LUMeNaries – LUMeN Lab

Alexandra O. Cohen, Ph. D.
Lab Director
she/her

Ali received her B.S. in Neuroscience from Duke University and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. She then completed her postdoctoral training at New York University. Ali joined the Department of Psychology at Emory University as an Assistant Professor in 2022. She is deeply committed to promoting equity in and accessibility of science. Outside the lab, Ali enjoys cuddling her cats, taking care of her plants, and loves all things brunch, unicorn, and brightly-colored.

ali [dot] cohen [at] emory [dot] edu | personal website | CV

Sagarika Devarayapuram Ramakrishnan, B.S.
Lab Manager
she/they

Sagarika received their B.S. in Psychology with a certificate in Spanish from Georgia State University, where she defended her Honors thesis on age differences in memory for prior feelings. They are interested in the impact of memory and emotion on behavior and well-being across the lifespan, the effect of sociocultural factors on psychology, and the intergenerational transmission of memory and psychopathology. Broadly, she is concerned with promoting equity, justice, and accessibility in the field. Besides psychology, Sagarika loves solving puzzles, reading, creative writing, visiting museums, and collecting trinkets.

sagarikadr [at] emory [dot] edu

Sophia Martin, B. S.
Lab Manager

she/her

Sophia graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Health and Medical Sciences. During her time as an undergraduate, Sophia’s was a research assistant in the Memory and Aging Lab, studying how resilience and emotion regulation during times of financial hardship changes throughout the lifespan. After graduating, she spent two years working as a post-bacc research assistant for the CIRCLE Lab at UNC gaining research experience in adolescent neuroimaging. There, she worked using fMRI in several studies that aim to assess how childhood adverse experiences impact emotion reactivity and regulation during adolescence. Sophia is interested in the emergence of both psychopathology symptoms and resiliency during young adulthood and how childhood stress may play a role in these diverging outcomes. In her free time, Sophia enjoys baking, painting, going on nature walks, and playing beach volleyball with friends.

smart48 [at] emory [dot] edu

Rohini Kumar, B. A.
Doctoral Student
she/her

Rohini completed her B.A. in Neuroscience at Rice University in 2021. After graduating, she completed a post-baccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health where she studied emotional face perception. She is interested in how memory and emotion interact and how this relationship is supported by the brain. She loves dancing and live music.

rohini [dot] kumar [at] emory [dot] edu

Vishva Patel, B.Tech.
Graduate Research Assistant
he/him

Vishva is a second-year Computer Science graduate student. He is a strong supporter of Computer Science for good and is especially interested in exploring the interdisciplinary nature of Computer Science. Some of his past research work includes “Leveraging Neural Networks for ASL to Text translation”. When he is not in the lab, Vishva enjoys hiking, running, reading, cooking, and working on cool coding projects.

vishva [dot] patel2 [at] emory [dot] edu

Brooke Holsinger
Research Assistant
she/her

Brooke is a senior majoring in psychology. She is planning to attend graduate school for clinical psychology and eventually work as a therapist and researcher. She is interested in studying both the development of and cognitive processes involved in dissociative identity disorder, focusing heavily on memory. In her free time, Brooke loves working with animals, watching TV and movies, and producing music.

brooke [dot] holsinger [at] emory [dot] edu

Katie Oshins
Research Assistant
she/her

Katie is a junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Neuroethics. She is especially interested in how memories inform future decisions and how these processes influence the risk of developing mental disorders. Outside of the lab, Katie enjoys listening to music, playing guitar and piano, running, and finding new coffee shops.

katie [dot] oshins [at] emory [dot] edu

Vanessa Wang
Research Assistant
she/her

Vanessa is a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Quantitative Sciences. She is very interested in studying about learning, cognitive development, emotion, and mental health issues. In the future, she plans to keep pursuing higher education in the field of psychological counseling. Outside of the lab, she enjoys listening to music, reading, hiking, cooking, and trying out new restaurants with friends.

vanessa [dot] wang [at] emory [dot] edu

John Wang
Research Assistant
he/him

John is a junior double majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and Philosophy. He is planning to pursue cognitive neuroscience in an interdisciplinary manner in graduate school, and is looking to learn more about how humans form various cognitive processes in the brain. Other than research, he likes to read novels, go to classical concerts, and try out different restaurants.

john [dot] wang2 [at] emory [dot] edu

Vivian Yang
Research Assistant
she/her

Vivian is a junior majoring in psychology. She is interested in studying learning, memory, and motivation in children and adolescents. Planning to attend graduate school in clinical or school psychology, Vivian is also interested in studying the risk factors of mental disorders, neurodevelopmental aspects of psychopathology, and effective interventions for childhood mental disorders. Outside of the lab, Vivian enjoys dancing, doing yoga and pilates, playing the piano, and visiting museums and galleries.

vivian [dot] yang [at] emory [dot] edu

Minina & Tober
Support Staff

Mini (left) & Tobey (right) are third year rescue kitties and littermates. They are constantly investigating the impact of sleep on their well-being, the optimal amount of zoomies in a day, and whether they should show affection to humans other than their mom and dad.