Scientists and Postdoctoral Fellows

Cory Burghy Lisa Angelos, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist
A126 Waisman
608-890-0233

My research focuses primarily on the acquisition and effective implementation of emotion understanding and emotion regulation strategies in childhood and adolescence. More specifically, I am interested in how life stress (e.g., poverty, negative life events) may impact the development of individual differences in emotional control and coherent affective processes. My current research includes a longitudinal examination of neural, physiological, and cognitive development through childhood and adolescence with particular emphasis on the development of internalizing symptoms/disorders.

Cory Burghy
Research Intern
A132 Waisman
608-263-1968

Brandi Cage, Ph.D.
Research Associate
368 Brogden / S-109 Waisman
608-263-0130 / 608-890-1386

My research interests include examining individual differences, cultural dynamics, physiological processes, and emotions as a whole. I am particularly interested in how personality traits and intragroup cultural variables influence the process of automatic emotion regulation.

Kim Dalton Kim M. Dalton, Ph.D.
Associate Scientist
T-127 Waisman
608-263-8913

More about Kim

I'm involved in a program of research, under the direction of Dr. Richard Davidson, on underlying brain structure and function associated with autism and related developmental differences/disabilities such as fragile X, Williams syndrome and ADHD. My overall career goal is to investigate the central and peripheral physiological profiles associated with a number of developmental disabilities and to eventually relate these physiological/behavioral phenotypes to underlying genetic factors. More information about our research may be found at http://brainimaging.waisman.wisc.edu/AutismWeb.

Kim Dalton Lisa Flook , Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist
T-119 Waisman
608-265-6602

My research interests focus on exploring prevention and early intervention strategies to promote well-being early in life. Given the negative short and long-term effects stress has on mental and physical health, I believe mindful awareness has much to offer towards helping children and adolescents improve daily well-being and cope with stress. I am also involved in studying the impact of introducing mindfulness practices in educational settings.

Kristin Javaras, D.Phil.
Research Associate
A-126 Waisman

My research focuses on using statistical methods to gain insight into the nosology and etiology of mental illness (especially mood, anxiety, and eating disorders) from self-report, genetic, and imaging data.

Hyejeen Lee, Ph.D.
Research Associate
A-130 Waisman
608-262-5050

More about Hyejeen

My research investigates individual differences in the ability to voluntarily down-regulate negative affect and how these differences are indicated by the brain and psychophysiological measures. I also have a clinical interest in developing empirically-validated treatment protocols for effective emotion regulation.

Antoine Lutz, Ph.D.
Associate Scientist
T-231 Waisman
608-262-8705

More about Antoine

I am interested in understanding the neural counterparts to subjective experience and, more generally, the mechanisms underlying mind-brain-body interactions. More specifically, I am studying the role of large-scale neuronal integration (neural synchrony mechanisms) during various mental states (voluntary attention, emotion generation).

Donal MacCoon, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist
A-132 Waisman
608-263-1968

My primary research area is sustainable well-being (see sustainablewellbeing.org). I also study the role of attention in self-regulation. I have developed a model, Context Appropriate Balanced Attention, to describe this role and have applied and tested the model with anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, and most recently, to mindfulness practices.

John Ollinger, Ph.D.
Associate Scientist
T231 Waisman
608-265-6619

John's site
Methods group

My research interests include improving pulse sequences and analysis methods for functional magnetic resonance imaging. The approach is to select optimal acquisition strategies for existing sequences and to develop improved sequences for perfusion and rapid BOLD or T2 weighted imaging. Analysis methods are improved with better correction algorithms for subject motion and image distortion. A major non-research goal is to facilitate data analysis by supporting and developing software for data processing and analysis.

Melissa Rosenkranz, Ph.D.
Research Associate
A130 Waisman
608-262-5050

I am interested in the neural-immune and biochemical mechanisms by which individual differences in affective responding modulate resilience to and progression of disease, as well as the impact of meditation practice on affective responding and, subsequently, on the neural-immune and biochemical mechanisms underlying resilience or vulnerability to disease.

Melissa Rosenkranz Emma Seppala , Ph.D.
Research Associate
T-133 Waisman
608-265-6610

My primary research interests center around methodologies to increase well-being. Subjective social connectedness is an important predictor of mental and physical health. I plan to examine how meditation interventions can increase a person's subjective social connectedness. In addition, I hope to study the effectiveness of relaxation training-based interventions for veterans. I am currently studying meditation-based interventions for children that promote long-term mental and emotional well-being and resiliency.

Stacey Schaefer Stacey M. Schaefer, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist
T-127 Waisman
608-263-9321

More about Stacey

My research questions currently revolve around the interaction/overlap between executive control and self-regulatory processes including attention, emotion, and pain regulation. In particular, I study the morphometry of and functional activity in emotion regulation-related brain circuitry, and those measures relations to individual differences in state and trait affect, cognitive ability such as working memory capacity, the ability to identify and differentiate between emotions, and the tendency to use particular emotion regulatory strategies.