Our team

Dr. O’Brien is a developmental psychologist and health scientist who joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Mississippi as an Assistant Professor in the Fall of 2024. She earned a B.S. in Sociology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and a Ph.D. in Psychology from North Carolina State University. Before joining the faculty at the University of Mississippi, she completed postdoctoral training in the Center for Healthy Aging at Pennsylvania State University as a NIH T32 Fellow and K99 awardee. 

Fara earned her degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tehran before moving to the United States for her graduate studies. Her research interests focus on cognitive functions, specifically exploring how cognitive and developmental factors influence prospective memory. She is particularly interested in the role of aging and views of aging in shaping individuals' prospective memory performance. 

Alexandra is a senior at the University of Mississippi, pursuing a degree in Psychology with a strong passion for cognitive psychology and the study of aging. She is particularly fascinated by how memory, attention, and decision-making change across the lifespan, and how research in these areas can improve quality of life for older adults.