People

René Marois, Ph.D. – Professor & Director of Graduate Studies

Education

Yale University School of Medicine- Postdoctoral Fellow
Yale University- Ph.D. Neuroscience
Dalhousie University- M.Sc Psychology
McGill University- B.Sc. Biology

Current Courses

Nuro 330 Cognitive Neurosciences
PSY 316 Brain Image Methods
PSY 201 Introduction to Neuroscience

Curriculum Vitae

Publications

Faculty Webpage
rene.marois@vanderbilt.edu
(615) 322-1779

Zengbo Xie - Doctoral Candidate

I received my B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating with honors. Afterward, I worked as a lab manager and research assistant at the University of Notre Dame for two years. Now, as a fourth-year Ph.D. student, I use eye tracking, EEG, and ultra-fast fMRI to investigate the relationships among attention, memory, and consciousness.

Lanting Qiu - Graduate Student

I received my B.S. in Applied Psychology from Hengyang Normal University in China and my M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Currently, I am using ultra-fast fMRI to investigate the temporal dynamics of the attentional blink and examine whether it shares a common neural mechanism with the psychological refractory period.

Lisa Tang - Research Assistant

Lisa Tang is a dedicated junior Neuroscience major at Vanderbilt University with a focused interest in the neural underpinnings of complex cognitive processes. Her academic passion lies in understanding the understanding the limits of human attention, working memory, and awareness. She is particularly drawn to research that employs multimodal approaches, such as fMRI and psychophysics, to investigate the neural basis of cognitive capacity constraints.

Lisa has cultivated relevant skills through hands-on experiences. Her radiology internship at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital provided practical knowledge of neuroimaging protocols and a commitment to data integrity. Furthermore, a summer program at Carnegie Mellon involved processing structural MRI data to construct 3D neural models, honing her technical abilities in neuroimaging analysis and spatial visualization. Her foundational coursework in cognitive neuroscience and psychology supports these practical experiences. Eager to contribute to a collaborative research environment, Lisa is well-prepared to apply her analytical mindset and technical skills to projects exploring the fundamental mechanisms of human cognition.

FORMER POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

Dr. Qiuhai Yue – Associate Professor, Shenzhen University

Dr. Jocelyn Sy – Senior Quantitative UX Researcher, Google

Dr. Benjamin Tamber-Rosenau – Assistant Professor, University of Houston

Dr. Mona Sobhani – Founder, Conscious Cognition Consulting

Dr. Suk Won Han – Professor, Chungnam National University

Dr. Paige Scalf – Assistant Attorney, Snell & Wilmer

Dr. Paul Dux – Professor, University of Queensland

Dr. Michael Tombu – Defence Scientist, Defence Research and Development Canada

FORMER GRADUATE STUDENTS

Dr. Lauren Hartsough, J.D.– Data Scientist, NORC at the University of Chicago

Dr. Matthew Ginther, J.D. – Litigation Associate, Goodwin

Hana Eaton – Product Manager, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Dr. Doug Godwin – Associate Professor, Nashville State Community College

Anat Fintzi, M.S. – Senior UX Principal, The Home Depot

Dr. Daryl Fougnie – Associate Professor, NYU Abu Dhabi

Dr. Christopher Asplund – Associate Professor, Yale-NUS College

Dr. Joshua Buckholtz – Scientific Director, Ann S. Bowers Women’s Brain Health Institute

Dr. Michael Treadway – Associate Professor, Emory University