, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow and Assistant Professor of Radiology, Vanderbilt Univ. School of Medicine (2013). Current: Private Practice Dwayne Dove, MD, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt Univ. School of Medicine (2012). Current: Private Practice Raj Stewart, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, John Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine (2011). Current: Senior Clinical Writer, ECRI Institute Carrie Cole, PhD | Post-Doctoral Fellow, John Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine (2008). Current: Private Practice
Visiting Scholars Maria Stacy, PhD | Clinical Psychology candidate, Southern Illinois Univ. (2018-2019) Yan Wu, PhD | Visiting Scholar, China Scholarship Council Award (2016-2017) Xiangzhi Meng, PhD | Fulbright Scholar, Peking Univ. (2012-2013)
