Former graduate students, lab managers, and post-bacs
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.
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.
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 began a PhD program at Colorado State University, working with Dr. Carol Seger in Fall 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 began a PhD program at Colorado State University, working with Dr. Carol Seger in Fall 2025.
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.
Maddie Valdez
Maddie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Neuroscience with a focus on cognition from Claremont McKenna College in 2021. She started as the lab manager for CABI lab in 2021.
Former undergraduate research assistants
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 in Fall 2024.
Robert Johnson
Robert is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and expecting to graduate in 2026. He plans to pursue graduate training in Clinical Psychology. His research interests include childhood trauma and its affects on brain function, possibly even into older age. Robert joined the CABI lab in Fall of 2025
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.
Jacob Schwartz
Jacob is an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience. After graduating with an Associates Applied Science Degree in Surgical Technology from MATC, he transferred to UWM in Fall 2024. He aspires to a career in healthcare and research. Jacob joined the CABI lab in Spring 2025.
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.
Annelise Schultz
Annelise is an undergraduate student at UWM pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, expecting to graduate in 2027. After graduation, she plans to expand her research skills and pursue graduate study in psychology. Annelise joined the CABI lab in Spring of 2026.
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 in Fall 2023.
Reagan Drescher
Reagan is a student at Nicolet High School graduating in 2026. She joined the CABI lab in Spring 2025. When she gets to college, she plans to major in neuroscience and minor in Spanish. After college, she is interested in pursuing a career in medicine.
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.
Sabrina Arassi
Patricia is an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience and is on the Pre-med track. She started at UWM in the Fall of 2021 and started in the CABIl ab in the Fall of 2024. She is working on an honors thesis in the lab.
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.
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.
Anahlia Rivera
Anahlia is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. She transferred to UWM at the start of 2022 and joined the CABI lab in the Fall of 2023.
Daniel Karl
Daniel is an undergraduate student at UWM majoring in Psychology. He started classes in the Fall of 2020 and joined the CABI lab in the Fall of 2023.
Alessa Ebben
Alessa is an undergraduate student who completed her degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2021 and has returned to UWM for a second major in Neuroscience. She intends to further her education in Computer Science in the near future and to work with computational biomedical research. She joined the CABI lab in Fall of 2022, and is excited to be part of the team.
Zac Fredrich
Zac is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Psychology. He has been working as a visiting research assistant in the CABI lab in the Summer of 2023.
Daniel Reddin
Daniel is currently an undergraduate student at UWM majoring in Psychology and Neuroscience. He started at UWM in Fall 0f 2021. Daniel has been with the CABI lab since January 2023.
Chenoa Keating
Chenoa is an undergraduate student at UWM pursuing a major in Psychology and a minor in American Sign Language. She aims to pursue a PhD in psychology with a Neuropsychology track. She wants to work in the field of traumatic brain injury treatment and research. She start at UWM in the Fall of 2020 and began in the CABI lab in Spring 2023.
Abby Schroeder
Abby is an undergraduate Psychology and Criminal Justice student at UWM. She started at UWM in the Fall of 2019 and joined the CABI lab in Fall of 2022. She is excited to be part of the lab!
Jacqueline Rizzo
Jacqueline is an undergraduate student at UWM majoring in psychology. She began classes at UWM in the Fall of 2020 as a transfer student and started in the CABI lab in the Summer of 2022.
Jacqueline Rizzo
Jacqueline is an undergraduate student at UWM majoring in psychology. She began classes at UWM in the Fall of 2020 as a transfer student and started in the CABI lab in the Summer of 2022.
Adam Bristol
Adam is an undergraduate student at UWM majoring in psychology. He began classes in the Fall of 2020 and started in the CABI lab in the Spring of 2022. Upon graduation, he will commission as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps.
Dina Abdeljawad
Dina is an undergraduate student at UWM pursuing a double degree in Neuroscience and Psychology. She also in the Pre-Physician Assistant program and aims to become a Physician Assistant in the future. She started at UWM in the Fall of 2021 and started in the CABI lab in the Summer of 2022.
Maxwell Komisar
Maxwell is currently an undergraduate student at UW-Madison studying psychology and education. He started at UW-Madison in the Fall of 2021 and joined the CABI lab in the Summer of 2022.
Jennifer Santiago
Jennifer is an undergraduate student at UWM studying Pre-Med and Biology. She started at UWM in the Fall of 2019 and started in the CABI lab in the Spring of 2021.
Shawn Obarski
Shawn is currently an undergraduate student at UWM pursuing a degree in psychology and women’s and gender studies. He started his college career in the Fall of 2018 and joined the CABI lab in the Spring of 2021. In the future, he hopes to attend graduate school and earn a Ph.D. in psychology.
UR@UWM students
UR@UWM is a 4-week, research-intensive summer program for incoming UWM students. Students participate in faculty research projects and learn about the culture of university research all while becoming acclimated to the UWM campus.
Calysta Hawkins Luken
Calysta will start at UWM in the Fall of 2023 and plans to major in Psychology. She started in the CABI Lab in the Summer of 2023 as a mentee for the UR@UWM summer program.
Emilee Swanson
Emilee is currently undecided but is learning toward majoring in a medical field or in psychology. She is excited to learn more about the human brain and its functions.
Yasmine Garcia Ramirez
Yasmine is planning to be a Criminal Justice major with a potential double major in Psychology.