Current Team Members

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 are 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 that can be used to improve human health and well-being.

 

Kierra Morris, MSc
Research Coordinator

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 adult cigarette smokers. She is very interested in the fields of trauma research, psycho-oncology, and health policy.

 

Luna Malloy
Research Coordinator

Luna graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She has previously worked as a Lab Manager at UT Austin’s Children’s Research Center and as a Research Specialist at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Her research interests include brain structure as it relates to PTSD, as well as possible risk factors for the development of PTSD.

 

 

Paige Broski
Research Coordinator

Paige graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with minors in Child Development, Spanish, and Business from Texas Christian University. She worked as a research assistant in the Families, Autism, and Child Emotional Studies Lab for three years, as well as the Hill Social and Evolutionary Psychology lab for one year. She wants to pursue a degree in clinical psychology in the future.

 

 

 Hamza Suhail 

 Research Engineering Associate

Hamza graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and is delighted to be a part of the NeuroTaP Lab. He is interested in exploring the neurophysiology and psychopathology underlying PTSD and hopes to pursue an MD following his undergraduate career.

 

 

 

Ali Arain

Research Engineering Associate

Ali graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science and Arts in Biology. He is interested in seeing how early childhood and generational trauma impact the brain as an adult, especially in minority and underprivileged people. He plans on pursuing an M.D. and wants to work in the field of Psychiatry.