People

Faculty

Marc M. Sebrechts, Ph.D.

Dr. Marc M. Sebrechts is the Wylma and James Curtin Professor of Psychology at The Catholic University of America. He completed a B.S. in Psychology and Philosophy at Georgetown University, followed by graduate work at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of Louvain University in Belgium and the Inter-University Centre for Post-Graduate Studies in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at Yale University. He established one of the first Cognitive Science programs in the country at Wesleyan University, and he is a founding director of the Cognition and Virtual Reality Laboratory at CUA. Dr. Sebrechts’ research covers a range of issues in Cognitive Science with special emphasis on the role of technology in learning. Ongoing research projects include the use of eye tracking to assess visual search patterns, the role of survival processing in spatial memory, learning of spatial relations in a virtual environment, planning behavior and prospective memory, intolerance of uncertainty and working memory, video games and executive function. Support for his research has come from NSF, ONR, NIH, and NIST.

Deborah M. Clawson, Ph.D.

Deborah Clawson recently retired as an Associate Professor of Psychology at the Catholic University of America. She completed a B.A. in psychology and computer science at Cornell University and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Broadly, her research addresses methods of improving performance on cognitive tasks. Within that area, her first focus is on the inter-related areas of planning and prospective memory, looking at how people create plans for the future and carry out those plans when the opportunity presents itself. These studies have used lab tasks, games, and virtual reality (VR). Her second focus is on the effects of practice, particularly addressing the questions of what methods are best for practicing complex skills, to what extent improvements due to practice transfer to novel circumstances, and how well those practice effects are retained. She has investigated these issues in domains of Morse code reception, the Stroop task, and spatial learning in VR. Her research has been supported by ARI, ONR, and the National MS Society.

Current Students

Kirsten Michel, M.A.

I am a sixth year Ph.D. student in the applied experimental program at the Catholic University of America. I earned my B.A. in psychology from Villanova University with a minor in Biology, and my M.A. in Human Factors Psychology from Catholic. My research interest is broadly human-computer interaction, with past research investigating trust in computer agents while working as a team. My current research focuses on the spread of information on social media, recall and correcting such information.

Lab Alumni

...Alumni Profiles are archived in somewhat random order and record different points in their graduate careers...

Evan Hughes, Ph.D. 2022

Evan is a PhD candidate in CUA’s Applied Experimental Psychology program. Hailing from Altoona, Pennsylvania, Evan received a B.S. in psychology from Juniata College (2010; Huntingdon, PA), and M.A. in psychological science from the Catholic University of America (2019). As an undergraduate student, he contributed to labs studying emotional responses and religious attitudes. After receiving his B.S., he worked as in a therapeutic support setting and was program manager of a county-wide behavioral wraparound service before entering graduate school. Currently, he works as a student research fellow with the U.S. Army Research Institute and his current research interest revolve around how contextual factors (e.g. social stress & stimuli characteristics) influence cognitive processes such as prospective memory and social perception.

Sofia Castro Hernandez, Ph.D. 2022

PhD student in the Applied Experimental Psychology program. I am originally from Costa Rica, and I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from University of Maryland, College Park, an M.A in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an M.A. in Psychological Sciences at the Catholic University of America. As an undergraduate, I worked for three different laboratories in the field of Psychology investigating a variety of topics such as: group dynamics, the development of stereotypes, and the role of paternal communication in child language development. My research interests sit at the interface between cognitive psychology and education, with the ultimate goal of identifying effective learning strategies that promote long-term retention and transfer of knowledge.

Fleet Davis, Ph.D. 2020

Fleet holds a BS in Psychology and a MS in Modeling and Simulation from the University of Central Florida. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Applied-Experimental Psychology, specializing in human performance and human factors. He has over seven years of experience in human factors engineering, including conducting cognitive task analyses, designing user interfaces, and designing, developing, and testing customized training systems. His work primarily focuses on training and assessment techniques for improving cognitive task performance in both real-world settings and virtual environments. He participated in the design and development of several training systems and measurement applications built for customers, including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, NASA, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), and State Farm Insurance. His most recent work has focused on the development of innovative approaches to real-time SA and performance assessment for small, dismounted infantry units conducting training using desktop simulators.

Victor Quach, Ph.D. 2019

Victor is an AE PhD student in the CUA Psychology department. His research interests are in spatial memory and explicit encoding of stimuli. His undergraduate degree is in psychology from the University of Maryland, where he worked as a research assistant in the Laboratory for Automation Psychology. He currently works in the Human Factors and Usability group at the United States Census Bureau.

