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Josh Cisler, Ph.D
Principal Investigator

Dr. Josh Cisler received a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2010. His research at that time focused on emotional and cognitive mechanisms that mediate anxiety disorders. He completed a clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina through the National Crime Victim Research and Treatment Center, where his research focused on understanding risk factors for psychopathology following trauma, with a particular focus on assaultive events (e.g., physical and sexual assault). He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Brain Imaging Research Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he received training in fMRI methodology and advanced computational approaches to imaging analysis. He was on the faculty of the Brain Imaging Research Center at UAMS from 2012-2016 and the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin Madison from 2016-2021. He joined the faculty of UT Austin’s Dell Medical Center in the Psychiatry department as the Associate Director of the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research. Most importantly, Josh is the proud owner of a golden retriever and a chocolate lab.

 

Kevin Crombie, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Kevin Crombie received a doctorate in kinesiology with a specialization in exercise psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2019. His dissertation research primarily examined: 1) psychobiological responses to aerobic exercise and stress in adults with PTSD, and 2) the role of the endocannabinoid system in exercise-induced enhancement of fear extinction in rodent models. His current research is focused on: 1) examining whether aerobic exercise in conjunction with extinction training improves cognitive, physiological, and neural indices of extinction recall, and 2) determining whether exercise influences reinforcement learning in adult women with PTSD using computational modeling and neuroimaging approaches.

 

Ameera Azar
Research Associate

Ameera graduated from UT Austin with a Bachelor’s of Science and Arts in Neuroscience with a Certificate in Pre-Health Professions. She worked as a Research Assistant in the Preston Lab for two years during undergrad and plans to earn a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She’s interested in how trauma affects memory in neuropsychiatric disorder populations.

Rushale Krishan
Research Associate

Rushale is a UT Austin undergraduate working towards a Psychology B.A. with Departmental Honors. She is excited to be working in the NeuroTaP lab! Rushale is deeply fascinated by psychopathology and the biological aspects of behavior (especially within clinical populations). She looks forward to earning a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology or Clinical Science and becoming a professor.

 

Nicole Bernal
Clinical Research Coordinator

Nicole earned her bachelors in Biology, Society and Environment with a minor in Public Health from the University of Minnesota. Since 2020, Nicole has been coordinating clinical trials for the psychiatry department. She’s interested in epigenetic factors that predispose trauma exposed individuals to develop PTSD as well as the concept of resilience and how protective factors can mitigate the long term impact of trauma. In the future, Nicole would like to obtain her PhD in clinical psychology; it is her goal to blend her innate curiosity, profound passion, and empathy to improve the quality of life of those who suffer.

 

Manini Rana
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Manini is a second-year biomedical engineering student at UT Austin and is over the moon to be working in the NeuroTap Lab! She is interested in discovering the brain activities involved in the onset of neurological disorders, as well as alleviating these disorders through the use of non-invasive neuron targeting systems. In the future, Manini hopes to pursue an M.D.-Ph.D. and work as a psychiatrist specializing in depression and trauma (hopefully in New York City!).

 

Aneeza Arshad
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Aneeza is an undergraduate student at UT and is working towards getting her Bachelors in Psychology. She is interested in studying trauma causes and behavioral responses and hopes to one day apply this knowledge to underserved populations, specifically ethnic and religious minority groups with PTSD and disordered behavior. Although her career aspirations may shift overtime she is primarily aiming to pursue a Masters or PhD in an area that would best equip her to work closely with patients in a clinical setting.

 

Mary Coleman
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Mary, an Honors in Advanced Human Development and Family Sciences undergrad, is thrilled to be a part of the amazing NeuroTaP Lab! She is captivated by the discovery of how early childhood psychological trauma may promote future physiological ramifications. Following her undergraduate, Mary plans to pursue her MD and someday work as a physician in underprivileged communities.

 

Angeline Ajit
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Angeline is an undergraduate student at UT pursuing her bachelor’s in Psychology as part of the Liberal Arts Honors Program. She loves psychopathology and criminology, and has a special interest in neural interfaces and their applications in clinically relevant fields. Although she regularly has crises about her future career path, Angeline currently hopes to work in the medical field.

 

Brooke Dykes
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Brooke is an undergraduate student at UT majoring in Psychology with a minor in Educational Psychology. She is fascinated by the psychology of behavioral and mood disorders, the neural impacts of psychological trauma, and psychology as a whole. She is interested in pursuing a Masters and a PsyD after graduation, and hopes to work in both clinical and research settings in the future!

 

Roshni Subramani
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Roshni is a second-year Computational Biology major with a minor in Informatics at the University of Texas at Austin and is beyond excited to be working in the NeuroTaP lab. She’s interested in specifically computational oncology and how patients undergoing cancer treatment are more at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. She is also on the pre-medicine track and hopes to  pursue a career as a travel physician in the future.

 

 

Lab Mascots
NeuroTaP’s purrfect study buddies- Research would be ruff without them! 

Abbie and Max

 

Phoebe

 

Cookie

 

Honey

 

Lab Alumni

Hannah Goldberg
Previous Research Associate

Hannah graduated from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with additional focuses in legal studies and sociology. Throughout her undergraduate experience, Hannah worked in numerous labs, focusing on topics such as learning and obesity, multicultural psychology, and sexual assault victimization. She plans to earn a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and is specifically interested in researching clinical interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Nicole Moughrabi
Previous Research Associate

Nicole completed a Bachelor’s of Science with honors in Psychology, with a concentration in Neuroscience and minor in Biology from Roanoke College. Nicole has worked in various research labs specializing in topics such as psychophysiology, evolutionary psychology, and Neuroeconomics.