Peg Nopoulos

Peg Nopoulos, MD

Peg Nopoulos is a Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Neurology and the Chair and Departmental Executive Officer of Psychiatry.

Dr. Nopoulos’ research focuses on the study of the brain and behavior. This is done using state of the art neuroimaging techniques, specifically Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Dr. Nopoulos is interested in aspects of understanding normal healthy brains such as differences in brain structure and function between the sexes, as well as understanding how the brain changes with development through adolescence. In regard to the study of disease, her lab has investigated differences in brain structure and function a wide variety of conditions, including: craniofacial disorders such as clefts of the lip and/or palate, Huntington’s Disease and Juvenile-onset Huntington’s Disease, prematurity in infants, and Myotonic Dystrophy type 1. Dr. Nopoulos has served as Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Psychiatry since 2011.

A large part of Dr. Nopoulos’ career has been in the mentorship of research careers for clinicians. She developed and directed the Iowa Medical Student Research Program (IMSRP) from 2001-2013 and directed the Iowa Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship, also from 2001-2013. In addition to students, she is actively involved in mentoring residents, fellows, and junior faculty members. Dr. Nopoulos served as Associate Director for Education in the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) from 2013-2016, where she developed and directed the Master’s Program in Translational Biomedicine.  Currently, she serves as Director of the Iowa Neuroscience Specialty Program in Research Education (INSPIRE) T32 post-doctoral program and actively supports several junior investigators with preliminary research projects.

Dr. Nopoulos was named Chair and Departmental Executive Officer (DEO) of the Department of Psychiatry in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in July 2018, following a national search in which she was recommended as the top finalist for the position.  She served as interim Chair and DEO from mid-2017 until her appointment.

 

Junior Investigators and Research Faculty

Amy Conrad

Amy Conrad, PhD

Amy L Conrad, PhD, is a psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Her research expertise is in pediatric neuropsychology; combining neuropsychological assessment and neuroimaging (structural and functional methods) in the evaluation of development in children with various medical conditions. Her work has focused predominately in the field of isolated oral clefts (assessing biological mechanisms of etiology of learning disabilities). She completed her K-23 Training Award (NIDCR) in 2019, is MPI on an UG3/UH3 grant (NHLBI), and is co-Investigator on a PPG grant (NHLBI) and UG3/UH3 grant (NINDS). Clinically, Dr. Conrad specializes in the diagnostic assessment of dyslexia and has served on the Iowa Dyslexia Task Force. She is a member and past co-chair of the Society of Pediatric Psychology Craniofacial Special Interest Group, with additional membership in the Craniofacial Mental Health Special Interest Group, International Dyslexia Association, and Society for Pediatric Research.

Lyndsay Harsman

Lyndsay Harshman, MD

Lyndsay Harshman, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Director of Pediatric Kidney Transplant within the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics Division of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation. Dr. Harshman's research focuses on linking neuroimaging and neurocognitive assessments in pediatric chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of her NIH-funded research is to inform greater understanding of changes that may be occurring in the developing brain in parallel with progression of CKD. Specifically, children with CKD may be at risk for deficits in executive function and academic achievement with advancing disease, although the mechanisms related to this are unclear. A greater understanding of the neurocognitive changes observed in this population will allow for targeted provider assistance with patient/family medical decision-making and medication compliance.

Jordan Schultz

Jordan Schultz, PharmD

Jordan Schultz, PharmD, graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 2013.  After completing a 2 year residency, he began providing clinical pharmacy services to patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington’s Disease. In addition to his clinical work, Jordan conducts clinical research within the Nopoulos lab that is focused on (1) understanding the pathophysiology of Huntington’s Disease and (2) identifying environmental factors, including medications, that may modify the disease course of HD.

Araya Puwanant

Araya Puwanant, MD, MS

Araya Puwanant, MD, MSc, is an Assistant Professor of Neurology in the Neuromuscular Division at Wake Forest University Health Sciences who began collaborating with the Nopoulos Lab in July 2020. She obtained her medical degree and internal medicine reside from Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. She completed her Neurology Residency at Case Western Reserve University, Neuromuscular Fellowship at the University of Rochester, and Master of Science in Clinical Research at the University of Pittsburgh. She was awarded the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Clinical Research Training Grant for study focused on myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). She is PI of the MDA-funded Regional Body Composition and Clinical Endpoints in Myotonic Dystrophy and co-I of the NINDS-funded Extracellular RNA Biomarkers in DM1. Her current research interests include understanding of the effects of brain structure and cognitive endpoints in myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) and developing imaging biomarkers and meaningful clinical endpoints for clinical trial readiness in myotonic dystrophy.

