Principal Investigator
Victoria L. Templer, Ph.D.

I am interested in memory, cognition, and brain evolution. My goal is to help determine the cognitive mechanisms and neural substrates of different memory systems in the brain.


Lab Manager
Emma Halter M.S.

I received my Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Wesleyan University in 2017, and a Masters degree in Marine Science from Northeastern University in 2018. I am most interested in animal cognition, and the cognitive processes that may or may not differ between humans and non-human animals. I am currently using DREADDs to assess the role of the posterior parietal cortex in rat visuospatial and memory processes.



Robert Vera, ’20

I am a senior pursuing a B.A in Psychology and am interested in animal cognition and behavior. Currently in the NAC Lab I am studying cognitive processes in aged rats. As a member of the lab I intend to learn more on animal conditioning, memory, and thought processes so as to build a better understanding of human cognition.

Annie Dankert ’21

I am a junior pursuing a B.S. in biology and psychology as well as a neuroscience certificate. Neuroscience fascinates me because the brain is so important yet not fully understood. Ultimately I would like to discover more about neurological disorders in humans through studying behavior and neuroscience in animal models. Recently my role in the NAC lab has been focused on studying rats with posterior parietal cortex damage. With this knowledge, we can better understand the function of the posterior parietal cortex in humans. This summer I am at the University of Florida working with Dr. Sara Burke and Dr. Abbi Hernandez, researching cognitive decline due to aging.

Carina Alessandro ’21

I am a junior currently pursuing a B.A. in Biology and in Psychology with a certificate in Neuroscience and a minor in Theology. I have always been fascinated with the idea of using animal models to better understand brain processing and I look forward to learning more about it by working in the NAC lab. In the future, I hope to continue with research in order to gain more knowledge regarding memory, cognition, and psychological illnesses to be better able to treat patients in a clinical setting.

Colin Call ’22

I am a sophomore pursuing a B.A. in Psychology with a focus in Neuroscience. I am interested in how animal and human thought processes correlate to each other and how the application of research on animals can improve human lives. Through the research, I hope to find the connections.