Students | academic

Current students

Nathan Houlihan

Taylor Hartzel

Nathan is a senior Biology major set to graduate in May 2018 and has worked for Dr. Thom for 1 semester on several projects including the HRV aid worker project. He plans to attend medical school next year.

Taylor is a junior Biology major working on a variety of projects including an investigation of the relationship between HRV and behavioral health as well as an upcoming study designed to test several commercially available HRV measurement products. She hopes to attend medical school upon graduation.

Gunnar Goebel

I am a junior from Fort Wayne, IN, working toward an Applied Health Sciences major and Chemistry minor. I plan on attending medical school after graduation and becoming a primary care physician. I have enjoyed my work in the Brain Hygiene lab since I began freshman year.

Caryn Ausenhus

I am junior at Wheaton College, and I am currently majoring in Applied Health Science and minoring in Spanish. After I graduate, I hope to attend medical school and pursue a career in pediatrics. I am passionate about child's health, especially within the context of underserved populations.

Paul Ha

Kathryn Halldin

I am a sophomore at Wheaton College studying Biology and have an interest in neuroscience. After graduation, I hope to study in medical school to pursue a career in pediatrics. I am a member of Koinonia's praise band, and I also serve as a Sunday school teacher at a local church.

I am a junior Applied Health Science major from Rocklin, California. Throughout my time at Wheaton I have enjoyed being a Human Anatomy TA in the classroom and a part of the swim team outside of the classroom. After I graduate from Wheaton, I hope to attend medical school.

Lindsey Freier

Britt Sheafe

I am a Wheaton college Junior studying psychology and neuroscience. I am working in Dr. Thom's lab on a project examining the EEG correlates of leadership style.

I am a third year student at Wheaton College majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology and Music. After Wheaton, I intend to receive my PsyD in child psychology, and practice in assessment and diagnostics as well is therapy with children ages infancy through early childhood.

Abby Walker

I’m a freshman studying biology at Wheaton College. I’m from Gallipolis, OH. I am interested in pursuing a career in research or possibly the medical field.

Faith Gilbert

I’m a freshman at Wheaton College studying Psychology and Biology. I grew up in a military family, so I’ve lived all over the country, but consider Southern California and Virginia to be home. I hope to pursue a Master’s degree after college, and hopefully go into research in the field of neuroscience.

2017 Graduates

Eunice Lim

Eunice was a Biology major and worked for Dr. Thom during parts of her junior and senior year, trying to gain a better understanding of the brain and determine her area of interest in graduate school. She's now pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience at UT Health San Antonio. Eunice was also an exceptional artist and made some incredible drawings of the brain while she was in Dr. Thom's lab, showcasing her drawing skills.

Colby Reyes

Colby was an AHS and Physics major and worked for Dr. Thom for over 2 years. Colby utilized his programming skills and background in applied science to lead a team that was investigating the effects of acute aerobic exercise on ocular measures of emotion processing. Colby presented our work at the national Society for Neuroscience meeting in DC in 2018. He's currently in the midst of a gap-year, working at Lawndale Christian Health Center while he applies to MD/PhD programs.

2016 Graduates

Chloe Derrenbacker

Chloe worked on several projects for Dr. Thom, including a meta-analysis exploring the relationship between chronic aerobic exercise and feelings of energy and fatigue. She took a gap-year in order to work at one of her favorite summer camps, and is now pursuing a nursing degree.

Stephanie Baker

Steph worked on several projects for Dr. Thom, including a meta-analysis exploring the relationship between chronic aerobic exercise and feelings of energy and fatigue. Steph was just accepted into physician's assistant school!

2015 Graduates

Amanda Azadian

Amanda was part of the earliest team of undergraduate students to work for Dr. Thom. She and a host of other research assistants helped launch the Grey Matters Group and also helped run a collaborative study that evaluated the effects of head-cooling on aerobic performance. Amanda is a Senior Business Analyst for Walgreens.

Kelly Ross

Kelly worked for Dr. Thom on several projects including an analysis of a data-set that evaluated neural correlates of emotion processing using high-density EEG. She presented our work at the national SfN conference in 2015. Kelly resides in Wheaton and works at Lawndale Christian Health Center. "Aunt Kelly" lived with me and my wife and our boys for a summer, so she is like family to me.

Kai Libby

Kai was also part of the earliest team of undergraduate students to work for Dr. Thom. He and a host of other research assistants helped launch the Grey Matters Group and also helped run a collaborative study that evaluated the effects of head-cooling on aerobic performance. Kai is an operations manager at INAPC.

Amy Early

Amy worked for Dr. Thom for several years, including two summers as part of Wheaton's summer fellowship. She spent most of her time working on a meta-analysis that evaluated the effects of eating on endothelial function as measured by flow-mediated dilation. She presented our work at EB, where she was invited to present at the microvasculature society. She is currently pursing an OTD at UIC.