Amy Barry

Amy Barry, MS

Amy Barry is a PhD candidate in the University of Iowa Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program. Barry joined the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory in May 2020. Barry is working with Tim Koscik on a longitudinal project for spinocerebellar ataxia.  She is interested in the structural and functional correlates of severe mental illness and what contributes to those differences.  She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of Northern Iowa in and her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Illinois University.

 

Research Team Members

Mohit Neema

Mohit Neema

Mohit Neema, MBBS, MA, is a Research Scientist who joined the Nopoulos Lab in late 2022. His research interest is in the development of advanced imaging tools to study neurological disorders. His current work with the ChANGE HD and JoHD studies focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of Huntington’s Disease. Mohit also mentors students, interns, and fellows training in research with the Nopoulos and Schultz Labs.

Sonia Slevinski

Sonia Slevinski

Sonia Slevinski, MS, LMHC, is a research manager and has been with the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory since 2008. While completing degrees in sociology and counseling psychology, Sonia worked in community and inpatient mental health services for ten years before joining the Nopoulos Lab as a research associate. She became the coordinator for the Kids-HD study in 2011, managing study administration, assessment and participant enrollment. Since 2013, Sonia has served as lab manager while remaining heavily involved in Huntington's Disease studies.

Eric Axelson


Eric Axelson

Eric Axelson is a research specialist whose primary focus is the processing of all of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data for the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory. Axelson has been with the laboratory since 2003. Eric also collaborates with many investigators in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa as well as investigators at other sites in the United States and abroad on their respective imaging studies.

Stephen Cross

Stephen Cross

Stephen Cross earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1989. He worked in community and inpatient mental health services in Dallas for eight years before moving to Iowa in 1997. Since then, Stephen has worked in both clinical and research positions within the University of Iowa’s Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry. He is a member of the National Association of Psychometrists (NAP) and obtained board certification as a Certified Specialist in Psychometry (CSP) in 2007. Stephen joined the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory as a research associate in 2014 and has coordinated studies in Huntington’s Disease and Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. Stephen currently manages projects for the Schultz Lab while remaining an advisor on building projects, creating protocols, and training staff in neurocognitive assessment.

Marci Novak

Marci Dudak

Marci Dudak, MA, is a research associate who joined the Nopoulos Lab in 2016. She studied sociology and psychology as an undergraduate student with an emphasis in school social work. In 2015, Marci received her master’s degree in organizational leadership. She primarily works on the neuroimaging in pediatric chronic kidney disease study, performing neurocognitive and behavioral testing while assisting in data analysis and other study management for the Harshman and Conrad Labs.

Keara Turkington

Keara Turkington

Keara Turkington joined the Nopoulos Lab as a clinical research associate in February 2022 and is the lead coordinator for the JoHD Study. Graduating with honors, Keara obtained her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Iowa in 2014. Her studies, as well as her research involvement, were focused on behavioral and cognitive neuroscience. Following graduation, Keara stayed at the University of Iowa and took on the role of Lab Manager in the Lalumiere Lab, investigating neural circuits involved in drug-seeking behaviors and memory consolidation. Prior to her role in the Nopoulos Lab, Keara has worked with several research teams and joined the lab with over 5 years of research experience. She is primarily interested in the connections between chronic diseases and psychiatric disorders, especially in adolescent and young adult populations. 

Lauri Jennisch


Lauri Jennisch

Lauri Jennisch, MS, is a clinical research associate in Peg Nopoulos’ Lab and focuses on Huntington’s Disease and management of the ChANGE HD Study. Prior to joining the lab in July 2022, Lauri worked for over 25-years as an occupational therapist in a variety of roles, including providing OT services on the hospital’s adult/adolescent psychiatry and neurology units, providing school-based OT services to children and young adults ages 3-21, and as a special education administrator. Lauri is excited to be back at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in a position that allows her to combine working with study participants and building her knowledge of clinical research.

