Cassie Argenbright, PhD
I am a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Psychology and Biobehavioral Sciences in the T32 Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Outcomes and Interventions program at St. Jude. I am originally from Dallas, Texas and I attended The University of Texas at Arlington for my undergraduate education. For most of undergraduate, I was pre-med in psychology with an intention to go to medical school to pursue psychiatry. However, after getting involved in a chronic pain and neurobiology research lab to complete my pre-med requirements, I fell in love with neuroscience and the function of the brain. It didn’t take long for me to switch my degree focus and finish my bachelor’s in psychology with a minor in neuroscience. I was very involved in chronic pain research at my institute and was afforded the opportunity to stay on for graduate studies, where my research focused on preclinical behavioral assessments of affect and cognition in neuropathic and nociplastic chronic pain. I subsequently completed both my Master’s and PhD in Experimental Psychology with an emphasis in Health and Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Arlington. In my current work at St. Jude, I use a translational science lens to focus on advancing the understanding of chronic pain in long-term survivors of pediatric cancer. I am very passionate about developing interventions for chronic pain in survivors that address the pain experience as a whole, including its biological, emotional, cognitive, social, and health factors. Outside of training, I am an avid baker and an all-things-horror buff. I also enjoy running, weightlifting, reading, traveling, and camping.
Sarah Benstock, PhD
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, but I have lived in several places across the US and UK. I have always been interested in psychology and how the brain works, so I started my research career during my undergraduate studies at the University of St. Andrews. I worked in cognitive psychology labs as both an undergraduate research assistant on psuedoneglect and as a project leader on predictive coding in the brain. From there, I attended graduate school at Texas A&M University, where I obtained my PhD in medical sciences, specializing in psychiatric and behavioral genetics. My areas of focus are understanding the biological mechanisms and genetic risk for psychiatric disorders and how we can improve long-term mental health outcomes and prevention of things like depression and anxiety. I am really excited to be able to continue pursuing research at St. Jude and being a part of the Cancer Control and Survivorship Program. Outside of research and training, I enjoy sewing, cooking, and going on adventures with my husband and dog.
Bhakti Chavda, PhD
I was born and brought up in Mumbai, India before moving to the US to finish a master’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania. My master’s training helped me realize my interest in social scientific research and led me to the PhD program in Health Communication at Purdue University. As a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Psychology & Biobehavioral Sciences at St. Jude, my research examines how emerging technologies can be used to improve health and quality of life outcomes in individuals with chronic illnesses.
A significant part of my personality comes from my interests outside of work. I derive most joy from reading anything that increases my knowledge and expands my worldview, cooking and consuming foods from different cuisines, and dancing to meet my obligatory cardio quota for the week.
Brooke Charbonneau, PhD
I was born and raised in Littleton, Colorado, less than 10 miles from Red Rocks. After graduating summa cum laude with my B.S. in Psychology at the University of Colorado Denver, I received both my Master of Science and Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in cognition at Montana State University. My prior research aimed to understand how to best support individuals who have lower working memory capacity. So far, my work has shown the beneficial effects of natural environments, goal reminders, and embedded task support on working memory task performance. My work has also focused on identifying the mechanisms of these supports for working memory capacity by using both physiological measurements (e.g., heart rate variability and pupillometry) and newly developed cognitive tasks. Many clinical populations have impaired working memory capacity (e.g., individuals with ADHD, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and cancer survivors), which affects quality of life. Therefore, I hope to apply previous findings to pediatric cancer survivors to help decrease the burden of coping with cancer-related cognitive impairment.
In my free time, I love to read books, crochet, play Dungeons and Dragons, and take long walks with my husband and two rescue dogs
Kyla Gibney, PhD
I am a research postdoc working with Dr. Kevin Krull on cognitive neuroscience-focused projects pertaining to the neurometabolic underpinnings of treatment-related late effects of pediatric cancer. Many of my projects leverage human neuroimaging techniques and are conducted in collaboration with the Department of Diagnostic Imaging. I have recently developed an interest in neuroinflammation as a potential mechanistic underpinning of treatment-related late effects in pediatric cancer survivors.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Oberlin College, where I conducted my undergraduate research on the interaction between multisensory integration and attention. I then completed my PhD in Neuroscience at the MD Anderson UT Health Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, where I earned a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31) for my dissertation research on the cognitive and affective mechanisms that regulate cue-induced eating behavior. I have worked in research-focused positions at Vanderbilt University, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and the Medical University of South Carolina, where I worked on clinically focused research projects using human neuroimaging and neuromodulation.
Tanya Paes, PhD
I am Indian-Canadian and was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I obtained my masters from the University of Oxford and my PhD from the University of Cambridge. My research focuses on how to support the development of cognitive and behavioral skills, particularly executive function, and social-emotional skills in children that may be at-risk for later cognitive difficulties, including childhood cancer survivors. I have experience working with children from families with low incomes and those from diverse ethnic groups using experimental, observational, and longitudinal methodologies. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, baking, reading, and hiking.
Justin Tanner, PhD
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology and Biobehavioral Sciences. I received my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University, where I began my career working with brain-computer interfaces and neural sensory feedback. This sparked an interest in neuromodulation and neuroplasticity for improved adaptation and learning. My current research areas have expanded into cognitive and behavioral interventions, neuroimaging and genetic/proteomic biomarkers of cognitive impairment rehabilitation and transitioning non-invasive interventions into cancer survivorship. At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, I primarily work within the understanding and amelioration of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia survivors’ cognitive and behavioral outcomes.