People

Catherine Hartley Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neural Science (cate <at> nyu.edu)
Cate received her B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University and her PhD in Psychology from New York University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Weill Cornell Medical College, joining their faculty from 2014-2016 as an Assistant Professor before returning to NYU in July 2016. When not doing science, Cate spends most of her time chasing boys.

Natalie Saragosa-Harris Lab Manager (nsh6 <at> nyu.edu)
Natalie received her B.S. in Cognitive Science with a specialization in computing from UCLA. She is interested in how social cognitive networks develop from infancy to adulthood and how this development affects learning and decision making, especially during adolescence. She is primarily focused on research using neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI, fNIRS, and TMS. In her free time, she enjoys watching classic movies, exploring the city, reading, and volunteering with kids.

Alexandra Cohen Postdoctoral Fellow (ali.cohen <at> nyu.edu) [CV]
Ali received her B.S. in Neuroscience from Duke University and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Her dissertation work with BJ Casey focusing on how emotion influences cognitive control across development led her to become interested in how emotional learning, memory, and underlying neural circuitry change from childhood to adulthood. She is particularly interested in how individual differences in learning emerge over the course of development and influence memory processes. Outside the lab, Ali spends most of her time engaging in science outreach and advocacy with the braiNY, NOGN, and ScAAN groups at NYU. She is also a brunch, unicorn, and plant enthusiast.

Gail Rosenbaum Posdoctoral Fellow (gailrosenbaum <at> nyu.edu)
Gail received a B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Temple University. Her work focuses on adolescent risk taking, drawing upon perspectives and paradigms from the judgment and decision making and developmental cognitive neuroscience literatures. She is also interested in how memory and attention influence risky decision making in teens. Outside the lab, Gail enjoys singing classical music and eating pineapple.

Rebecca Martin Postdoctoral Fellow (rem265 <at> nyu.edu)
Rebecca received a B.A. in History from NYU, an M.A. in Teaching from UC Santa Cruz, an M.Ed. in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University. Her dissertation work with Kevin Ochsner examined how social influence and brain development shape emotional responses. In her postdoctoral work, Rebecca will research how emotion and novelty shape learning and memory across development. Outside of the lab, Rebecca likes to explore and exploit the best ice cream shops in the city and hypothesize how Game of Thrones is going to end.

Hillary Raab Graduate Student (hillary.raab <at> nyu.edu)
Hillary is a doctoral student in the Cognition and Perception program in the Psychology department. Her research is focused on learning processes that support psychological resilience during adolescent development. Specifically, she is interested in how control over aversive experiences may affect subsequent behaviors and the underlying neural circuitry involved. Outside of the lab, she enjoys rock-climbing and spreading her enthusiasm for science by volunteering with the Neuroscience Outreach Group at NYU.

Kate Nussenbaum Graduate Student (katenuss <at> gmail.com)
Kate received her Sc.B. from Brown University with a double-major in Cognitive Neuroscience and Science & Society. She then spent two years as a research student at the University of Oxford, where she studied the influence of long-term memory on visual attention. As a doctoral student, she aims to explore interactions between information-seeking and learning across development. Outside of the lab, Kate enjoys traveling, watching TV, and winning board games.

Perri Katzman Graduate Student (perri <at> nyu.edu)
Perri received her Sc.B. with honors in Cognitive Neuroscience at Brown University, where she researched memory with Dr. Badre. After graduating, she worked in Dr. Matthew Lieberman's lab in UCLA for two years studying social cognitive neuroscience. Perri has since returned to her hometown of New York City where she is a doctoral student in NYU's Cognition & Perception program. Her research interests include studying how reward and motivation influence learning and memory over the course of development. Outside of work, she enjoys brunch, theatre, and her cat, Smidge.

Michael Evans Graduate Student (mde269 <at> nye.edu)
Michael received his B.A. in Psychology from James Madison University and his M.A. in Psychology from New York University. His research interests lie in understanding how learning and decision making mechanisms develop during childhood, how that development is relevant to mental health and wellbeing, and how social and environmental factors mediate that development. Outside of the lab, Michael likes to go to drag shows, play video/board games, and go on adventures with his partner and their three pups!

Nick Matese Research Assistant (ngm254 <at> nyu.edu)
Nick Matese received his B.S. in Psychology from Villanova University in 2016. Currently, he is a second year student in the GSAS Masters Program in Psychology, and he is interested in the field of Affective Neuroscience. Specifically, his interests lie in emotion regulation and in fear conditioning and instrumental models of extinction. He hopes to pursue his Ph.D. in Affective Neuroscience upon graduating from NYU, but currently he’s happy to be working in the Hartley Lab! Outside of the lab, he enjoys hosting Sunday dinners with his friends, improv comedy, and the works of Kendrick Lamar.