Robyn Eisenbach

Robyn Eisenbach

Robyn Eisenbach joined the Nopoulos Lab in November of 2022 as a research associate. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Psychology at the University of Iowa. She worked for 20 years as a certified Recreation Therapist on the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient unit at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Robyn works primarily with young children in a follow-up study looking into the effects of blood transfusions with preterm infants. She also serves as a resource for other pediatric studies within the lab to help create a positive experience for young participants.

Steve Slevinski


Steve Slevinski

Steve Slevinski, BS Math, is a data specialist and systems engineer experienced in education, telecommunications and written sign language, with published specifications through the IETF and Unicode.  He joined the Nopoulos Lab in early 2020 as a data management research assistant.  At the University of Iowa, Steve works with imaging specialists and researchers to help gather, process and share data.  He is experienced with Globus for big data transfers, utilizes Argon and the ITF machines for processing data on the command line with shell scripts and python, and he has a growing understanding of the BIDs format.  Steve is the data manager for the ChANGE-HD multi-site study and maintains compliance with NDA processes required to send and receive data.

Josh Cochran


Josh Cochran

Josh Cochran has a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Drake University and has been a part of Nopoulos Lab since 2018. He works on a multitude of grants both locally and around the country specializing in anatomical and diffusion image processing. He also works to research, develop, and debug new neuroimage processing techniques for INC use.

Emily Parshall

Emily Parshall

Emily Parshall joined the Nopoulos Lab in February of 2019 as an undergraduate research assistant. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2022, obtaining her BS in Psychology. After graduation, Emily accepted a full time position as a research assistant, coordinating multiple projects for the Harshman and Conrad Labs. 

Sarah Dickens

Sarah Dickens

Sarah Dickens joined the Nopoulos Lab in October 2022 as an undergraduate research assistant. She graduated in December of 2023 with a major in Psychology and a minor in French. After graduation, Sarah accepted a position with the Nopoulos Lab and is involved in data management, audit and analysis, imaging processing, medical and research records review.

Mara

Mara Jendo

Mara Jendro received her bachelor’s degree in Neurobiology from the University of Iowa in December of 2022. She joined Iowa NeuroBank Core in January of 2021 as an undergraduate research assistant. Then, in February of 2023, she transitioned to a full-time position as Iowa NeuroBank Core Coordinator as a Post-Baccalaureate Research Intern, where she carries out spatial transcriptomic experiments, human brain research, and coordinated donation of human post-mortem brain donation. This includes her collaboration with Nopoulos Lab for Huntington’s Disease donations. For more information on brain donation at the University of Iowa, please click here.

 

Past Team Members

Olivia Lullmann

Olivia Lullmann began working in Nopoulos Lab in February 2019 as an undergraduate research assistant. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2022 after  studying neuroscience on the pre-medicine track. Currently, Olivia continues to work with Dr. Lyndsay Harshman while pursuing graduate studies.

 
Bailey Hollis

Bailey Hollis received her Human Physiology Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Iowa in May 2022. She joined the Iowa NeuroBank Core in October of 2020 as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. In August 2022, she transitioned to the position of the Iowa NeuroBank Core Manager where she carries out duties of lab management, Neuro-tech experiments, and recruitment and coordination of brain donations. This includes collaboration with Nopoulos Lab for Huntington’s and Juvenile-onset Huntington’s Disease donations. For more information on brain donation at the University of Iowa, please click here.

 
Benjamine Preuschl Mihanda

Benjamine earned her bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience at Knox College in November of 2021. Originally from Spain, she joined the Nopoulos Lab in February of 2022 and is currently completing her Post-Baccalaureate Research Internship. Benjamine worked with the Schultz Lab on Auto-HD 2.0, Wear-HD and Terazosin for AD studies, as well as assisting in the ChANGE HD Study.

 
Li-Chun "Queena" Lin, PhD

Queena Lin, PhD, is an Assistant Research Scientist of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Neurology. With a doctorate degree in Neurobiology and Translational Neuroscience Program in Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Lin received a post-doctoral training in Neurology at the UCSF and joined the Abel lab at the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa in October 2018. Dr. Lin collaborated with the Nopoulos Lab in her research on the molecular mechanisms underlying selective cellular vulnerability in brain disorders and sleep disturbances across life span, including Huntington’s Disease and Juvenile-onset Huntington’s Disease.  

 
Timothy Koscik, PhD

Timothy R. Koscik, PhD, started as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in October 2017. Dr. Koscik's areas of expertise include: 1) extreme resolution neuroimaging to bring multimodal neuroimaging measures to the scale of histological analysis to generate individualized mappings of brain structure, function, and pathology; and 2) to harness advances in modern statistics and a computational psychiatry perspective to model brain -cognition relationships in brain-related disorders and mental illness.  Dr. Koscik has moved on to another institution, but continues to collaborate on select projects with the Nopoulos Lab.

 
Ellen van der Plas, PhD

Ellen van der Plas, PhD, obtained her doctorate degree in Neuroscience from the University of Iowa in 2011 and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Canada) in 2017. She joined the Psychiatry faculty at the University of Iowa in December 2017. Dr. van der Plas’s research interest is in neurodevelopmental problems associated with childhood cancer. She also worked closely with Dr. Nopoulos on projects related to the neurodevelopmental aspects of various trinucleotide repeat disorders, including Huntington’s Disease (HD) and Myotonic Dystrophy 1 (DM1). Dr. van der Plas accepted a faculty position at another institution in 2022, but remains in collaboration with the Nopoulos Lab on several projects.

 
Janice Staber, MD

Janice Staber, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.  She obtained her medical degree from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. She completed her Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology training at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The Staber lab is working to understand the impact and mechanism of factor VIII deficiency on the structure and function of the developing brain. Dr. Staber collaborated with the Nopoulos Lab to advance her work using quantitative neuroimaging techniques to assess change in brain structure, including detailed quantification of intracranial volumes, connectivity, and cerebral microbleeds and behavior/neurocognitive batteries to assess brain function in models of hemophilia.

 
Jill Freeland

Jill Freeland, MA, joined the Nopoulos Lab in June of 2021 as a research associate. She completed her undergraduate degree in Therapeutic Recreation and went on to get her master's degree in Child Life, both at the University of Iowa. She became dually certified as a Recreational Therapist and Child Life Specialist in 2020. Jill's work with the Nopoulos Lab focused on young children in a follow-up study looking into the effects of blood transfusions with preterm infants. She also served as a resource for other pediatric studies within the lab to help create a positive experience for young participants.

 
Erin Reasoner

Erin Reasoner earned her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience and cell and molecular biology from Grand Valley State University in December 2020. She joined the Nopoulos lab during the summer of 2020 through University of Iowa’s SUMR (Summer Undergraduate MSTP Research) program. Erin completed a Post-Baccalaureate Research Internship primarily working on the Terazosin for HD study, as well as assisting with data analysis for the Kids-HD study.

 
Hend Al-Kaylani

Hend Al-Kaylani joined the Nopoulos Lab in February 2019 as a student research assistant. She graduated in 2002 from the University of Iowa with a major in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Rhetoric and Persuasion. Hend is currently pursuing her career in medicine.  

 
Salomi Aladia​​​​​

Salomi Aladia holds double Master's degrees in Psychology. She majored in Clinical Psychology at S.N.D.T. University in Mumbai and Social Psychology at the University of Northern Iowa. Prior to working in the United States, Salomi was a Site Manager in the clinical research unit of the Department of Psychiatry at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, a leading private hospital in Mumbai, India.  Since coming to the U.S., she has held various research positions in public and private sector and cumulatively has over 10 years of research experience. For two years, Salomi was the Manager of the Social Cognitive Science Research Lab headed by Prof. Bertram Malle at Brown University.  Salomi joined the Nopoulos Lab November 2019 and was the site coordinator for the ChANGE HD Study until December 2021.

 
Jennifer Henderson

Jennifer Henderson originally joined the Nopoulos lab in December 2014 and was lead research coordinator for the Kids-HD study though July 2019. She returned to the Nopoulos Lab from April 2021 - February 2022 to coordinate the JoHD Study and assist with the ChANGE HD Study.  Jennifer obtained her Bachelor’s in Psychology with a concentration in Journalism from the University of Iowa in May 2011. Prior to accepting her position with the Nopoulos Lab, she coordinated and performed research duties with several brain-based learning and cognition studies, including driving impairment studies involving cannabis and alcohol, a clinical trial for Alzheimer’s prevention, and undergraduate research on attention and perception. Prior to her involvement in research, Jennifer served as an Iowa police officer and performed duties as a hospital administrator with the Iowa National Guard. 

 
Amanda Benavides, MD, PhD

Amanda Benavides completed her postdoctoral research fellowship with the Iowa Neuroscience Specialty Program in Research Education (INSPIRE) in the Department of Psychiatry. She previously completed her graduate thesis studies in the Nopoulos laboratory as part of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, and subsequently graduated from the University of Iowa Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) in 2017. Benavides continues to directly observe the interface of scientific research and clinical medicine during her post-graduate training years. Her research interests include investigation of neurodevelopmental outcomes of brain structure and function in preterm infants who received different transfusion strategies, with the use of various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis protocols and novel early cognitive tests.

 
Ashley Cochran

Ashley Cochran earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Drake University in 2016. She began working for the Nopoulos Lab in 2016, and worked as a research assistant on the DM1 and JHD studies, as well as coordinator for the SCA pilot study and READSCA multi-site trial.

 
Kathleen Langbehn

Kathleen Langbehn received a bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2018 from Converse College. Langbehn worked in the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory in January 2018 and joined the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory full-time in June 2018 assisting with data analysis with DM1 and KidsHD studies.

 
Claire Johnson, BS

Claire earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Iowa in 2015. While she earned her bachelor’s she worked in Dr. John Spencer’s developmental psychology lab, as well as Dr. Amy Poremba’s cognitive neuroscience lab. She joined the Nopoulos lab in November 2015 as a research assistant working on the Myotonic Dystrophy Brain Study.

 
Jon Goodwin, PhD

Jon Goodwin, PhD, earned his doctorate degree in School Psychology from the University of Iowa in 2017 and was later appointed a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry.  He began his affiliation with the Nopoulos lab in 2012, having served as a graduate research assistant for the Kids-HD neuroimaging study. His research focuses on evaluating the cognitive and scholastic functioning of children, adolescents, and young adults with isolated clefts of the lip and/or palate (iCL/P). He is particularly interested in better understanding the scholastic outcomes of patients with iCL/P, especially within the areas of mathematics and expressive written language. As a licensed psychologist, he also provides clinical services to patients with neurodevelopmental disorders, including specific learning disorders (SLD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

 
Ahmad Al-Huniti, MD

Ahmad Al-Huniti, MD, was a fellow physician in the division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology. His research interests include neuroimaging in pediatric bleeding disorders.

 
Matt McIIrath

Matt McIlrath began working with the Nopoulos Lab  November of 2017. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human Physiology.  Matt finished his work with the lab in August 2019 and is currently in medical school.

 
Lucy Wagner

Lucy Wagner joined Dr. Nopoulos's laboratory through the SUMR (Summer Undergraduate MSTP Research) program. She attends St. Olaf College majoring in chemistry and mathematics, and minoring in neuroscience and mathematical biology. Prior to starting with the Nopoulos team, Lucy worked as a research assistant in Dr. Narayanan's and Dr. Aldridge's labs, investigating Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias respectively. Over the summer of 2019, she worked on the Kids-HD Huntington's disease project, particularly focusing on the anatomical dimensions of the cerebellum and cortex within these patients. 

 
Faisal Fecto, MD, PhD

Faisal Fecto, MD, PhD, was Chief Resident Physician in the Department of Neurology who started with the Nopoulos Laboratory in 2017. Faisal obtained his medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan. Following medical school, he completed his PhD and post-doctoral fellowship in neuroscience and neurogenetics at Northwestern University in Chicago. At Iowa, he was part of the physician-scientist and clinical-neuroscientist training tracks. His research interests center on the exploration of biological mechanisms that contribute to human neurodegenerative diseases in general and neuromuscular diseases in particular. He is particularly interested in identifying genetic etiologies, pathologic hallmarks and neuroimaging correlates of these diseases that can be used to drive clinical trials to identify novel rational therapies. His research is supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Research Education Grant (R25) for Residents and Fellows in Neurology.

 
Joel Bruss

Joel Bruss is a Research Specialist who started with the Nopolous Laboratory in 2014. Joel also works in the Department of Neurology for Dr. Daniel Tranel, where he has been a Research Assistant/Specialist since 2000. Joel specializes in structural and functional image processing and is currently working on projects involving resting state fMRI and white matter connectivity.

 
Deb George

Deb George, MD, attended ISU as an undergraduate and Iowa for Medical School. She practiced family medicine in Mount Vernon for many years. Deb volunteered her time to perform chart review and scoring for the Nopoulos Lab.

 
Corinne Hamlin

Corinne Hamlin received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2007 and a Master of Arts in Teaching in 2008. She worked as an Admissions Clinician for an eating disorder treatment center in Colorado. In 2010, she began her work in research at the University of Iowa where she worked on the Iowa Flood Study examining the long-term effects of perinatal distress on child development. She has also worked for the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center where she coordinated the Molecular and Epidemiologic Resource for breast cancer. She worked with the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory assisting with the Pre-term infant studies and the KidsHD study.

 
Jordan Harrelson, MA

Jordan Harrelson earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminal justice in 2012 and his master’s degree in psychology from Loras College in 2015. While pursuing his master’s degree, Jordan worked as a behavioral health interventions counselor. He began working as a research assistant for the Nopoulos Laboratory in the summer of 2015 with the KidsHD study.  

 
Jane Kerr  

Jane is a Research Specialist who joined the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory to coordinate the Kids-JHD study and assist with the KIDS-HD study as needed. She has worked in Psychiatry Research at the University of Iowa for the past 15 years, working on studies with Adults diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, studies for Myotonic Dystrophy as well as clinical trials for those with schizophrenia.

 
Ian DeVolder

Ian DeVolder is a former graduate research assistant who started with the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory in 2011. DeVolder obtained his bachelor’s degrees in behavioral neuroscience and mathematics from Saint Ambrose University in 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program. His main research focus involved neurodevelopment (both normal and abnormal) and its relationship to cognitive development (particularly language abilities). A majority of his research focused on populations with craniofacial abnormalities.

 
Jessica Lee

Jessica Lee is a former graduate research assistant who started with the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory in 2011.  She is a graduate of the University of Iowa Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program. Lee was involved in a number of studies evaluating the brain structure and function of children at risk for Huntington disease. Utilizing neuroimaging techniques and behavioral assessments, her research mainly focused on investigating the development of the frontostriatal network connectivity and function in children who are at risk for Huntington disease.

 
Alexander Tereshchenko  

Alexander Tereshchenko is an MD/PhD graduate of the Medical Scientist Training Program and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience. He received his B.S. in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Sciences from the University of Michigan and joined the Nopoulos Laboratory in 2015. Tereshchenko is interested in using noninvasive imaging modalities to help understand brain circuits in normal and abnormal mental function, identifying biomarkers of psychiatric illness. His work at the Nopoulos Laboratory focused on elucidating neurodevelopmental changes in Huntington’s disease. 

 
Carter Worth 

Carter Worth is a former student research assistant that started with the Nopoulos Laboratory in 2014. Carter attends the University of Iowa, working towards a bachelor’s of science in Psychology. After completing his undergraduate work, Carter plans to attend medical school.  

 
Jane Brumbaugh, MD

Jane Brumbaugh, MD, was an associate in the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa and a junior investigator in the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory. Brumbaugh joined the University of Iowa in 2012 following the completion of her medical training at the University of Minnesota. As a clinician, she sees and cares for patients in the neonatal intensive care unit. Brumbaugh's research interests in the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory centered on the cognitive outcomes of children born in the moderate to late preterm gestational age range.

 
Russell Valentin

Russell Valentin is a former student research assistant with the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory. Valentin attended the University of Iowa, working towards majors in Psychology and Human Physiology. Prior to joining the Nopoulos Laboratory, he spent several months as a research assistant in the Spatial, Perception, Action, and Memory (SPAM) Laboratory, under the supervision of Dr. John Spencer in the Spence Laboratories of Psychology. Valentin’s main research focus in the Peg Nopoulos Laboratory was assessing the trajectory of a high-risk preterm infant population with regard to cognitive deficits and changes in brain morphology associated with premature birth. His analysis involved the use of a novel assessment tool, the IOWA task, to probe at these cognitive deficits. Valentin plans to attend medical school after completing his undergraduate work.