NeuroTap Lab

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.

Elizabeth Bauer, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Elizabeth Bauer completed her PhD in Psychology at Texas A&M University under the mentorship of Dr. Annmarie MacNamara. Her doctoral research used EEG/ERPs and fMRI to examine cognitive and affective processes underlying anxiety and depression. Elizabeth is interested in leveraging computational neuroscience and neuroimaging to better understand how emotional learning and memory is implicated in PTSD and anxiety, with the aim of contributing to better brain-based characterizations of these disorders. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her dog, fiber arts and paper crafts, and reading.

John Leri, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

John completed degrees in Psychology at Pennsylvania State University (BS) and the University of Florida (PhD). His research program has used an evolutionary lens to elucidate the biological mechanisms by which the social environment impacts health. In turn, he is interested in developing interventions which can be used to improve human health and well-being.

Rushale Krishan
Research Associate II

Rushale is a UT Austin alumni with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Certificate in Applied Statistical Modeling. She was an undergraduate research assistant in the Adolescent Development Research Group and the NeuroTap Lab. She is interested in using brain imaging and physiological data to understand psychopathology and plans to earn a PhD in Experimental Psychology.

Kierra Morris
Research Associate II

Kierra recently completed a Master of Science in Health Psychology at University College London (UCL) in 2022. She worked as a research assistant in the UCL Tobacco & Alcohol Research group and completed her dissertation on a soon to be published randomized cross-over study evaluating the acute effects of tobacco and nicotine devices on psychopharmacological outcomes in an adult cigarette smokers. She is very interested in the fields of trauma research, psycho-oncology, and health policy.

Erisa Stokes
Research Associate II

Erisa graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science and Arts in Neuroscience with Certificates in Pre-Health Professions and Business of Healthcare. She worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the DIY Diagnostics Laboratory for three years and as a Research Assistant for Glyciome LLC for five years. She is interested in clinical neuroscience and is committed to pursuing an M.D.

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.