Lab2023

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

jan

Jan R. Wessel, Ph.D. 
Lab Director 

Jan is Ronnie Ketchel Faculty fellow and Associate Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Neurology, with a secondary appointment in Biomedical Engineering. He performed doctoral research at the former Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research in Cologne (Germany) and postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego.

Google Scholar | PubMed | Curriculum Vitae

 

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

josh

Joshua R. Tatz, Ph.D. 
Postdoctoral Scholar 

Josh received a B.S. in Neuroscience from Drake University and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Behavior, Cognition, and Neuroscience from American University in Washington, D.C.

 

 

cheol

Cheol Soh, B.A., M.Eng. 
Postdoctoral Scholar 

Cheol received a BA in Psychology and Master's degree in Brain and Cognitive Engineering from Korea University in Seoul, followed by a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Iowa.

 

 

DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

 

crem

Nathan Cremers, B.Sc.
Graduate Student (Neuroscience)

Nathan is a graduate student in the Neuroscience Program. He received a B.Sc. in Neuroscience from the University of Iowa and then worked in Krystal Parker's lab at the UIHC Psychiatry department before joining the Cognitive Neurology lab.

 

 

kien

Kien Huynh, B.A.
Graduate Student (Psychological and Brain Sciences)

Kien is a graduate student in the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department. He received B.A. degrees in Psychology and Music from Luther College and worked with Jeremy Greenlee in the UIHC Human Brain Research Laboratory before joining the Cognitive Neurology lab.

 

LABORATORY STAFF

nathan

Nathan R. Chalkley, B.Sc. 
Lab Manager & Research Associate

Nathan has been our lab manager since 2016. He graduated with distinction from The University of Iowa with a B.Sc. in Psychology.

 

 

 

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

Britt Mariman

Lucas Beilby

Carson Lovig

Adrianna Segal

Sumeyo Noor

Isabella Jimenez-Rodriguez

 

SUPPORT STAFF

freddie

Freddie 
Research Support 

Freddie is a mutt from Ottumwa, Iowa, who supports Jan in his research. Like his supervisor, he enjoys hiking (especially in the snow), playing with other dogs, wrestling, and eating things that he shouldn't.

 

 

aurora

Aurora 
Research Support 

Aurora is majestic Malamute mix who excels in leadership capacities. She uses her howls to instruct her workplace companion Josh that her water bowl needs replenished and can also be heard commentating on other dogs' play at the local dog park (while seldom engaging in such behavior herself).

 

 

ray

Ray 
Administrative Support 

Ray is a ray of sunshine in Nathan’s life. She’s a sour patch kid of a dog, when she’s outside she’s sour (just plain crazy), but when she’s inside she’s the sweetest dog in the world.

 

 

 

ALUMNI

GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL

Yoojeong Choo, Ph.D. (2018-2024)
In the lab: Psychological & Brain Sciences Graduate Student
Afterwards: Postdoctoral scholar at the University of Maryland (Xie Lab).

Mario Hervault, Ph.D. (2021-2023)
In the lab: Postdoctoral Scholar
Afterwards: Assistant Professor at the University of Grenoble.

Benjamin O. Rangel, Ph.D. (2017-2023)
In the lab: Neuroscience Graduate Student
Afterwards: Postdoctoral scholar at Brown University (Badre Lab).

Darcy A. Diesburg (née Waller), Ph.D. (2016-2022)
In the lab: Psychological & Brain Sciences Graduate Student
Afterwards: Postdoctoral scholar at Brown University (Jones Lab).

Yao Guan, Ph.D. (2018-2022)
In the lab: Postdoctoral Scholar
Afterwards: Scientist at National Grid (Boston, MA).

 

UNDERGRADUATE

Maddie Carlson (2021-2024)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA
Afterwards: Graduate student at Florida State University.

Hector Sanchez-Melendez (2021-2023)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA
Afterwards: Post-Bac Researcher at the NIH.

Emily Grugan (née Huber) (2020-2021)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA
Afterwards: Post-Bac Researcher at the NIH, Program Specialist at the NIH.

Megan Hynd (2018-2020)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA, Honor's student, INI Fellow, ICRU Fellow
Afterwards: Post-Bac Researcher at the NIH, Clinical Psychology graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill.

Charles Steven Grugan (2019-2020)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA
Afterwards: Graduate Research Assistant at the University of California, Davis.

Alec Mather (2017-2019)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA, Scientific Programmer, Honor's student, ICRU Fellow
Afterwards: Manager of Data Science at Sony (Los Angeles, CA).

Isabella Dutra (2016-2019)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA, ICRU Fellow, Honor's student
Afterwards: Graduate student at Northwestern University.

Carly Ryder (2016-2018)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA
Afterwards: Graduate student at UNI.

Daniel Thayer (2016-2017)
In the lab: Undergraduate RA
Afterwards: Graduate student at UC Santa Barbara.