Katherine Rahill, Ph.D. 2019

Katherine is a first year student in the Human Factors/Applied-Experimental program. In May 2013, she received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Dayton. Her applied-experimental background is human factors research for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) War-Fighter Interface Division of Human Performance, and the U.S. Army Research Institute (ARI) for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. She is currently a research fellow at ARI and is investigating E-Learning software and framework development to improve learner control, engagement, comprehension, recall, and skill acquisition. Her previous and on-going research with AFRL investigates software solutions for cyber security by measuring the effects of cyber disruption on team dynamics and network communication. Her interests include human computer interaction, human performance, vigilance, cognitive workload, memory, perception, and individual differences.

Niav Hughes, Ph.D. 2015

Niav is a PhD student in the Applied Experimental Psychology program. She is currently working out of the eye-tracking lab located in Maloney Hall and is advised by Dr. Marc Sebrechts. Niav’s current research more closely examines the effects of both auditory stimuli and working memory on visual search patterns using eye-tracking technology.

Misa Gareau, Ph.D. 2018

Misa is a third year PhD student in the Applied Experimental Psychology program. Her interests are in human factors and cognition, and she is currently studying the effects of video game playing and cognitive training on various aspects of cognitive function. She is originally from the Philadelphia area and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Computer Science from Ursinus College. She received an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Immaculata University and currently works as a Human Factors and Usability intern at the United States Census Bureau.

Margaret Cunningham, Ph.D. 2017

Margaret is a third year student in the Applied Experimental PhD program. She earned her BA in English and psychology from The George Washington University, and an M.S.Ed. in counseling from Old Dominion University. Margaret currently works as a research assistant at The National Center for Human Factors Engineering in Healthcare and as a teaching fellow at Catholic University. Her research interests include prospective memory in healthcare settings.

Jennifer Johnson, Ph.D. 2016

Jennifer is a second-year student in the AE Psychology Ph.D. program. She is an Aerospace Experimental Psychologist (AEP) in the United States Navy, bringing psychology and Human Factors principles to the design and testing of systems and technology. She has graduate degrees from Embry Riddle in Aeronautical Science System Safety/Human Factors and from the Naval War College in National Security and Strategic Studies.

William Heath Sharp, M.A. 2019

Cecilia Perez, M.A. 2017

Ruhi Srinivasan, M.A. 2017

Ali Momen, M.A. 2016

Ali Momen is a first year Human Factors Psychology Masters student at CUA. His undergraduate degree is in Psychology from the University of Maryland- College Park. His past research experience includes work in representational bases of recognition based on recollection and familiarity assessment as a research assistant.

Jill Settle, Ph.D. 2015

Jill is a 5th year PhD student in the Applied Experimental Psychology program. She earned her BA in Psychology from the College of William & Mary, subsequently taught students with Autism for two years, and then transitioned to research in a psychiatry lab. Jill completed her Master's degree in Applied Experimental Psychology at CUA in 2012. Her research interests include prospective memory and executive functions in the context of neurological disorders. Jill was a research fellow at the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) in 2011, consulted for the American Psychological Association in 2012 and 2013, and currently works at the VA Medical Center in DC, studying Multiple Sclerosis. She is conducting her dissertation at Walter Reed NMMC on the effectiveness of compensatory prospective memory strategies for veterans with mTBI.

William Skaarup

Will is a 6th year Ph.D. student in the Applied-Experimental Program. He is interested in visual perception and visual search of complex images. He utilizes eye-tracking devices to track performance and to identify common areas of interest that are not intended targets of attention. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology and Philosophy from Hood College.

Jason Spitaletta, Ph.D. 2014

Erin Fritsch, M.A. 2012

Erin Fritsch graduated from CUA with her Master's Degree in Psychology in May 2012 and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interests include prospective memory, planning behavior, and the psychological consequences of infertility on individuals and couples.

Bobbi Isaac, M.A. 2012

Bobbi is pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology at Wayne State University. She graduated from CUA's General Masters in Psychology program in May 2012. While at CUA, she was a member of Dr. Fuller's and Dr. Clawson's labs and worked as a neuropsychological research assistant at the DC-VA Medical Center. Her interests are neuropsychological assessment, executive dysfunction, schizophrenia, and learning disabilities.

Anna Skinner, Ph.D 2013

Anna Skinner completed her Applied Experimental Ph.D in 2013. She conducted research related to training and retention of laparoscopic surgical skills. This research included investigation of various training methodologies, assessment of surgical skill using motion-sensing gloves, and the role of handedness in surgical skill acquisition and retention. Anna received her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering from CUA in 2001. She completed her Master’s degree in Human Factors Psychology at CUA in 2010, conducting research relating to human perception in virtual training environments. Anna also has over 10 years of experience, working as a Biomedical Engineer and Program Manager at AnthroTronix, Inc. (ATinc), a small human factors engineering firm in Silver Spring, MD. Anna has led a number of research efforts at ATinc in the areas of training, human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, human factors design and assessment, physiological monitoring and assessment, rehabilitation engineering, telerehabilitation, and assistive technology.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse