Carson Burke

Lab Coordinator

Carson began working as the Filbey Lab’s Coordinator after he received a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas in May 2022. He is very grateful to be a member of the Filbey Lab team. His research interests include neuropharmacology and the development of novel psychiatric treatment options. In his spare time, Carson enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with his girlfriend.

Sandra Field

Neuroimaging Data Specialist

Sandra is a research assistant for the Filbey Lab specializing in neuroimaging data analysis. She holds a BS in Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology from UTD, and is currently working on her Master’s thesis in Data Science at Northwestern University. She has a professional background as a Unix administrator and in data quality. She loves to learn about addiction, trauma, and learning and memory dynamics. Sandra is considering the pursuit of a PhD as a step towards her long-term professional goal of advancing medical AI solutions.

Che Liu

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Che is a postdoctoral research associate for the Filbey Lab. She received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami, where she investigated brain structure, function, and cerebral blood flow as well as their associations with sleep quality and cognitive performance in the aging brain. Her expertise lies in medical image and signal processing and analysis. She has experience with various neuroimaging techniques including MRI (structural, fMRI, ASL, FLAIR, phase contrast), PET, and CT. Her research interest is to investigate brain structure and function in addiction, psychological, and neurological disorders and identify neuroimaging biomarkers.

Linnea Stahl

Study Lead

Linnea completed both her B.S. and M.S. in psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is currently the study lead for the PEER study in the NiRD lab. Her research interests include personality pathology, interpersonal relationships, and addiction. She has a particular intertest in working with dyadic data. In her free time, she enjoys completing puzzles and volunteering in other research labs.

Tracy Brown

Tracy is a student in UT Dallas’s Ph.D. Psychology program. He has a Master of Science in Applied Psychology from Tarleton State University. His research experience includes understanding how chronic pain affects the neural activity in the brain and decision-making using electroencephalograms and decision-making tasks. Tracy works in the Filbey lab and investigates how chronic pain and cannabis use affects sleep quality, decision making, and neural activity. 

Erin Prince

Erin is a student in UT Dallas’s Cognition and Neuroscience program. She received her Master of Science in Psychological Sciences at the University at Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her previous research included aspects of bystander effect, barriers in higher education, gender differences in substance use motives and the influence of familial substance use history on use motives. Erin now works in the NiRD lab, investigating social motivations of substance use patterns and clinical intervention. In her spare time, Erin likes to read, watch movies, fish, and hang out with friends. 

Avery Davis

Avery is a graduate research assistant on the TEAMM project within the Filbey Lab. Avery graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in May 2023, earning Collegium V honors from UT Dallas. Throughout her undergraduate journey, she accumulated valuable experience in research, nurturing her ambition to pursue a Ph.D. and embark on a career as a professor. She returned to UT Dallas to begin her M.S. In Neuroscience and Cognition to further foster her goals. Her research interests include understanding the risk factors associated with addiction development and exploring the impact of substance abuse on both the brain and cognition. In her leisure time, she finds enjoys playing music, reading, and playing video games.

Sam Poelker-Wells

Sam is a graduate student in the Applied Cognition and Neuroscience M.S. program at UT-Dallas. His academic and research experience encompasses the domains of physiology and cognitive neuroscience. Presently, he is an intern in the Filbey Lab where he leads the TEAMM study. Post-graduation, Sam harbors aspirations to embark on an academic and professional journey dedicated to the investigation and application of clinical tools and practices with the aim of enhancing human health. In his spare time, he enjoys engaging in exercise and reading books about philosophy, biology, and psychology.

Hardik Acharya

Hardik is a Freshman at UTD currently majoring in Neuroscience. He is part of the PEER Study Team, where he contribute in Data Collection and hopes to learn more about the effects of addiction on the brain. He plans to pursue Medical School after graduation, and as a 2024 Clark Scholar, he is very interested in research. He also likes to spend time with family, play basketball with friends, and read. 

Ivani Atre

Ivani is an undergraduate student at UT Dallas who is majoring in Cognitive Science with a minor in Philosophy. She is currently a student intern for the Neuroanalytics team. Following undergrad, Ivani hopes to attend graduate school for Cognitive Psychology to pursue brain-computer interface research. Her research interests lie in cognition, memory, and mood disorders. In her free time, you can find her reading & writing poetry or working as a barista.

Thamidu Bulathsinhala

Thamidu is currently a Senior and Psychology major at the University of Texas at Dallas. Currently, he is an intern on the Filbey Lab’s TaVNS study and hopes to learn more about the effects of addiction. Thamidu hopes to pursue a career in medicine. Other than research, he enjoys cooking, writing, volunteering, and playing music.

Sheridan Fine

Sheridan is an undergraduate student at UT Dallas studying psychology. She is currently an intern for the PEER study. After undergrad, Sheridan hopes to pursue a PhD program in clinical psychology. Her main area of interest is the impact of drugs and medications on treating psychological and psychiatric disorders. Aside from research, Sheridan loves to read, attend concerts, and spend time with her dogs.

Baasil Kaka

Baasil is a sophomore at UTD who is currently majoring in Computer Science. He is a Research Intern working on the Cannabis Genetic Data Project, and hopes to gain experience in manipulating/interpreting genetic data and to learn about how genetics impact human behavior. After graduation, Baasil hopes to attend graduate school and become a bioinformatics/genomics researcher focusing on psychological genetics. Aside from research, Baasil loves to hangout with friends & family, read books, workout, and try out new foods!

Maryam Imam

Maryam is a 2nd year undergraduate at UT Dallas majoring in Neuroscience. She is currently a research assistant in the TEAMM study. Her research interests include the dopaminergic reward system and how substance use affects the system. In the future, Maryam hopes to attend Medical school and become a physician to improve health outcomes in underserved communities. In her free time, Maryam enjoys reading, volunteering, traveling, and baking.

Alyssa Leazure

Alyssa is a 3rd year undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Music and Asian studies. She is an intern assisting with the TaVNS studies. Her primary research  interest is the affect that substance abuse and recreational drugs has on cognition, sleep and mental disorders. She plays in the UTD string orchestra and her hobbies include playing cello and guitar.

Ryan Ram

Ryan is a first-year undergraduate student at The University of Texas at Dallas majoring in Neuroscience. He is currently a research assistant working on the Filbey Lab’s PEER study and hopes to learn more about socioeconomic factors that influence addiction and interventions to combat addiction. After finishing his bachelor’s degree, Ryan plans to attend medical school and become an anesthesiologist. In his free time, Ryan works at a palliative care facility and loves volunteering, traveling, reading, spending time with family, and playing video games with friends. 

Madison Wall

Madison is an undergraduate student at UT Dallas majoring in psychology. She is currently a research intern for the neuroimaging of reward dynamics team. Following undergrad, Madison hopes to attend graduate school for clinical psychology. Her primary research interests are non-pharmacological therapies and the long-term effects of substance abuse. Besides research, Madison enjoys spending time outside, working out, journaling, and spending time with friends and family.