Director
Michelle Voss, Ph. D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Ronnie Ketchel Faculty Fellow
Director, Health Brain & Cognition Lab
Co-Director, Behavioral-Biomedical Interface Training Program
Co-Director, Diversifying Research Experiences and Mentorship postbacc program
Michelle received her PhD in Psychology in 2011 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also received her B.S. in Psychology at the University of Illinois, and played varsity tennis for the Illini. She is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and outside the lab she enjoys spending time with family and friends, bicycling, and volunteering at the Bike Library.
Staff
Emery Styron
Title/Position
Community Liaison
Emery received his Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1972 from the University of Missouri and earned his Masters in Business Administration from St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa, in 2002. He has worked as a community newspaper reporter, editor and publisher in Missouri and Iowa. He enjoys outdoors pursuits including hiking, paddling, photography and yard work, and spending time with his family.
Chris Oehler , M.S.
Title/Position
Lab Manager, Clinical Trial and Data Management Research Associate
BETTER Study Project Manager
Chris received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2010 from the University of Iowa,
and a Master of Science in Experimental Psychology in 2016 from Nova Southeastern
University. He has worked in a variety of lab roles throughout his career and is interested in both
cognitive training and physical activity as potential ways to slow cognitive decline. Outside of
lab, he enjoys running, and working on home renovation projects.
Megan Hilliard
Title/Position
Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant
BOOST Study Project Manager
Megan was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Iowa in 2022 with a B.S. in Psychology and a certificate in Disability Studies. Following graduation, she began working as a post-bacc research assistant for the Voss Lab and hopes to attend graduate school to serve as a clinical psychologist in the future. Outside of the lab, Megan enjoys spending time with her cat, golfing, and exploring the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids communities.
Hayley Chappell
Title/Position
Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant
BOOST/JumpstartPA Exercise Specialist
Hayley hails from West Des Moines, Iowa and is a December 2023 University of Iowa graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. She also works as a patient care technician at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She hopes to attend medical school next year and is interested in Sports Medicine. When not working, Hayley enjoys lifting, thrifting, and finding new coffee spots with friends.
Madison Blevins
Title/Position
Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant
Madison was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and received a B.A in psychology from Augsburg University in her hometown. After graduating, she became a research assistant in the Voss lab through the iDREAM neuroscience post-bacc program. She hopes to attend a neuroscience PhD program next year. Outside of lab work, Madison enjoys reading, painting, and playing with her cat.
Kelsey Baller
Title/Position
Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant
Biopsychosocial Determinants of Brain Health Project Manager
Kelsey was Born in Colorado but has lived most of her life in Iowa City. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a minor in Spanish. She has been a post-bacc research assistant with the Voss Lab for about three years now and is hoping to enter a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology to become a neuropsychologist. Outside of research, she likes to exercise, take care of her plant collection, volunteer at the animal shelter, and read non-fiction books.
Post Doctoral Scholars
Myungjin Jung, Ph. D.
Title/Position
Post Doctoral Scholar
Myungjin received his PhD in Health and Kinesiology in 2023 from the University of Mississippi. He also earned his B.S. and M.S. in Physical Education, with an emphasis on Sport Psychology, at Seoul National University, South Korea. Originally from Seoul, South Korea, he enjoys playing soccer and tennis outside the lab.
Adriana Rivera-Dompenciel, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Post Doctoral Scholar
Adriana is a recent University of Iowa Neuroscience Ph.D. graduate from the HBC lab. Her thesis research was on how a specific functional brain network relates to memory performance in older adults and whether certain lifestyle factors such as education impact that relationship. As a Postdoctoral Research Scholar, she is working on programming tasks to enrich and expand computing workflows for data analysis, data sharing, and dissemination of results. She has many hobbies such as reading, horseback riding, hiking, martial arts, trying fusion cuisines, spending time with her boyfriend and dogs, and ice fishing, and tries to regularly visit family back home in Puerto Rico.
Graduate Students
Liam Campbell
Title/Position
Graduate Student, Clinical Science (PBS)
Liam is a first year Clinical Science PhD student in the Clinical Neuropsychology major area of study. He obtained his BA in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine, and was raised in Northern California. His research interests orbit aging trajectories both pathological and healthy, as well as related biomarkers in imaging and blood. Outside of the lab, he loves to cycle, weightlift, and travel. You are sure to find him with a cup of tea or coffee in hand.
Bryan Madero
Title/Position
Graduate Student, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience (PBS)
Bryan received his B.A. in Psychology, from the University of California, Riverside, in 2019 and is a doctoral candidate in the Psychological Brain Sciences Program in Behavioral Cognitive Neuroscience. His research centers on understanding why some individuals have better than expected cognitive abilities by studying individual differences in brain structure and function. Bryan enjoys riding his bike around the community, spending time with loved ones, cooking, and playing board games.
Marco Pipoly
Title/Position
Graduate Student, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Marco received his B.S. in Psychology, summa cum-laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2018. A doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, his research centers on understanding why some older adults maintain cognitive function while others decline and how variation in the aging process impacts aspects of internal and external attention. In his free time, Marco enjoys exploring the local community, cooking, watching space-themed tv shows, and spending time with his loved ones.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Sydney Anderson
Title/Position
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sydney is a current undergraduate student majoring in neuroscience at the University of Iowa. She enjoys movie nights with her friends and family as well as playing pickleball in the university’s pickleball club.
Hollie Byrne
Title/Position
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Hollie is an undergraduate psychology major at the University of Iowa from the Chicago area. Hollie is currently looking at PhD programs in the field of clinical counseling, wanting to eventually become a clinical psychologist. Outside the lab, she enjoys going to concerts, nature walks, and traveling.
Zak Gilliam
Title/Position
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Zak is an undergraduate researcher from the Chicago area. He is studying Informatics - Human-Computer Interaction. Zak's goals are to create non-invasive neural interfaces for leading tech companies. In his free time he enjoys coding new projects and spending time with his cat.
Qiutong Hong
Title/Position
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Qiutong is a University of Iowa graduate with a B.S. in Psychology. She is interested in aging-related cognitive decline and training.
Ava Hunt
Title/Position
Undergraduate Research Assistant
A sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, Ava is interested in how physical activity can delay cognitive decline and support overall mental alertness. She plans to attend medical school after finishing her undergraduate degree and is a volunteer in the Neuroscience Intermediate Inpatient Unit (NIIU) at UIHC. In her spare time, Ava enjoys attending concerts, listening to country music, working out, and spending time with her family.
Craig Martins
Title/Position
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Craig is an undergraduate psychological sciences student at the University of Iowa from San Diego, California. Craig is currently applying to graduate programs in the field of sport and performance psychology, and wishes to become a sports psychologist in the future. In his free time, Craig loves practicing jiu jitsu, hanging out with friends, and watching Netflix.
Esha Patel
Title/Position
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Esha is a second-year undergraduate student from Bartlett, Illinois, studying psychology on the pre-medicine track. She is especially interested in the ways that cognitive training can help slow progression of impairments like Alzheimer's and dementia. Outside of the lab, she enjoys dancing, reading in spare time, and spending time with family and friends.