Lab Members

Grant S. Shields, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of human neuroscience in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Shields received his Ph.D. in psychology with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Shields’ research primarily focuses on understanding how executive functions, episodic memory, and decision-making differ as a function of context–including both external (e.g., facing a stressor) and internal (e.g., altered glucocorticoid levels, anxiety) contexts–as well as the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning those effects. This work can both improve our understandings of those cognitive processes themselves and facilitate the development of interventions that buffer against detrimental contextual effects on cognition. A secondary interest of Dr. Shields’ is in understanding the mechanisms linking stress and related factors to health and disease. Although he often to take an experimental approach (e.g., between-subjects acute stress manipulations, within-subjects cognitive task manipulations), he utilizes methods ranging from computational cognitive modeling to hormone assays and fMRI to answer questions of interest. Dr. Shields was named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science in 2023.

Colton Hunter is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the experimental psychology program. Originally from Vilonia, AR, he obtained a B.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience before coming to the University of Arkansas. Colton earned his M.A. in Psychology in 2022. His research focuses on understanding how and why socioeconomic status is linked to differences in cognitive performance, focusing on distortions in episodic memory and executive functions. Colton uses methods including innovative manipulations of subjective socioeconomic status, novel cognitive task design, computational cognitive modeling, and structural equation modeling of longitudinal data to answer his questions of interest.

Zach Gray is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the experimental psychology program. He is from Austin, TX, earned his B.A. in Psychology at Hendrix College, and is a proud Colombian. Among other things, Zach’s research interests include understanding how factors such as stress influence people’s social and political decision-making.

Elle is a third-year Ph.D. student in the experimental psychology program. Elle is from Farmington, AR, and has grown up in the greater Fayetteville area. She earned her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Arkansas, with a minor in Criminal Justice. Her research areas of interest include (1) understanding how chronic minority stress influences acute stress responses and (2) understanding how stress impacts various health outcomes.

Emily Patterson is a second-year Ph.D. student in the experimental psychology program. Her research interests include variations in memory formation and creative problem solving under stressful conditions.

Ben is an second-year Ph.D. student in the clinical psychology program who works with both Dr. Matt Judah in the CODA lab and Dr. Shields. Ben is from Fargo, ND, and earned his B.A. in Neuroscience and Psychology from Concordia College. Broadly, Ben is interested in understanding neural processes that help explain the associations between stress, executive function, and psychopathology.

Brody Terry is a first-year Ph.D. student working with both Dr. Michelle Ramey in the MEM lab and Dr. Shields. Brody earned his B.S. from North Dakota State University in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience and Spanish. His interests primarily include investigating the mediating factors responsible for changes in memory and inhibitory control. Additionally, Brody aims to understand how visual attention plays into conscious and unconscious memory. Outside of academia, he enjoys playing instruments, mountain biking, and learning foreign languages.

Phoebe Zalenski earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Anthropology at the University of Arkansas. Her primary research interests are the connections between cognitive neuroscience and psychopathology as well as identifying abnormalities of mental processes with brain-imaging technologies. Specifically, she is interested in the neural mechanisms that contribute to psychopathy.