Lab director
Caitlin R. Bowman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Cait is a cognitive neuroscientist interested in how the brain forms memories and uses memories to make decisions. Her research also focuses on how our ability to form and use memories changes with age. She uses fMRI to measure brain signals while individuals complete cognitive tasks, tracking which brain regions support various cognitive functions.
Cait earned her PhD from Penn State in 2015 and returned to her home state of Oregon to complete a Post-doc in the Brain and Memory Lab with Dasa Zeithamova. She joined the Psychology Department at UWM as an Assistant Professor in 2021.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Cait is a cognitive neuroscientist interested in how the brain forms memories and uses memories to make decisions. Her research also focuses on how our ability to form and use memories changes with age. She uses fMRI to measure brain signals while individuals complete cognitive tasks, tracking which brain regions support various cognitive functions.
Cait earned her PhD from Penn State in 2015 and returned to her home state of Oregon to complete a Post-doc in the Brain and Memory Lab with Dasa Zeithamova. She joined the Psychology Department at UWM as an Assistant Professor in 2021.
Graduate students
Cara Charles
Cara is a PhD student in Psychology on the Neuroscience track. She earned her Associate in Arts degree from Glendale Community College in 2018 and her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Arizona State University in 2020. Cara started in the CABI lab in 2021 and has earned her Masters and a graduate certificate in applied gerontology. Her research interests include cognitive changes associated with aging. Specifically, she is interested in how older adults learn and retain memories, use these experiences to make decisions, and how different learning strategies can be used to improve later recollection. While currently working with healthy populations, Cara hopes to also work with individuals with neurodegenerative disorders in the future.
Cara is a PhD student in Psychology on the Neuroscience track. She earned her Associate in Arts degree from Glendale Community College in 2018 and her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Arizona State University in 2020. Cara started in the CABI lab in 2021 and has earned her Masters and a graduate certificate in applied gerontology. Her research interests include cognitive changes associated with aging. Specifically, she is interested in how older adults learn and retain memories, use these experiences to make decisions, and how different learning strategies can be used to improve later recollection. While currently working with healthy populations, Cara hopes to also work with individuals with neurodegenerative disorders in the future.
Yuju Hong
Yuju is a PhD student in Psychology on the Neuroscience track. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Cognitive Science from University of Virginia in 2019 and worked as a lab manager for the Long Term Memory Lab at University of Virginia under Dr. Nicole Long before joining the CABI lab in 2022.
Kana Kimura
Kana joined PhD program in Psychology at UWM in 2019 and the CABI lab in 2022. She has research interests in healthy and pathological aging. She is interested in how emotion and cognition interact to determine how we learn and remember, and how that interaction may change with older age. She is also interested in how genetic (non-modifiable) and environmental (modifiable) risk factors of Alzheimer's disease interact to cause brain changes and cognitive decline. Her research integrates a number of domains including categorization, fear conditioning, and episodic memory, and she utilizes behavioral, fMRI, and psychophysiological tools.
Kana joined PhD program in Psychology at UWM in 2019 and the CABI lab in 2022. She has research interests in healthy and pathological aging. She is interested in how emotion and cognition interact to determine how we learn and remember, and how that interaction may change with older age. She is also interested in how genetic (non-modifiable) and environmental (modifiable) risk factors of Alzheimer's disease interact to cause brain changes and cognitive decline. Her research integrates a number of domains including categorization, fear conditioning, and episodic memory, and she utilizes behavioral, fMRI, and psychophysiological tools.
Lab manager
Saisha Birr
Saisha earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from UWM in 2022. She started in the CABI lab in 2021 and became the lab manager in 2023.
Visiting Scholars and Post-bac Collaborators
Wade Allen
Wade graduated from UWM with a degree in Psychology with a focus in Neuroscience and a minor in Physics. He joined the CABI lab in the summer of 2023 and aspires to a future career in cognitive neuroscience.
Jessica Kania
Jessica graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from UWM in 2024. She started working the CABI Lab in the Summer of 2022. She is currently working on a project investigating how younger adults form inferences based on differences in how they view object pairs. Jessica also works at the Jones lab in the Neuropsych Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospital as a Clinical Research Coordinator. There, she is investigating how cognition is affected in children and older adults with epilepsy as well as older adults who have had a recent stroke. Jessica is looking to apply to PhD programs in the fall of 2025 and is interested in Cognitive Aging Psychology with a focus on neurodegenerative disorders.
Jessica graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from UWM in 2024. She started working the CABI Lab in the Summer of 2022. She is currently working on a project investigating how younger adults form inferences based on differences in how they view object pairs. Jessica also works at the Jones lab in the Neuropsych Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospital as a Clinical Research Coordinator. There, she is investigating how cognition is affected in children and older adults with epilepsy as well as older adults who have had a recent stroke. Jessica is looking to apply to PhD programs in the fall of 2025 and is interested in Cognitive Aging Psychology with a focus on neurodegenerative disorders.
Nur Dilara Özata
Dilara joined the CABI Lab as a summer research assistant in 2024. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Uludag University, Turkey, in 2023. Immediately after, she began her Master's studies in Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Pavia, Italy. Her research interests include category learning and attention. She plans to apply to PhD programs in Psychology to start in the fall of 2025.
Dilara joined the CABI Lab as a summer research assistant in 2024. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Uludag University, Turkey, in 2023. Immediately after, she began her Master's studies in Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Pavia, Italy. Her research interests include category learning and attention. She plans to apply to PhD programs in Psychology to start in the fall of 2025.
Undergraduate research assistants
Patricia Iwok
Patricia is a junior transfer student majoring in psychology. With keen interest in healthy aging, she aspires to pursue graduate studies in behavioral gerontology. Patricia joined the CABI lab in Fall 2024.
Sidhe O'naughton
Sidhe is an undergraduate student pursuing her BA in Psychology with minors in Communications and Studio Arts. She joined the CABI lab in Spring 2024.
Sadie Rockette (she/her)
Sadie is a transfer student majoring in Psychology and on the Pre-Med track. Her research interests are in memory, cognition, mindfulness, and pediatric psychology. She is Co-President of the Student Gerontology Association at UWM and enjoys community outreach. She joined the CABI lab through the UWM STAR program in Fall 2023.
Yanelis Santiago
Yanelis is a first-generation student at UWM studying psychology with a minor in Portuguese and a certificate in cultures and communities. She plans to graduate in Spring 2026 and pursue graduate training in Educational Psychology. Yanelis began working in the CABI lab through the UWM STAR program in Fall 2024.
Sophia Taavao
Sophia is an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience and expecting to graduate in 2027. She looks forward to a career in specialized healthcare service for underserved communities. She joined the CABI lab in Spring 2024.
Are you a UWM student interested in working in the CABI lab? Fill out the application form under the 'Contact' tab.