Dr. Micheal Dent
Principal Investigator | Professor of Psychology | Director of Undergraduate Studies | Cognitive Area Head
B.A. (Psychology) St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Ph.D. (Psychology) University of Maryland, College Park
Post-doc (Physiology) University of Wisconsin Medical School
Email: mdent@buffalo.edu
Graduate Students
Sevda Abdavinejad, DVM | Ph.D. student in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Islamic Azad University, Iran
Research Interests: Animal behavior, acoustic communication in animals, and animal models of psychiatric disorders.
Email: sevdaabd@buffalo.edu
Jiarui Li, M.A. student in the Cognitive Area of Psychology
B.A. in Psychology from the University at Buffalo, SUNY
Research Interests: I am highly interested in all research related to animals, especially studies on audition and communication. I am currently studying whether mouse can detect low frequency calls at very low intensities.
Email: jli492@buffalo.edu
Riley McLaughlin, M.A. student in the Cognitive Area of Psychology
B.A. in Cognitive Science from Swarthmore College
Research Interests: I am interested in many aspects of animal communication, including the effects of noise on hearing in mouse models of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Email: rileymcl@buffalo.edu
Honors Student
Grace LeVea, Psychology major, Addiction Studies and Counseling minors
I am conducting an experimental study on the effects of noise exposure and environmental enrichment in mitigating Alzheimer’s disease–related decline. I am especially interested in the relationship between neurodegenerative processes and behavioral health outcomes. After graduation, I plan to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology and hope to integrate research with clinical practice. Outside of the lab, I enjoy playing the violin, distance running, and spending time with my cats.
Email: gracelev@buffalo.edu
Recent Former Graduate Students
Mariam Ashour, M.S. in Psychology
Dr. Payton Charlton, Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology
Jay M. Cooney, M.S. student in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
Cade Leinbach, M.S. in Psychology
Dr. Kali Burke, Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology
Dr. Huaizhen Cai, Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology
Dr. Anastasiya Kobrina, Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology
Dr. Laurel Screven, Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience Psychology
Recent Former Honors Students
Emma Ogilvie, Biological Sciences Honors Student
Bridget Crandall, Psychology Honors Student
Victoria Majka, Biological Sciences Honors Student
Zachary Zaharkin, Biological Sciences Honors Student
Lucia Fetkenhour, Psychology Honors Student
Kathleen Ohman, Biological Sciences Honors Student