The SPUR Team
Dr. Chante Cox-Boyd, Co-Director
Area of Expertise: Social Psychology
Read Dr. Cox-Boyd's bio
Dr. Erik Theissen, Co-Director
Areas of Expertise: Cognitive Science, Developmental, Learning Science
Read Dr. Theissen's bio
Lauren McCarthy, Academic Advisor
Contact Lauren
Emilie O’Leary, Senior Academic Advisor & Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Contact Emilie
Faculty Mentors
While faculty mentors may range from year to year, below is a sampling of faculty whose labs have been involved in the training and mentoring process within the past two years.
Dr. Anna Fisher
Areas of expertise: cognitive science, computational, developmental and learning science
Cognitive & Social Development Lab
Read Dr. Fisher's bio
Dr. Brad Mahon
Areas of expertise: cognitive neuroscience, cognitive science, and perception
Concepts, Actions, and Objects Lab
Read Dr. Mahon's bio
Dr. Abby Noyce
Areas of expertise: auditory research, behavioral methods, executive control & memory, non-invasive brain monitoring, and spatial cognition & attention
LiMN Lab
Read Dr. Noyce's bio
Dr. Vicki Helgeson
Areas of expertise: health psychology and social psychology
Gender, Relationship and Health Lab
Read Dr. Helgeson's bio
Dr. Danny Oppenheimer
Areas of expertise: causal discounting, charitable giving, perceptual fluency, and people's perceptions of randomness
Read Dr. Oppenheimer's bio
Dr. Catarina Vales
Areas of expertise: cognitive science, computational, developmental, and learning science
Read Dr. Vales' bio
Dr. Roberto Vargas
Area of expertise: cognitive neuroscience
Read Dr. Vargas' bio
SPUR Cohort 2024
Jen Arias
Home Institution: Drew University
Project: How Feedback and Language Backgrounds Affect Adult Learning and Performance
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Erik Thiessen
Olive Nichols
Home Institution: Radford University
Project: Correlation of Strategy with Brain Activity During Mental Rotation
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jessica Cantlon
Olivia Walankiewicz
Home Institution: University of Miami
Project: Auditory Spatial Memory and Aphantasia
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Abby Noyce
Nealey Clare Wheat
Home Institution: Allegheny College
Project: Type One Diabetes: Parents, Peers, Distress and Coping
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Vicki Helgeson
Kathryn Woods
Home Institution: Florida Southern College
Project: Investigations of Material Property
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brad Mahon