Benjamin J. Clark PhD, Department of Psychology, The University of New Mexico
Lab Members
Principal Investigator:
Benjamin J. Clark, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology
Graduate Students:
Gabriela Acosta, B.S. (Psychology) Project: Optogenetic Modulation of Thalamic Function in Spatial Memory
Lilliana Sanchez, M.S. (Psychology) Student in the Alcohol Research Training in Neurosciences Program (T32 NIAAA)2020-2023 Neuroscience Scholars Program 2017-2019 Project: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Hippocampal Dynamics during Learning and Memory
Tia Donaldson, M.S. (Psychology) Neuroscience Scholars Program 2020-2022 Project: Locus Coeruleus Function in Memory and Alzheimer’s disease
Undergraduate Research Assistants:
Ariyana LaCour (Chemical Engineering) Project: Place Cells and Reference Frame Coordination in Alzheimer’s disease
Zara Roy (Psychology) Project: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Object Learning and Memory
Jessica Walker (Psychology/Nursing) Project: Alzheimer’s disease and Sex Differences in Anxiety and Depression
Enhui Wang (Psychology/Family & Child Studies) Project: Lateral Thalamus and Spatial Navigation
Lab Alumni:
Over 50 students have participate in our research program. This includes students enrolled in graduate studies (MS and PhD programs) and the Psychology Honors program, including a recipient of the Rachael Dowler Outstanding Honors Thesis Award. Graduate students have participated in the Alcohol Research Training in Neurosciences Program (T32 NIAAA). We have also had undergraduate students participate in Psych 499 courses, the McNair Scholar program, El Puente Research Fellow program, PREP Scholar program, New Mexico AMP, IMSD Student program, and UNM ASSURE program. Some of our alumni have gone onto professional, post-doctoral, and graduate studies. Below is a partial list of our alumni and where they are now.
Ariyana LaCour, Technician – Pharmacy Grad Student (UNM)
Judit Huerta, McNair Scholar – Grad Student (Arizona State)
Erin Melendrez, Psych 499 – Sample Management Specialist at Lovelace
Tram Le, Psych 499 – Biotechnologist at BennuBio
Gabriela Acosta, Psych 499 – Grad student (UNM)
Kimberly Rogge-Obando, McNair Scholar – Grad student in Neuroscience (Vanderbilt)
Zachary Villasenor, Psych 499 – Technician (UNM)
Laura Berkowitz, PhD student – Post-doc (Cornell)
Ryan Harvey, PhD student (T32 ARTN trainee) – Post-doc (Cornell)
Jonathan Goss, Technician – Systems Administrator at SystemsMD
Monica Goncalves-Garcia, Psych 499 – Grad student (UNM)
Danielle Benthem, Psych 499 – Grad student (Florida State)
Krystalyn Madden, Psych 499 – Clinical Mental Health Counselor
Jack Madden, Psych 499 – Grad student (UNM)
Shannon Thompson, PREP Scholar – Technician (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)
Elizabeth Sneddon-Yepez, Psych 499 – Post-doc (UCSD)
Systems Neuroscience and Behavior Lab 