Our Team
Lab Directors
Charles Hillman, Ph.D.
Associate Director of the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health
Department of Psychology, Department of Physical Therapy, Movement & Rehabilitation Sciences
Dr. Hillman is interested in understanding the role of lifestyle behaviors on brain and cognition to maximize health and well-being, and promote the effective functioning of individuals across the lifespan. He is particularly interested in the role of childhood physical activity and excess adiposity on cognitive (including academic achievement) and brain outcomes, and uses a variety of neuroimaging tools in his research.
Arthur Kramer, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health
Department of Psychology
Dr. Kramer is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Cognitive & Brain Health at Northeastern University. He previously served as Senior Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education at Northeastern University. He also previously served as the Director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology and the Swanlund Chair and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Illinois. Professor Kramer’s research projects include topics in aging, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and human factors.
Lab Staff
Allie Hill
Lab Manager
Allie Hill is the Lab Manager for the Hillman-Kramer Lab in the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2018 with a degree in Kinesiology and was part of the Womens Rowing team. Allie’s research interests include physical activity’s effect on cognition, neuroplasticity, and neurodegeneration.
Gregory Cloutier
Center Laboratory Operations Manager
Greg’s education started at UMass Boston for a Bachelors degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology, later pursuing a Masters in Public Health at Tufts Medical and Northeastern University. Greg’s research interests are in exercise and nutrition as interventions to attenuate declines in aging and inactivity, with a special interest in “wellness” in a wide variety of groups.
Emily Berkeley
Lab Technician
Emily Berkeley is currently a Research Technician at the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health. She graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in psychology, and completed an honors thesis on the effects of physical activity on sexual health cognition. Emily’s research interests include physical activity’s impact on cognition, mental health, and decision-making. In the future, Emily hopes to pursue a PhD in psychology.
Kellyn Jason
Lab Technician
Kellyn Jason earned her B.S. in Psychology from Worcester State University and spent time working in the health and wellness industry before earning her M.S. in Exercise Health Sciences from UMASS Boston. Her thesis research focused on cerebral blood velocity during a dual task paradigm in older adults and she worked with fNIRs, EEG, TCDx, TDC-S, tonometry and ultrasound. Kellyn’s research interests include physical activity and exercise, mental health, cognition, and neurophysiology especially regarding healthy aging and vulnerable populations.
Doctoral Students
Meishan Ai
Graduate Student
Meishan is a graduate student in the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health. She is studying the association between modifiable lifestyle factors and brain health in healthy aging. She is also interested in identifying neural and psychological features that predict adherence to these lifestyle behaviors.
Emma Tinney
Graduate Student
Emma is a PhD student in the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health and she is studying the bidirectional relationship between lifestyle factors, such as sleep and exercise, and brain health in traumatic brain injury & aging. Her research aims to identify neuroimaging biomarkers that identify those at risk of behavioral deficits and provide scalable interventions to minimize those deficits.
Mark Nwakamma
Graduate Student
Mark is a former collegiate and professional athlete and currently a 3rd year graduate student in the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health also working with Charles Hillman. His current interests are in electroencephalography and mild traumatic brain injury and is spearheading The Exercise and Concussion Health Study (TECHS).
Trevor L. Cline
Graduate Student
Trevor is a PhD candidate in the Psychology Department at Northeastern University. His research focuses on the impact of physical exercise on the brain, cognition, and mental health, as well as the cognitive and neural drivers of exercise behavior change. With a background as a certified personal trainer and veteran of the Marine Corps infantry, Trevor brings a unique perspective and expertise to his studies.
Sonny Card
Graduate Student
Sonny is a PhD student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health. Her professional dance background informs her approach to understanding the role of motor skill acquisition and movement expertise in cognitive and brain health across the lifespan.
Undergraduate Students
R. Luke Sodemann
Ivy Cao
Brynn Telenko
Karine Ayoub
Karma Vijay
Sydney Pollock
Ishani Kunadharaju
Rasu Rajendra
Yvette El-Hage
Shreeti Pokharel
Susanna Ovespian
Leisha Yenduri
Yash Chauhan
Luisana Tejedamejia
Helen Vo
Abhinav Kummaragunta
Marianne Zapata-Agreda
Zoe Posch
Iris Chang
Alexandra Quattrucci
Arssh Bajpai
Audrey Panik
Devika Kumar
Leo Zhao
Maura Logan
Paige Fitzgerald
Sophia Meadors
Stephanie Yang
Juliet Yavas
Lab Alumni
Phillip O’Connor, M.D.
Physician
Rachel Hopman-Droste, Ph.D.
Pearson
Katherine McDonald Lloyd, Ph.D.
Scientist, MORSE Corp
Dominika Pindus, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Illinois
Stone Hsieh, Ph.D.
Lecturer, Kingston University
Laura Chaddock-Heyman, Ph.D.
Freelance Science Writer
Shih-Chun “Alvin” Kao, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Purdue University
Daniel Westfall, Ph.D.
Data Scientist
Tatsu Shigeta, Ph.D.
Posit PBC
Nicole Logan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island