People

Conor M^cLennan

To learn more about Dr. M^cLennan's research, teaching, and other professional activities, visit his CSU Faculty Profile page by clicking here.

Samantha Tuft

Samantha earned her Ph.D. in the Adult Development and Aging program. Samantha has been working in the Language Research Laboratory since the fall of 2011. Samantha's research, which includes both basic (e.g., perception of emotional words) and more applied studies (e.g., password security), focuses on attention, spoken language perception, and memory.  Samantha is also interested in age-related differences and native and non-native language differences in these areas of cognitive processing.

Bethany Cox

Bethany is currently a doctoral student in the Adult Development and Aging PhD program and has been working in the Language Research Laboratory since the fall of 2019. She is a graduate of The University of Mount Union and completed her M.A. in the Experimental Research Program in the Department of Psychology at Cleveland State University. Bethany is interested in researching age-related differences in auditory processing related to music, spoken word recognition, and memory.

Nicole M. Fiorelli

Nicole is a graduate of Cleveland State University, is currently a first-year graduate student in the Psychological Science M.A. Program. Her research interests include the perception of emotional speech, how gender differences influence various factors within linguistics, and how written language is impacted by grammatical and spelling errors.

Jessica Morich

Jessica is an undergraduate student in the Department of Psychology Honors Program. She returned to the Cleveland area after living and working in China for five years, where she developed an interest in both cognitive and social psychology as they pertain to language. Her current research interests include the bilingual advantage, foreign language acquisition in young children, and the effect of taboo words on language processing and consumer preference.

Sara Incera

Sara graduated from the Ph.D. program in Adult Development and Aging at Cleveland State University in May 2016. She spent one additional year as a postdoctoral researcher in the Language Research Laboratory.  Dr. Incera is currently an Assistance Professor in the Department of Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University.  Her research focuses on bilingualism across the lifespan, language development, second language acquisition, and foreign-accented speech. Dr. Incera works with MouseTracker as a way to better understand continuous dynamics in cognition.

Maura Krestar

Maura graduated from the Adult Development and Aging Ph.D. Program in May 2014 and from the Experimental Research M.A. Program in May of 2011 at Cleveland State University.  Dr. Krestar is currently an Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the Department of Clinical Health Sciences at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Her research experiences and interest areas include cognitive processes involved in the auditory perception of emotional speech (happy, sad, angry, surprised, etc.) during adulthood and older adulthood.

Teresa (Tracy) Markis

Tracy graduated from the Adult Development and Aging Ph.D. Program at Cleveland State University in May 2015.  Tracy worked as a research assistant in the Language Research Lab from 2007 to 2015 and enjoyed all aspects of conducting research and working with other research assistants.  Her interests are in experimental research design and analysis, cognitive psychology, body image satisfaction, and eating disorders.  Tracy is currently teaching part-time and exploring new research opportunities.

Rachel Fernandes

Rachel graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program in May 2018.  Rachel's research interests include attention, perception, and language processes in monolinguals and bilinguals. Rachel is currently working with Dr. Altarriba in the Cognition and Language Laboratory at the University at Albany, as a student in the Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program.

Leah Bonath

Leah graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program at Cleveland State University in May 2016.  Leah now works as a QA Regulatory & Research Coordinator at the Cleveland Clinic.

Emily Zetzer

Emily graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program at Cleveland State University in May 2016. Emily now works as a Clinical Research Associate II at IMARC Research, Inc.

Stephanie Henley

Stephanie graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program at Cleveland State University in May 2014. After graduating, Stephanie joined the Experimental Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of North Dakota.

Kim Thomas

Kim graduated from the Clinical Psychology M.A. Program at Cleveland State University in May 2013.

Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program at Cleveland State University in May 2012.

Hadiya Adams

Hadiya graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program at Cleveland State University in May 2012. After graduating, Hadiya joined the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program at Marquette University.

Alisa Maibauer

Alisa graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program at Cleveland State University in 2009. After graduating, Alisa worked on several NIH funded research projects at Virginia Commonwealth University. These projects explored ways to improve communication about breast and colon cancer, organ donation, and digestive health. Alisa currently lives in Flagstaff Arizona and works as a Senior Analyst at Health Choice Integrated Care.

Jessica Maron

Jessica started at the LRL in 2008 as an undergraduate research assistant. She graduated from the Experimental Research M.A. Program in 2011. Her research focused on spoken word recognition and social dynamics with a special interest in group belonging and attractiveness.

Megan Farrell

Megan, a graduate of Denison University, earned her M.A. in the Experimental Research Program in the Department of Psychology at Cleveland State University. During her time at CSU, Megan was a researcher in both the Language Research Laboratory and the Neurocognitive Systems Laboratory. She is currently a Clinical Research Assistant III at the Case Center for Integrative Oncology at Case Western Reserve University.  

Jessica Jensen

Jessica, a graduate of Kent State University, earned her M.A. in the Experimental Research Program in the Department of Psychology at Cleveland State University. She remains interested in examining relationships between bilingualism and cognition.

Sara Al-Nimer

Sara graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Department of Psychology at Cleveland State University in 2015.  Her honors thesis focused on the correlation between anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints experienced by children with abdominal pain. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland State University. Her interest is to study neuroimaging and diagnostics to develop innovative low-cost techniques.

Magen Murphy

Magen completed her undergraduate honors thesis investigating the bilingual advantage in a simulated airport security setting in the Language Research Laboratory. She worked with Drs. Sara Incera and Conor M^cLennan using the software MouseTracker. Magen graduated from Cleveland State University in May 2016 with honors in psychology. She is currently working on her Ed.S. degree in school psychology at the University of Kentucky.

Audrianna Rodriguez

Audrianna completed her undergraduate honors thesis investigating body related schemas and decision making. Being a part of the Language Research Laboratory enabled Audrianna to understand the importance of schemas and the influence schemas have on individual behavior. As a result, Audrianna pondered the influence that schematic messages might have on youth development and decision-making processes within society. She went on to earn her master's degree in community psychology with a concentration in clinical services from the University of New Haven. She plans to pursue a career exploring youth development, particularly risk and protective factors within an ecological framework.

Estefany Rodriguez

Estefany graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Department of Psychology at Cleveland State University in 2013.  Her honors thesis focused on the influence of experiential learning on parenting styles. Estefany is interested in the influence family has on human development. Estefany currently has a Master of Public Administration degree, and although she had to put a halt on her studies in psychology, she is looking forward to pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in the future.

Lisa Stronsick

Lisa was an Honors student in the Department of Psychology undergraduate program, and an undergraduate research assistant in the Language Research Laboratory. She graduated in May 2017.  In her honors thesis research, Lisa examined the flexibility of gendered mental representations of musical instruments. Her research was accepted for publication in the Psychology of Music. Lisa is interested in memory, language, cognition, and perception, as well as age-related changes in these processes. As a lifelong musician, she is also particularly interested in the cognitive benefits of musicianship.

Matt Wetzel

Matt started working in the Language Research Laboratory as an undergraduate student research assistant, conducting research on how attention is allocated when listening to spoken words. Matt is currently working with Dr. Kenneth Kurtz at Binghamton University, as a student in the Cognitive and Brain Sciences Ph.D. program. Matt hopes to help researchers demonstrate how knowledge is represented in the mind, and to understand why language is such an important component of knowledge and reasoning.

Laura Elias 

Courtney Maddock

Ashlee Welch