Lab Director
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Dr. Derek Spangler
(Pronunciation: Dare-ick Spain-glur)
Dr. Spangler is a psychophysiologist with broad interests in the functional integration of physiology, body movement, and thinking. He completed his PhD at Virginia Tech in Neuroscience and Biological Psychology. He completed a postdoc in the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University followed by a postdoc in Human Engineering at the United States Army Research Laboratory (ARL). He then held a Research Scientist position with ARL where he utilized wearable sensors to estimate Soldier performance. At ARL, Dr. Spangler also led a large research program that spanned multiple government units, universities, and industry partners. This program, entitled the Human Variability Project, aimed to develop predictive models of human decision-making based on multi-timescale (seconds to years) sensor data. He additionally co-led two funded internal DoD programs that characterized physiological stress in virtual reality and human-AI systems. At PSU, Dr. Spangler is extending his naturalistic models from the battlefield into everyday life. Dr. Spangler also holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). At UMBC, he co-leads projects focused on mobile sensing of cardiovascular health as well as closed-loop interventions targeting stress physiology.
Email: dpspang@psu.edu
Fun fact: Dr. Spangler loves music and plays several instruments.
Lab Manager
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Evaline (Eva) Li
(Pronunciation: Ee-vuh Lee)
Eva is the research coordinator/lab manager of the SPL. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychological Sciences and a minor in Data Science from the College of William & Mary in December 2020. In the past, Eva has been involved in projects related to sensation & perception (food preferences and sensitivity to bitter flavor), culture psychology (racial preferences in online dating profiles in cities with high pathogen prevalence), and demographics of mental health at her college. She gained an interest in physiological psychology after doing a research project related to EEG and visual event related potentials in autistic vs. control populations. So far, she has loved working in the SPL and looks forward to meeting new team members and collaborators.
Email: evalineli@psu.edu
Fun fact: Eva knows a lot of Harry Potter trivia. She had a guinea pig named Dobby and currently has a cat named Winky!
Graduate Students
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Gabriela S. Revi
(Pronunciation: Gah-bree-el-uh Reh-vee)
Gabriela is a PhD student in the Biobehavioral Health program at Pennsylvania State University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and Behavior and a minor in Sociology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – Newark in May 2021. Throughout her undergraduate career, Gabriela was involved in projects related to cognitive flexibility and decision-making (specifically in animal models using operant conditioning paradigms), cognition and memory (observing the health implications of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of sexual assault and childhood maltreatment), and public health, specifically in supporting mental health treatment and resource access in communities with minority populations.
Fun fact: Gabriela loves animated shows, and has a cat named after one of her life-long favorites, Avatar: The Last Airbender. His name is Bumi and his personality is very similar to the character on the show!
Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Nick Wu
(Pronunciation: Nick Woo)
Nick is an undergraduate research assistant in the Stress Psychophysiology lab and will graduate from Penn State with a degree in Biobehavioral Health and a minor in Biology. His studies and interests involve the prevention of disease and the promotion of healthy human development. He also has interests in human musculoskeletal anatomy & fitness which has led him to pursue a career in Physical Therapy!
Fun Fact: Nick likes to travel and has been to 7 different countries!
Chris Sarpong
(Pronunciation: Kris Sar-pong)
Chris is an undergraduate research assistant in his junior year. He is currently studying biological sciences with the goal of attending medical school after graduation. Chris’s past research experience include a longitudinal collaboration with Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine where he led a project studying the geographic disparities of antibiotic prescription trends in Medicaid enrollees and was a co researcher in a project studying Covid-19 effects on antibiotic prescription rates in Medicaid enrollees. He is also involved in an ongoing project studying the relationship between food intake, sleep quality and mental health for college students. Chris’s main area of research focus varies, although he does have a special interest in projects studying physiological and psychological connections.
Fun Fact: Chris is originally from Ghana, he was born with six fingers, he is a big soccer fan, he is the uncle to a cat named Pierre.
Maya Young
(Pronunciation: My-uh Yung)
Maya is an undergraduate research assistant in her freshman year. She is studying Behavioral Health and planning on minoring in biology. Her interests include disease prevention and treatment as well as abnormal psychology.
Fun Fact: Maya runs the 4×200 meter relay on the club track team.
Pat Costello
(Pronunciation: Pat Cost-ello)
Pat is a freshman undergraduate research assistant in the Stress and Psychophysiology lab. He is currently pursuing a bachelor of science degree in psychology with the goal of attending medical school after graduation. Pat is interested in a wide array of psychological fields but his interests are mainly centered around the intersection between physiology and psychology.
Fun Fact: Pat likes animals and has a cat named Cow.
Collaborators
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Dr. Nina Lauharatanahirun, Head of Decision Neuroscience Lab at The Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Jasmin Cloutier, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at University of Delaware
Dr. Jennifer Kubota, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Political Science, and International Relations at University of Delaware
Richa Gautam, Graduate Student at University of Delaware
Alumni
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