Meet our 2016-2017 Mentors!

Jason Blankenship

• Email: jblankenship2014@fau.edu
• College and Major: College of Engineering and Computer Science, Geomatics Engineering
• Research Interests: Computer Vision
• Hobbies:  Wood working and building things with my hands.

Caralin Branscum

• Email: Cbranscum2013@fau.edu
• College and Major : I’m a double major in Sociology (College of Arts and Letters) and Criminal Justice (College of Design and Social Inquiry)
• Research Interests: My current research focuses on perceptions of “adulthood” and what it’s like to “grow up” in the 21st century. 
• Hobbies:   I love reading, playing games with my family (very competitive), and watching Doctor Who!

Eamonn Byrnes

• Email: ebyrnes1@fau.edu
• College and Major:   Honors College, Neuroscience
• Research Interests:  Neuroscience and biomedical research
• Hobbies: Outdoor activities, hiking, basketball

Camelia Garcia

• Email: garciac2013@fau.edu
• College and Major: Charles E. Schmidt College of Science; Double Majoring in Chemistry and Biology
• Research Interests:   Glycosciences, Glycoprotein-based cancer therapy
• Hobbies: Traveling, nature trails, reading, and animals!

Zachary Lee

• Email:  zlee5@fau.edu
• College and Major: Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, BS Biology
• Research Interests: Avian and Wetland Ecology, Modeling Wading Bird Egg Development
• Hobbies: Rock Climbing, "Stir Friday", Traveling, Backpacking, Sunday morning coffee

Sabrina Loftus

• Email: sloftus2015@fau.edu
• College and Major: English and Psychology
• Research Interests: I have always been curious about how the brain correlates to certain thoughts and behaviors we experience which led me on the path of psychology. I currently work with Dr. Sheremata in the Vision and Memory Perception lab assessing whether the left visual field/right hemisphere has an advantage over the right visual field/left hemisphere in working memory.

Anna Riso

• Email: ariso2014@fau.edu
• College and Major : Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, English Literature and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Research Interests: Developmental Psychology and Developmental Neuroscience
• Hobbies: Playing instruments, reading, writing poetry and comedy routines, watching "Star Trek," and baking!

Madeline Rubio

• Email:   mrubio2015@fau.edu
• College and Major: College of Science, Biological Sciences, Minor: Geology
• Research Interests:  Marine Biology and Coastal Geoscience, monitoring Southeast Florida’s beaches to describe morphologic change and quantify patterns of erosion and accretion on the coast.
• Hobbies:   I enjoy tie dying, coloring, tanning, going to the beach, playing volleyball and binge watching Netflix. 

• Email: dthompson2014@fau.edu
• College and Major: Education, Exercise Science and Health Promotion
• Research Interests: alcohol and drug use among college students, specifically those involved in Social Greek organizations
• Hobbies:  hunting, fishing, off-roading, exercising, reading and watching Modern Family

Serena Thompson

• Email:   thompsons2016@fau.edu
• College and Major: Design and Social Inquiry, Social Work
• Research Interests: Children & Families Preservation, Making Homes Affordable and Civil Rights

Vanessa Walters

• Email: vwalters2013@fau.edu
• College and Major: Harriet L Wilkes Honors College, Liberal Arts and Science, Major Concentration: Neuroscience, Minor Concentration: Psychology
• Research interests: Neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, Understanding the relationship between the brain and behavior, and Neural circuitry involved in deficits in social behavior.
• Hobbies: Reading, listening to music, and jogging