Members

Hi, I am Dr. Jen Peterson. I am a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at UAF. My research interests involve age-related changes in cognition with a focus on healthy aging processes. When I am not teaching or conducting research you will usually find me outside enjoying the beauty of Alaska with my family. If you are interested in learning more about research, please contact me.

Hi, my name is Kieleigh Williams. I am an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in psychology and minoring in biological sciences and health sciences for pre-professionals at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. My research interests involve how traumatic or stress-related events can impact physical, psychological, and social health, how responses to these events are intersected in healthcare over the lifespan, and the role of resiliency. Studying these topics will enable me to apply the skills I have learned in FlexCog Lab to my future practice as a professional healthcare provider, ensuring holistic and integrative healthcare to my patients.

Hi! I'm Jennelle Smyth, a UAF senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. I greatly look forward to seeing the long-term effects of our FlexCog Lab research and the opportunity to foster positive community interactions and promote advocacy for our Alaskan elders. Outside of student life, my free time is mostly spent with friends or family and enjoying the beautiful outdoors... save for -30 winters. I’m more of a hardy warm-weather variety Alaskan.

ALUMNI

Hello, my name is Sabrina Austin. I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Psychology from UAF December of 2018. I love working with people of all ages, and hope to one day work as a family and relationship therapist. Being a part of this research and exploring the factors of healthy aging has increased my interest in exploring positive and negative attention bias, the effects of sleep on cognition, as well as the availability of resources and the role it plays in our well-being. I am a new mother to a beautiful daughter, and I get to move around a lot with my husband in the military. Once we get to a more permanent location I plan to continue my schooling and complete my masters degree.

Bethany McCracken

"Hi, I'm Bethany McCracken. I am working on my BA in Psychology at UAF while minoring in creative writing. While I am interested in many topics pertaining to the brain and human behavior, my ultimate goal is to receive a PhD in Clinical Psychology and to research effective treatments for PTSD. I am particularly interested in studying the prevalence and nature of PTSD among military-affiliated persons. I am very excited to begin my research journey by participating in this FlexCog Lab, and I am excited to gain a lot of knowledge and experience! Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my family and writing fun, fictional stories!"

Haley Duryea

Hi my name is Haley Duryea and I’m currently pursuing a psychology degree at UAA. I was born and raised in Anchorage, AK but have lived in other states since high school. I am a filmmaker and I went to film school in Seattle. My goal is to go to grad school and eventually work in mental health counseling as well as continue my passion for filmmaking. I have a deep interest in personality and social psychology. I hope to gain more knowledge in the research experience here at FlexCog.

Leslie Siegfried

Hi, I am Leslie Siegfried. I'm a senior that is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Social Work. I'm really interested in human brain development and cognition, I am fascinated by criminal behavior and what helps maintain or break these challenging behaviors. It is my hope after obtaining my BA that I will be accepted into the graduate schools I've applied to. I'm interested in becoming a forensic mental health counselor and feel passionately about both helping and advocating for this marginalized population. When I'm not hard at work studying and conducting research you can usually find me with my cat coloring on the couch, I enjoy watching documentaries and am a big traveler.

Julia Olson

Hi, I'm Julia. I graduated from UAF in December 2017 with a dual-major Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Mathematics. I then served as a TEFL Peace Corps volunteer, co-teaching English in a grade-9 school in the wonderful country of Albania. Unfortunately, my service got cut a year short by COVID, but I made the best of it and was able to get involved with this wonderful lab! I'm now working on a Master's in International Disaster Psychology at the University of Denver, but I'm still helping out where I can with FlexCog. My field interests include, but are certainly not limited to: existentialism, lifespan development, and consciousness. My life interests include exploring Netflix content, kayaking, and giving as much love to as many doggos as temporally possible.

Lakshmi Shalini Datla

Hi! I am Lakshmi. I am a freshman at UAF, majoring in Psychology. I have great interest in the behavioural and mental processes of humans, learning the reasons behind how we act, think and behave in different situations is just fascinating, and this interest explains why I am pursuing psychology. One of my favorite hobbies is reading and I'm particularly drawn to sci-fi and dystopian novels. I'm a caninophile (dog lover) and have one myself. He's a 17 pound shih tzu named Brownie.

Hi! My name is Didar Baumgartner. I recently completed my Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at UAF, and I hope to go on to contribute to the literature and discourses surrounding psychological health and wellness throughout the lifespan. I particularly enjoy learning about how factors like personal qualities, psychological flexibility, and altruism impact the individual. My work with this lab has proven an invaluable opportunity to engage with the research process and the field of developmental psychology.

