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Dr. Karen Smith

Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator

Dr. Karen Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers, Newark and Director of the Stress Psychophysiology and Affective Neuroscience (SPAN) Lab. Dr. Smith earned both


Mary Mousa

Graduate Student

Mary is a Ph.D student in the Psychology department at Rutgers Newark. She earned her B.A. from Rutgers Newark majoring in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience. Afterwards she


Katie Archer

Graduate Student

Katie holds a MA in Psychology from NYU and a BA in Psychology from Lehman College. Her research interests include the development of episodic memory, how failures of attention impact


Arianna Serra

PREP Student

Graduated Spring 2023 Major: Psychology Minor: Cognitive Neuroscience Arianna graduated from Rutgers Spring ’23, and has been a research assistant in the lab for a few months. Ever since she


Katherine Tume

Research Assistant

Expected Graduation: Spring 2025 Major: Psychology Minors: Marketing, Health and Society Katherine chose the SPAN lab because she was interested to learn more about the neurological aspects of conducting psych


Janel R. Morales

Research Assistant

Expected Graduation: Spring 2026 Major: Neuroscience and Behavior A career goal of Janel’s is to become a Neurodevelopmental Pediatrician. She joined the SPAN Lab because she is interested in what


Gabriela Rivera Martinez

Research Assistant

Expected Graduation: Spring 2026 Major: Psychology Minor: Social Justice (HLLC) Gaby chose the SPAN Lab due to her experience working with children from diverse communities, which ignited her curiosity about factors


Luca Muricy

Research Assistant

Expected Graduation: Spring 2025 Double-Major in Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Luca is interested in how stress influences decision making and coping mechanisms, leading him to become involved with the SPAN


Alex Henoch

Former Lab Manager

Alex recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, double-majoring in Psychology and Social Work. He is intrigued by the circumstantial factors that affect developing children’s perceptions of stress and studying


Sabrina Nguyen

Research Assistant

My name is Sabrina Nguyen and I am a senior at Rutgers pursuing a neuroscience degree under a pre med track. I have always been fascinated by the advancement of