Lab Members
Director:
Karin Schon, Ph.D. (email Prof. Schon)
Dr. Schon is an Associate Professor at the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine where she is the director of the Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Laboratory. She also holds appointments with the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, the Center for Memory and Brain, and the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs for Neuroscience. She received her Ph.D. in 2005 and did her postdoctoral research with Prof. Chantal Stern at the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Center for Memory and Brain. Her research focuses on brain plasticity, cognitive neuroscience of memory and aging and uses functional and structural MRI, exercise physiology, and behavioral methods, as well as biomarker assays.
Post-Doctoral Associates:
Tahlia Bragg, PhD (email Tahlia)
Dr. Tahlia Bragg (she/her pronouns in English and Spanish) is a Clinical Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Associate at Boston University Chobanian & Avedesian School of Medicine in the Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center. She completed her doctoral training in Clinical Psychology at Fielding Graduate University and her predoctoral internship at The Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology (CMTP) at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine & Boston Medical Center, where her clinical foci were providing behavioral and psychotherapeutic interventions in systems-based care for children and families. Dr. Bragg’s dissertation examined how childhood and adolescent stress exposure influenced the risk for accelerated cognitive aging and poorer physical and mental health outcomes in self-identifying Black people. Her postdoctoral research interests in Clinical Neuropsychology emphasize abolishing racial disparities in neuropsychology that may harm Black self-identified communities experiencing endemic rates of onset for Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias. Dr. Bragg is the recent recipient of an NIA Diversity Supplement investigating perceived racism and risk for cardiovascular disease and neurocognitive aging in older adults who self-identify as Black. Dr. Bragg is a scholar in the 2023-2025 Cohort of the Emerging Scholars Program on Black Men’s Brain Health in partnership with the NFL Alumni Association, Alzheimer’s Association, and the National Institute of Aging. She was awarded the 2022 Stuart C. Tentoni Outstanding Professional Development Program Award by the American Psychological Association (APA). In 2023, she was awarded the Foremother Award—Early Career Track from Division 35, Section 1 (Black Women in Psychology) of the APA for her commitment to mentorship and representation of Black womxn in psychology and academia.
Matthew Dunne, PhD (email Matt)
Matt is a postdoctoral associate in the Brain Plasticity & Neuroimaging Lab. He received his PhD in Neuroscience through the Graduate Program for Neuroscience at Boston University. He carried out his graduate work in the Cognitive Neuroimaging Lab with Dr. Chantal Stern where his focus was on using model based techniques in conjunction with fMRI to study neural signatures of navigation in humans. More specifically, his work focused on population tuning of egocentric and allocentric bearing and distance. Matt is also an expert in hippocampal subfield segmentation and attended the 2023 Hippocampal Subfields Group retreat at Universidad de Castilla-LaMancha in Albacete, Spain. Before beginning graduate school, Matt previously worked with Dr. Karin Schon investigating the effects of exercise on brain function and structure. He wants to leverage this prior experience with a new focus on underrepresented populations in research, specifically the intersection of racial stress, exercise and brain health. In his free time, Matt loves to play trivia, bake gluten-free food and read sci-fi and fantasy novels.
Graduate Students:
Lea Stith, B.S. (email Lea)
Lea is a 3rd-year PhD student in the Graduate Program for Neuroscience and is co-mentored by Dr. Chantal Stern in the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory. Lea graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience) and a minor in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine. In the Brain and Plasticity Neuroimaging Lab, her research primarily focuses on studying the effects of chronic stress derived from racism on the emerging adult population, and how exercise serves as a positive modulator on stress. Overall, she is interested in studying how psychosocial stressors affect brain health across all stages of development. Prior to beginning graduate studies at Boston University, Lea worked in the Laboratory for Translational Neuroscience led by Dr. Michael Yassa at UC Irvine and focused on studies centered on early life adversities, Alzheimer’s disease, and Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM). In her free time, Lea enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring the outdoors and the city, figure skating, and reading.
