Meet the Team

Dr. C. Nikki Arrington

Primary Investigator

Nikki Arrington is a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgia State University. She holds positions at the GSU TReNDS Center and GSU/GT Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, where she oversees research operations for the center.

She completed her graduate work at the University of Houston in Developmental Psychology with an emphasis in Cognitive Neuroscience. Her expertise is in structural neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques. Her research focuses on the neurocognitive and neurobiological basis of reading and executive function.

Arrington’s work has been funded by the Oak Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and National Center for Neuromodulation for Rehabilitation. Her work has been published in Neuropsychology Review, Brain and Language, and Scientific Study of Reading, among others.

Dr. Robin Morris

Co-Primary Investigator

Robin Morris is a Regents Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience and Psychology. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Morris served as the Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation guiding the university during the first half of the strategic plan’s implementation. He is Regent’s Professor of Psychology at Georgia State University and is the past Vice President for Research, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Georgia State.  He currently holds faculty research appointments in the Center for Research on Atypical Development and Learning and GSU/Georgia Tech Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, and is an Associate Faculty in the Neurosciences Institutes.  Dr. Morris received his B.A. from Emory University, M.S. from Trinity University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Florida.  He has published widely and has federal grant awards from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Dr. Rachael Harrington

Co-Investigator

Rachael Harrington is a certified speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Center for Research on the Challenges of Acquiring Language and Literacy.

Harrington completed her graduate work at Georgetown University focusing on neuroplasticity and neurorehabilitation of the motor system after stroke. She completed her postdoctoral work at Georgia State University in the Department of Psychology through the Center for Research on the Challenges of Acquiring Language and Literacy. This work focused on the neurobiology of language and literacy and the rehabilitation of aphasia and alexia.

Harrington’s work has been funded by the American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Her work has been published in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Brain Stimulation, and Frontiers in Neurology among others.

 

Dr. Lisa Krishnamurthy

Co-Investigator

Lisa Krishnamurthy is a Magnetic Resonance (MR) Physicist with considerable experience in designing and optimizing MRI acquisition and experiments. Her work in this area was recognized internationally by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) by being selected as a semi-finalist in the ISMRM Young Investigator Award competition for her development of T2-Relaxation Under Phase Contrast (TRU-PC) MRI. The goal of her research is to develop clinically-relevant novel MR acquisition schemes to mechanistically understand the human brain, and how it changes in the presence of pathology, cognitive disability, and aging. Dr. Krishnamurthy is currently PI on a VA RR&D CDA1, and co-I on two VA RR&D Merits.

 

Dr. Adianes Herrera-Diaz

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Adianes Herrera-Diaz is a recent postdoctoral research associate at GSU/GT Center for Advanced Brain Imaging. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at McMaster University (Canada), and worked previously at the Cuban Neuroscience Center, where she applied various brain imaging techniques, particularly electroencephalography and event-related potentials (EEG/ERPs) to study cognitive function of different clinical populations. Her research targets brain injury and its pathological effects on sensory, cognitive and language processing. Adianes is also interested in multimodal brain data analysis and non-invasive neuromodulation techniques for rehabilitation.
Her recent studies have been funded by the Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP) opportunity made possible by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Research Staff

Eimhear Davis

Eimhear ‘Ever’ Davis recently received their Masters in Neuroscience from Georgia State University. They joined the research team in August of 2022, and has thoroughly enjoyed researching the effects of TMS on the reading network. Specifically, they are interested in the clinical applications of TMS in various neurological conditions. While their future goals are plentiful and of many different fields, their “near” future goal is to obtain a PhD in clinical psychology. They spend most of their free time upcycling clothes, painting, baking, or adventuring outdoors with their partner and their dogs.

Flora Heydari

Flora Heydari graduated from Georgia State University in 2021. She majored in Neuroscience and is part of the research team at CABI serving as a post baccalaureate research assistant. She is primarily interested in how the TMS technique works within the reading network and how it can impact other pathways such as areas known for depression. Flora’s future goals include specializing as a neurologist and following her passion for the nervous system. When not in the lab, she enjoys spending time with her dogs, hiking, beauty, and cooking/baking.

Gehna Gupta

Gehna Gupta is a graduate research assistant working at the Reading Research lab since 2021. She is an international student from India, and came to the U.S. to be able to study how the brain works and develops with neurodevelopmental disorders. She is currently working on getting her master’s in neuroscience from Georgia State University. Her research focuses on sex differences in developmental dyslexia, particularly in white matter integrity. She really likes working with kids, and hopes to get a PhD in clinical neuropsychology. In her free time, Gehna likes to read, watch movies, and cook.

Rachel McCoy
Rachel McCoy has been a teacher since 2000. She started her career as a public elementary school teacher in Newton County, GA. She has taught reading for Dr. Morris as a Cognitive Development Specialist for 7 years under several different projects. Most recently Rachel was an Orton Gillingham teacher for The Dyslexia Resource at The Schenck School.
Narciso Moquete
Narciso Moquete is a third-year undergraduate research assistant majoring in Neuroscience. He has been in the Read Lab since Spring of 2023. His research interest involves the neuroplasticity of the brain following functional or structural damage to our language-dominant left hemisphere. Narciso is currently looking at the neuroanatomical differences among developmental versus acquired reading impairments. His research goals are to understand our brain’s adaptation post-impairment so that treatments for these reading impairments can be properly implemented. Upon graduating Narciso plans to continue his studies and complete an MD/PhD program. Outside of lab and his studies Narciso enjoys traveling and snorkeling. 
Yishai Perez

Yishai Perez graduated from Georgia State with a bachelor’s in psychology. Currently he serves as a research assistant at the GSU/GT Center for Advanced Brain Imaging and plans on pursuing a graduate degree in cognitive psychology in the near future. His research interests include the development of language and literacy skills in the brain in both typical and atypical populations. In his free time Yishai enjoys reading, checking out hiking trails around Georgia, and listening to podcasts.

Research Partners

       

Project Alumni

Evelyn Farkas

Evelyn Farkas was an undergraduate research assistant with the Reading Research Lab from 2021 to 2024. She recently received her Bachelor degree in both neuroscience and journalism from Georgia State University, as she is passionate about the intersection of science, medicine, and communication.  Her current research interests include the comorbidity of psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression in developmental dyslexia, and more broadly, the potential of noninvasive neuromodulation in their treatment. She was recently accepted to an MD/PhD program for the fall of 2024. In her free time, she enjoys singing in choir, going on hikes, and watersports on the lake

Evie Bledniak

Evie Bledniak served as a research assistant working as part of the Reading Research Team at the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging (CABI) from 2021 to 2023. During that time she worked on several  projects investigating the effects of neuromodulation on the reading network in typical readers and individuals with dyslexia. Her research interests include understanding the effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on reading network functional connectivity and the use of TMS as a treatment for persistent dyslexia in adults.

Evie obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience at Georgia State University. She was recently accepted into the Clinical Neuroscience PhD program at GSU for fall 2023. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, sewing, and going to concerts.