Graduate Students

Past Graduate Students

Elyse McMahon, Ph.D.
Graduate Student in the Ecology Program
250 Health and Human Development Bldg

ekm5112@psu.edu

Elyse McMahon is a PhD Candidate in the Ecology Program. She did her undergraduate at Penn State in Wildlife and Fishery Sciences. In the summers she worked in Utah, Colorado and South Dakota on vaccinating prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets against the sylvatic plague. She did her masters at Bucknell University studying the protective effects of oxytocin against the negative consequences of chronic stress. Now back at Penn State, she is studying the association between physiological mechanism and temperament, applying it to both humans and animals. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, baking and reading a good book.

 

Jasmine I. Caulfield, Ph.D.
Doctoral Degree in Neuroscience
Thesis: An investigation of mechanisms underlying asthma and anxiety comorbidity using a mouse model.

 

Michael J. Caruso, Ph.D.
Doctoral Degree in Biobehavioral Health
Thesis: The impact of adolescent social experiences on adult adrenocortical activity, affect-related behavior, and nicotine responses.

 

Christina M. Ragan, Ph.D.
Doctoral Degree in Neuroscience
Thesis: Within-family variance in maternal-neonate interactions and subsequent adult offspring behavior and physiology.

 

Kerry C. Michael, Ph.D.
Doctoral Degree in Biobehavioral Health
Thesis: Social and physiological processes underlying sensation-seeking and behavioral inhibition: potential mechanisms linking personality to health.