My name is Travis Burrows (and Skellig). I was born and raised in Fairbanks, AK. In May 2019, I graduated from UAF with a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science (interdisciplinary studies). I am currently working on a second B.A. at UAF in Psychology. For graduate school I am looking at a few different programs in philosophy, bioethics, and psychology. Outside of school I am a musician. I have been creating, recording, and performing with various bands and artists around Alaska since 2005.

Hi! My name is Tanisha Yarde. I was born and raised here in Fairbanks Alaska. I am a current student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I am working towards achieving a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and minoring in health care. After I graduate my goal is to become a Physician Assistant. In the past I have worked as a CNA and enjoy working with young and old people. Being apart of this research in analyzing healthy aging and attitudes expands my passion of working with all people. In addition, being apart of this research allowed me to grow as a student and person in learning how to be apart of a research team.

Else Cole

Hi, I am Else Cole and I am a nursing student at UAF. My goals are to work with infants and children and possibly become a nurse midwife. I am excited to learn more about research and the scientific process through the participation of research labs like this and using that knowledge to enhance my college career. Psychology has been particularly interesting and a joy to study.

My name is Alexandra Arndt-Brown. I am currently pursuing a Bachelor degree in Social Work with a minor in Psychology. I am originally from Germany. After graduation, I would like to work with older adults. My goal is to enhance the life of elders and their families by helping to understand and to navigate the array of health and social services.

Rodney Tracht

Hello, my name is Rodney Tracht. I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UAF May of 2020. My goals include obtaining a fellowship to become a neuropsychologist. I am currently in a Clinical Psychology PhD program with a health emphasis at the California School of Professional Psychology. I enjoy doing research because I can discover new thoughts and ideas to better understand the mind/body connection.

Jezebell Ramirez

Hello, my name is Jezebell Ramirez and I am pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a Minor in Sociology. I have been apart of the FlexCog Research Lab since November 2019. I love being involved with this lab because we often will see studies on young adults and the influences on them into the future but not as many on how older adults have been impacted by their past or current life situations. The impacts we are studying are beneficial to not only them but to ourselves and our well-being in the future. I hope to use my time here to gain more research experience and to positively impact those we are studying.

Aubri

Hi, I’m Aubri and I’m a senior at UAF pursuing an Interdisciplinary Degree in Visual Communications and the Human Condition with a double minor in Art and Psychology. While I completed 3 years in person at UAF, l currently live in Kansas and am participating in this lab via distance. My biggest goal in FlexCog this semester is to develop a deeper understanding of the human experience and response to aging and involvement in research. I am also looking forward to participating in research design and data analysis. When I am not studying you can find me editing video footage, drinking green tea, and listening to obscure artists on Spotify.

Maren Dodson

Hello, my name is Maren Dodson. I am pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Psychology at UAF. I love being a part of this lab and being able to work within the community to get a better understanding of influences we face and how they affect our health. My goal for this semester is to learn how to conduct research and experience the processes first hand. I hope to continue to work in this lab throughout my college career. When I am not working in the lab or in school, I like to hike, run and do yoga (depends on the season in Alaska!)

Zoey Keene

Hey everyone! My name is Zoey Keene and I’m currently in my third year here at UAF studying Biological Sciences with a concentration in Physiology and a Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies and Psychology. After receiving my bachelors degree, my ultimate goal is to go to graduate school to become an orthopedic Physicians Assistant. I was born and raised in Alaska and I love being out doors! Some of my hobbies include hiking, fishing, working out, playing with my three dogs and hanging our with friends! My goal with this research is to get a better understanding of human aging/function and be able to tie my knowledge in with Biology into the cognitive health research!

Gabrielle Camp

Hi, I am Gabrielle Camp. I am a senior in Wildlife biology and minoring in Psychology. My interests are in the human dimensions of wildlife biology, animal behavior, community psychology, the health effects of nature interactions, and healthy aging processes. My goal this year is to work in wild spaces to learn more about facilitating more positive interactions! I aim to one day work to understand how animals, humans, and nature interact and help to improve these interactions!

Darcy Hoban

My name is Darcy Hoban and I am a nursing student at UAF. My end goal is to be a CRNA and work with young children. Although psychology is not my major, we use psychology in our everyday lives and I always look forward to learning new things. In my spare time when I am not in school, I enjoy being on the water, whether it be in a boat, kayak or floating down a river!

Danai Koisse

“Hi! My name is Danai. I was born and raised in Greece. I am a dual degree student, pursuing two Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work and Psychology. I think brain and behavior are fascinating subjects. In the future I am hoping to work in the field of child psychology. In my spare time I spend time with my husband, 2 children and our dog. "

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