Bryson Rorie, B.A. (email Bryson)
Bryson is a 2nd-year PhD student in the Graduate Program for Neuroscience. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience with minors in African-American Diaspora Studies and Spanish. Following graduation, Bryson completed a NIH post-baccalaureate program at the University of California, Berkeley studying the effects of chronic social stress on myelination in the mouse hippocampus and anxiety-related behaviors. In the lab, Bryson’s research focuses on the impact of cardiovascular risk factors and chronic stress, especially stress related to racial burden, on brain health in older adults. Bryson’s broad research interests extend to the relationship between chronic stress and mental health, neurodegeneration, and social determinants of health. Outside of the lab, he enjoys trying new restaurants around Boston, reading, playing basketball, and watching sports/anime.
Study Coordinators, Research Assistants, and Lab Managers:
Study Coordinator – Niya Adlersberg
Niya obtained her degree in Psychological & Brain Sciences from Boston University in the spring of 2020. She joined the lab in 2023 as the Study Coordinator and Psychometrist for the Racism and Brain Aging Project examining the impact of stressors related to race, ethnicity, and skin color on physical and brain health in older, African-American adults. During her free time, Niya enjoys traveling, ceramics, and spending time with her cat, Luna. She is also a self-proclaimed movie/anime critic!
Undergraduate Students:
Taylor Bolan
Taylor is in her 2nd year as an undergraduate at Boston University currently pursuing a major in Psychology on a pre-health track. She has aspirations of becoming a world renowned psychiatrist, or neuropsychiatrist, making the Schon Lab the perfect place to explore her interests. She has an interest in the relationship between the mind, brain, and body, how they all affect one another, and all things involving mental or neurological illness/impairments. In her free time, she enjoys reading psychological thrillers and suspense novels
Shanique Crossdale
Shanique is a 3rd-year undergraduate at Boston University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Originally from the Caribbean island of Jamaica, she harbors a deep-seated ambition to dismantle the stigma surrounding mental health and to promote awareness. She aspires to contribute to psychological research through her future profession within the field. Shanique’s hobbies and interests include exploring different cultures and music, journaling, East-Asian dramas, and reading. She also enjoys working out at the gym.
Tiwalola Daramola
Tiwa is in her 3rd year as an undergraduate at Boston University currently pursuing a major in Biology with a minor in Psychology. Tiwa is particularly interested in understanding the effects of psychosocial stress on brain plasticity and cognitive function. She plans to attend medical school and focus in pediatrics. In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and playing basketball.
Lab Alumni:
Tatianna Parker
Rafiyat Adenlola, B.S.
Michael Rosario, B.S., Ph.D. (email Michael)
Razan Alotaibi, M.B.B.S., Ph.D. (email Razan)
Samantha Davis
Arjun Batra (STaRS’22)
Shiraz Mumtaz
Stephanie Gonzalez-Gil
Shantalle Martinez (STaRS’21)
Reyna Gariepy (STaRS’20)
Rachel Nauer Wehr, Ph.D. (email Rachel; LinkIn with Rachel)
Kathryn Kern Jamison, Ph.D. (email Katie)
Andrew Whiteman, B.A.
Corey Kronman, M.S.
Natalie Cherry B.A.
Victoria Gomez B.A.
Benjamin Coleman B.A.
Alexander Delgado B.A.
José Romo Corrales B.A.
Natalia Lopez B.S.
Michelle Sibol
Diana Abbas
Andrea Heard, B.A.
Andrew Goss, B.S., M.S.
Andres Velez Lopez, B.S., M.S.
Yongho Christopher Jo, B.S., M.S.
Sarah Savoy
Olivia Lanman, B.A.
Natalia Torres, B.A., M.S.
Madeline Brendle
Samantha Muyalde
Reagan Katulege
Jan Stasinski, M.A.
Matthew Dunne, B.A.
Nicolle De Siqueira, M.S.
Zachary Croll-Nesbeth
Marina Richie, B.A., M.A.
Sheba Antony
Amara Ayoub, M.S.
Karim Hussain Ismat, M.S.
Last updated: 7/11/2024