Principle Investigator
Dr. Michael Thomas
Dr. Thomas has been at Colorado State University since the Fall of 2018. He received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside in 2005 and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University in 2011. He completed his internship and post-doctoral training at University of California at San Diego. Prior to coming to CSU, he was a faculty member in the University of California-San Diego Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist with experience working in outpatient, inpatient, and forensic mental health centers for adults with serious mental illness. His research combines psychometric theory, cognitive modeling, and neuroimaging in the study of neurocognitive disorders such as dementia and schizophrenia. He is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division of Clinical Neuropsychology, as well as the APA Division of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. For a list of recent publications see: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OlaO5Z8AAAAJ&hl=en.
PhD Students
Emily T. Sturm
Emily received her B.S. in Neuroscience with a concentration in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience at Colorado State University in December 2020. She is currently a first year student in the Cognitive Neuroscience PhD program at CSU. She has a passion for improving inclusivity in recruitment and is interested in brain imaging, motivation, and reward learning in participants with schizophrenia. In her free time, she loves craft beer and camping.
Jazmin Diaz
Jazmin is a Ph.D. student in the Cognitive Neuroscience program at CSU. Her research interests include using neuroimaging techniques to examine how brain structures change during aging and investigating the life-course determinants that may protect brain health as people age. She is passionate about working with underrepresented populations to improve inclusivity in neuropsychological research. In her free time, she enjoys watching reality TV and visiting breweries.
Sierra Swenson
Sierra is a first year student in the Cognitive Neuroscience PhD program at CSU. Prior to attending CSU, she received her BASc in Psychology from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2024. Her passion for neuroscience stems from a desire to understand the inner workings of the brain. Sierra’s interests are centered in neuroimaging and neurostimulation to better understand neural connections.
Professional Staff
Anastasia Sares
Anastasia Sares earned her doctorate from McGill University, studying the neural underpinnings of stuttering through behaviour and fMRI. Her interests include sensorimotor integration, pitch/harmony perception, timing perception and synchronization, language and music in special populations, and music therapy. She is back at Colorado State University (her Alma Mater) to work in neuroimaging and psychosis. Anastasia is passionate about science communication, regularly writes articles for Brainpost, and is also a singer and a flautist.
Volunteers & Undergraduate Research Assistants
Witlie Leslie
Witlie is a senior undergraduate student completing a double-major in neuroscience and data science at Colorado State University. She assists in the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation pilot study and is currently working to investigate coil placement consistency. She aims to strengthen her data analysis skillset with hands-on experience to bring into the workforce. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, cooking, and watching movies with her partner.
Anna Capels
Anna is a senior in Psychology with a minor in Applied Data Science at Colorado State University. Her research interests are Neuropsychology (specifically schizophrenia) and other aging health-related cognitive issues (such as dementia). In the future, she aims to obtain a PhD in clinical psychology. Outside of school, Anna enjoys being outside, skiing, reading, and hanging out with her loved ones.
Jolie Fasullo
Jolie is a second year at CSU and studying Psychology with a concentration in Mind, Brain and Behavior and hopes to get a minor in BioMed. She plans to go to grad school in hopes of getting a PhD to pursue research. Her research interests are broad but she wants to go into something involving hands-on lab work and helping the public. In her free time she enjoys going outside, reading books and hanging out with her animals, friends and family.
Tayler Wilcken
Nichole is a senior completing a double-major in psychology and biological sciences with a concentration in pre-health at Colorado State University. She is interested in cognition throughout the lifespan and neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s. Nichole wants to eventually get into grad school to continue research and pursue a career in clinical neuropsychology. Outside of academics, Nichole enjoys hiking, reading, and has recently taken up crochet.
Alix Walter
Alix received a B.S. in Neuroscience at Colorado State University in Spring 2024. During undergraduate studies, they found an interest in the therapeutic prospects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. They are excited to provide support to ongoing research in rTMS, and learn more to decide a direction for graduate schooling. Other major research interests include borderline personality disorder and increasing accessibility to mental health care and resources. Alix also plays multiple instruments and enjoys running.
Annika Johnson
Annika is a senior undergraduate majoring in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience at CSU. Originally from Illinois, Annika enjoys spending time hiking, camping, and frequenting the mountains since moving to Colorado in 2019. She plans to work in psychiatry and is interested in abnormal psychology and interventions. Currently, she assists in the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Lab and is working on a thesis on ADHD and memory-related synaptic pruning.
