Lab Director
Charles Geier, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh)
Associate Professor | Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS)
Acting Assistant Dean for Graduate Education, College of Health and Human Development
Professor-in-Charge, HDFS Graduate Program
Co-Director, Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GIravigAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
My ORCID page
Click here for current CV
Interests: Developmental cognitive neuroscience, with particular focus on reward processing, cognitive control, and their interaction; understanding the relationship between adolescent neurodevelopment and risk taking behavior; nicotine dependence in adolescent and young adults; brain structural and functional connectivity; instrumental behavior; habit formation in adolescents and young adults
mailto: cfg2@psu.edu
Click here for more info about Dr. Geier
Associate Professor | Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS)
Acting Assistant Dean for Graduate Education, College of Health and Human Development
Professor-in-Charge, HDFS Graduate Program
Co-Director, Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GIravigAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
My ORCID page
Click here for current CV
Interests: Developmental cognitive neuroscience, with particular focus on reward processing, cognitive control, and their interaction; understanding the relationship between adolescent neurodevelopment and risk taking behavior; nicotine dependence in adolescent and young adults; brain structural and functional connectivity; instrumental behavior; habit formation in adolescents and young adults
mailto: cfg2@psu.edu
Click here for more info about Dr. Geier
Lab Members
Current
Daniel Petrie
I am a graduate student in Human Development and Family Studies, and a Predoctoral Fellow in the Prevention and Methodology Training program. I am broadly interested in the relationship between adolescent brain development and decision-making. Specifically, I am interested in the mechanisms that help facilitate the transition from goal-directed behavior to habitual behavior, and how adolescents may form habits differently than children and adults. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, listening to music, and watching sports.
Affiliated Scholars
Kelley Gunther
I am a graduate student in the Developmental Psychology program at Penn State. I am interested in top-down attention as a mechanism of risk or resilience in children with a temperamental predisposition for anxiety, emphasizing naturalistic paradigms to measure these behaviors. In my spare time I enjoy rock climbing, hiking, and camping.
**Dr. Gunther is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University
Kathleen Meeks
I am a first-year graduate student in the Neuroscience PhD program. My interests are quite varied but they are largely founded in a desire to understand the mechanisms and circuitry underlying various pediatric neurological diseases so they can be more effectively treated. I am especially interested in the ever-growing evidence for various art therapies and their effects on neurological pathways that may be affected by such diseases. When I am not in lab or studying, I enjoy spending time outdoors, singing, and dancing with my 2-year-old daughter.
Alumni
Nicole Roberts, B.A. (Westminster College), MS (University of Bath, England), Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University)
I am a graduate student in Human Development and Family Studies, and a Predoctoral Fellow in the Childhood Obesity Prevention Training program. I am interested in the relationship between adolescent brain development and various components of decision-making, particularly reward sensitivity and impulsivity. Specifically, I am interested in examining these mechanisms in adolescent smokers and in food-choice behavior. I am also interested in the application of fMRI with formal computational and economic models (neuroeconomics) to increase our understanding of the neurocognitive processes underlying complex behaviors, particularly risky decision-making. In my spare time I can be found running around the hills of Happy Valley. I love to travel; I've lived in England (2x) and have traveled to 14 countries. I am an avid Pittsburgh sports fan and I follow the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates religiously.
**Dr. Roberts is currently a medical research scientist at Highmark Health
David Lydon-Staley, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University)
My research interests are focused on the increase in risky decision-making and behavior observed during adolescence. I am interested in examining risky behavior alongside the development of brain systems underlying responses to incentives and cognitive control, as well as the interactions of these systems. In my spare time I enjoy making music and, like all Irishmen, a good cup of tea! You can check out my personal website with information on being a graduate student at Penn State and living in State College.
**Dr. Lydon-Staley is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania -- click here
Amanda Child, Ph.D.
Jessica Braymiller, Ph.D.
Roisin White, Ph.D.
Current
Daniel Petrie
I am a graduate student in Human Development and Family Studies, and a Predoctoral Fellow in the Prevention and Methodology Training program. I am broadly interested in the relationship between adolescent brain development and decision-making. Specifically, I am interested in the mechanisms that help facilitate the transition from goal-directed behavior to habitual behavior, and how adolescents may form habits differently than children and adults. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, listening to music, and watching sports.
Affiliated Scholars
Kelley Gunther
I am a graduate student in the Developmental Psychology program at Penn State. I am interested in top-down attention as a mechanism of risk or resilience in children with a temperamental predisposition for anxiety, emphasizing naturalistic paradigms to measure these behaviors. In my spare time I enjoy rock climbing, hiking, and camping.
**Dr. Gunther is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University
Kathleen Meeks
I am a first-year graduate student in the Neuroscience PhD program. My interests are quite varied but they are largely founded in a desire to understand the mechanisms and circuitry underlying various pediatric neurological diseases so they can be more effectively treated. I am especially interested in the ever-growing evidence for various art therapies and their effects on neurological pathways that may be affected by such diseases. When I am not in lab or studying, I enjoy spending time outdoors, singing, and dancing with my 2-year-old daughter.
Alumni
Nicole Roberts, B.A. (Westminster College), MS (University of Bath, England), Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University)
I am a graduate student in Human Development and Family Studies, and a Predoctoral Fellow in the Childhood Obesity Prevention Training program. I am interested in the relationship between adolescent brain development and various components of decision-making, particularly reward sensitivity and impulsivity. Specifically, I am interested in examining these mechanisms in adolescent smokers and in food-choice behavior. I am also interested in the application of fMRI with formal computational and economic models (neuroeconomics) to increase our understanding of the neurocognitive processes underlying complex behaviors, particularly risky decision-making. In my spare time I can be found running around the hills of Happy Valley. I love to travel; I've lived in England (2x) and have traveled to 14 countries. I am an avid Pittsburgh sports fan and I follow the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates religiously.
**Dr. Roberts is currently a medical research scientist at Highmark Health
David Lydon-Staley, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University)
My research interests are focused on the increase in risky decision-making and behavior observed during adolescence. I am interested in examining risky behavior alongside the development of brain systems underlying responses to incentives and cognitive control, as well as the interactions of these systems. In my spare time I enjoy making music and, like all Irishmen, a good cup of tea! You can check out my personal website with information on being a graduate student at Penn State and living in State College.
**Dr. Lydon-Staley is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania -- click here
Amanda Child, Ph.D.
Jessica Braymiller, Ph.D.
Roisin White, Ph.D.
