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.
Ph.D. Students
Emily T. Sturm
Emily received her B.S. in Neuroscience and M.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience from CSU. She is expecting to graduate with her PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience in Spring 2027. Her research interests focus on using brain imaging to investigate the relationships between effort-based decision making and brain health in aging and schizophrenia.

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 joined the NM Lab team in 2024, pursuing a PhD in cognitive Neuroscience at CSU. Currently, she is expecting to earn her M.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience this Fall, and continuing on for her PhD. Prior to attending CSU, she received her BASc in Psychology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Sierra’s interests lie at the intersection of neuromodulation, using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and functional brain connectivity.

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.
Undergraduate Research Assistants & Volunteers
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.

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.
Logan Kelliher
Photo and bio coming soon!
Thomas Marshall
Photo and bio coming soon!
Jadyn Jones
Photo and bio coming soon!
Lexi Olson-Gwin
Photo and bio coming soon!