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 cognition and 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 and won the Dirk Hellhammer Distinguished Young Investigator award from the International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology in 2024.
Graduate Students
Elleona Trudell, M.A.
Elle is a fifth-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. You can reach her at evtrudel at uark dot edu
Ben Swanson, M.A.
Ben is an fourth-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. You can reach him at bs093 at uark dot edu
Brody Terry, B.A.
Brody is a third-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. You can reach him at bat028 at uark dot edu
Lab Manager
Anna Snow
Anna Snow is majoring in psychology at the University of Arkansas. She is interested stress and anxiety. After graduating, she hopes to get her PhD in clinical psychology. You can reach her at ascanlab at uark dot edu
Assistant Lab Manager
Alex Otwell
Honors Students
Anna Snow Anna Barnhart Averie Gawf Josephine Neukirch
Research Assistants
Aammar Khan Alexandra Otwell Anna Barnhart Anna Claire Williams Annie Childers Arden Austin Clara Silva Emerson Metzger Emma Callahan Haley Knight Jackson Caldwell Kelsey West Luke Shockley Maverick Whitlow Meghann Slate Noah Orsini Olivia Arcila Paige Massey Pragya Chauhan Sarah Shoffner Sophia Irem Iskenderoglu Thomas Ford
Send an email to ascanlab@uark.edu if you’re interested in helping out!
Lab Alumni
PhD Graduates
Zach J. Gray, PhD (2026), now teaching summer courses while pursuing employment opportunities (he comes highly recommended!) Colton L. Hunter, PhD (2025), now an assistant professor of psychology at UA Little Rock
Lab Management
Breanna McCall, now at UAMS Northwest in their radiologic imaging sciences program Anna Morgan (asst.), now applying to clinical psychology PhD programs Phoebe Zalenski, now at Simmons University for a master’s in social work Emily Patterson, now working as a legal assistant after choosing to pursue a career in law Elleona Trudell, now a PhD student in our lab
Honors Students
Class of 2026
Breanna McCall, now at UAMS Northwest in their radiologic imaging sciences program Kit Roberts, now taking a gap year before medical school MaryMead Buchanan, now at UAMS for medical school Samantha Stark, now at UAMS for medical school
Class of 2025
Caitlin Guice, now taking a gap year before medical school Kaitlyn Doshier, now at UAMS for medical school Kaitlyn Pearson, now taking a gap year before medical school Kate Marshall, now in the clinical psychology PhD program at UMKC Nolen Bruffett, now at UAMS for medical school Sydney Clontz, now at UAMS for medical school
Class of 2024
Sarah Khot, now at UAMS for medical school
Class of 2023
Phoebe Zalenski, now at Simmons University for a master’s in social work Sara Villani, now at UAMS for medical school Bennett Perkins, now at UAMS for medical school Amber Alzufari, now at UAMS for medical school
Class of 2022
Katelynn Kallodaychsk, now a psychiatric nurse Whitney Skaggs, now at UAMS for medical school
Research Assistants
Class of 2022
Morgan Atkerson, now in the clinical psychology PsyD program at Pepperdine University
Send us an email at ascanlab@uark.edu if you’re one of our alumni and would like to update your information!
