Meet Our Team
Dr. Nicola Grissom
Dr. Nicola Grissom is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department. Originally from Hawai'i, she obtained her undergraduate degree at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and conducted her postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Sushi is her primary reinforcer.
email: ngrissom@umn.edu
twitter: @NicolaGrissom
Postdoctoral Researchers
Graduate Students
Erin Giglio
Erin is a postdoctoral researcher in our lab. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin at the end of 2020 with her PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Animal Behavior. Her major research interests include stress, energy balance, decision-making, and communication. Her favorite reinforcer is M&Ms.
Dana Mueller
Dana is a fifth year Psychology graduate student in our lab. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2020 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in biology. Her major research interests include learning, motivation, decision making, and the movements associated with action selection. Her primary reinforcers are pomegranates and burritos.
twitter: @DanaMaeMueller
Evan Knep
Evan is a fourth year Psychology graduate student in our lab. He graduated from Macalester College in 2018 with a B.A in Neuroscience and minor in biology. His major research interests include individual differences in decision making within neuropsychiatric disorders. His primary reinforcer is fantasy football.
nic glewwe
Nic is a third-year Neuroscience graduate student in the NeuroGOAL and Translational NeuroEngineering Labs. They graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead in 2019 with B.A.s in Neuroscience and Psychology. Their main research interests include sex-biased individual differences in cognitive flexibility, as well as brain circuit modulation to inform neuropsychiatric treatments. Their primary reinforcers are film photography and bubble tea.
BlueSky: @nicglewwe.bsky.social
Micaela Porod
Micaela is a second-year Neuroscience graduate student in our lab, co-advised with Dr. Ben Saunders. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Neuroscience and Studio Art. Her major research interests include dopamine signaling dynamics in learning and decision making. Her primary reinforcers are Dr. Pepper Zero and trashy reality TV.
Twitter: @micaelaporod
Anika Paulson
Anika is a first-year Psychology graduate student.
Technicians
laura garbe
Laura is a technician/lab manager who joined the lab in 2022. She is a UMN alum with a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Animal Science, and a Masters of Education in Secondary Science. Her primary reinforcers are ice cream, horses, and skiing.
a yang
A joined the lab as a technician in 2022. He is especially interested in neurosurgical research interventions. His primary reinforcer is cheez-its.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
hana dorsey
madeline holmes
mathew meixner
lucia nitti
devin pai
sophia runyan
adam sipprell
sofia thompson
Former Members
Postdoctoral Researchers: Lisa Curry-Pochy (PhD) (2021), Briana Mork (PhD) (2020 - 2021)
Graduate Students: Cathy Chen - (2017 - 2023), Gerardo Rojas (2019 - 2024)
Graduate Program in Neuroscience Rotation Students: Megan Warwick (2017), Timothy Monko (2017), Adriana Cushnie (2018), Chloe Puglisi (2022), Kelsey Person (2023), Seth Weir (2024)
Lab Managers and Technicians: Jake Jeong (2018), Maddison Vail (2018), Sylvie Bindas (2017 - 2019), Ann Hajostek (2020 - 2021), Elinor Wood (2020 - 2021), Anila Bano (2020 - 2021), Britta Gauer (2022), Kira Stetler (2022 - 2024)