Morgan Glover Masters Student (mmg469 <at> nyu.edu)
Morgan received her B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento and a minor in Sociology. She is currently a first-year Masters student in the Psychology program with a focus in Neuroscience and Cognition. Her main research interests include learning, memory, and cognition and she looks forward to developing these interests during her time in the Hartley lab. Morgan was fortunate enough to do a TED Talk at CSUS on memory entitled Cognitive Complexity: Blind Spots. She enjoys getting involved and exploring this new city!

Daphne Valencia Masters Student (dv775 <at> nyu.edu)
Daphne received her B.A. from Rutgers University with a double-major in Cognitive Science and Psychology. Currently, she is a first year student in the GSAS Masters Program in Psychology with a concentration in Cognition/Perception & Neuroscience. Daphne hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience after finishing her Masters. She is interested in developmental memory encoding, storage, and retrieval. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, running, exploring the city, and traveling.

Xinxu (Karen) Shen Graduate Research Assistant (xs2312 <at> tc.columbia.edu)
Karen received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from University of Wisconsin Madison. She currently is a first year M.A. student in Cognitive Science program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience after graduating from Teachers College. She is particularly interested in individual differences in learning and memory and their neural bases. Outside of the lab, she enjoys traveling with friends.

Hannah Walker Graduate Research Assistant (haw2138<at> tc.columbia.edu)
Hannah received her B.S. in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience and Biology from Loyola University Chicago. She is currently pursing an M.A. in Clinical Psychology with specializations in Neuropsychology and Child and Family at Teacher College, Columbia University. She is interested in pursing both clinical work and research that is primarily focused on children with autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, she is interested in post-natal epigenetic variation and specific behavioral markers in early development. In her free time, Hannah enjoys searching for the best dogs to pet, traveling, and going to yoga.

Shivani Hiralall Undergraduate Research Assistant (sh4184 <at> nyu.edu)
Shivani is an undergraduate research assistant in the Hartley Lab. She will be majoring in Psychology on the Pre-med track. She plans on going to medical school after college and becoming a doctor that does work in improving Women’s Health. She has previously done internships as a teaching assistant for a second grade class, as well as in a Women’s Health Clinic. She is interested in research specifically involving child and adolescent mental development. She also developed a love for animals that she wasn’t aware she had after working at the Bronx Zoo last summer! She also enjoys volleyball and any kind of dancing!

Haniyyah Sardar Undergraduate Research Assistant (haniyyah <at> nyu.edu)
Haniyyah is majoring in Neural Science and minoring in Computer Science & Math. She is considering going to graduate school after graduation in 2019, and has been enjoying being a part of the Hartley lab. Outside of the lab, she works at the University Learning Center and is a member of the CAS Women in Science Program. When she has some free time, she enjoys exploring the city, cooking, and reading.

Shraddha Nair Undergraduate Research Assistant (ssn297 <at> nyu.edu)
Shraddha is double majoring in Psychology and Economics. Upon graduating from NYU in 2019, she hopes to pursue a Ph.D in Behavioral Economics and is particularly interested in learning and decision-making. Shraddha has previous research experience working in the SCANLab at Columbia University where she researched the effects of social influence, conformity, and emotion. Outside of the lab, she enjoys figure skating, exploring NYC, traveling, and spending time with her friends.

Anastasia Filimontseva Undergraduate Research Assistant (af2848 <at> nyu.edu)
Anastasia is a junior majoring in Psychology. Her current academic interests are affective, cognitive, and social neuroscience. After graduation, she hopes to pursue Neuroscience at the graduate level in Sydney, Australia. Additionally, Anastasia is part of the Cross Country and Track and Field team at NYU.

Euan Prentis Undergraduate Research Assistant (eap448 <at> nyu.edu)
Euan is an undergraduate research assistant majoring in Psychology and minoring in History. He plans to complete an honors project in the Hartley Lab before pursuing cognitive science at the graduate level. His research interests broadly lie in learning and decision making, and the implementation of computational modeling to help predict and explain these processes in everyday behavior. Outside the lab, Euan enjoys film, playing his guitar, and doing photography for NYU’s student paper.

Careen Foord Undergraduate Research Assistant (cf1925 <at> nyu.edu)
Careen is currently an undergraduate research assistant studying Neural Science. She is a member of the Training Program in Computational Neuroscience and is interested in studying learning biases over the course of development. In the future, Careen plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and continue to research these topics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, discovering new coffee shops, and petting dogs.