Caitlin Brown
2017 SNRF Scholar-University of Miami
Caitlin Brown, a 2016 SNRF scholarship recipient, is entering her third year of the Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Miami. Caitlin’s research focuses on cognitive and psychiatric assessment in bilinguals with mental illness, examining how the language of clinical assessment (English or Spanish) impacts perceived symptom severity and effortful control in bilingual Hispanics with schizophrenia.
Bernadette Fausto
2017 SNRF Scholar-University of South Florida
Bernadette Fausto is a third year PhD student in Aging Studies at the University of South Florida. Her primary research focus is the safety and mobility of older drivers. Specifically, she is interested in identifying older driver interventions that improve on-road driving performance, reduce crash risk, and prolong mobility. Another research focus is the utility of neuropsychological and other office-based measures in the evaluation of everyday functioning in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. For Summer 2017, Bernadette is working as a doctoral intern at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety where she is examining crash rates and trends of older drivers.
Charles Moreno
2017 SNRF Scholar-University of Florida
Charles Moreno is entering his second year in the neuropsychology track of the Clinical and Health Psychology doctoral program at the University of Florida. After serving a tour to Afghanistan as a US Marine, he was motivated to research concussions. He worked in a dementia research laboratory for three years that led to his other interest in memory disorders. Charles’ clinical and research interests include memory and perception changes following mild traumatic brain injury and repetitive brain injuries in collision sport athletes. He is also interested in identifying the overlapping neuropathological features and clinical symptoms between individuals with repetitive head injuries and Alzheimer's disease. His current research will examine the role of the medial temporal lobe in retired National Football League players with repetitive brain injuries.
Nga Luong
2017 SNRF Scholar-Florida Institute of Technology
Nga Luong is a master’s student in the Organizational Behavior Management program at the Florida Institute of Technology. As a graduate research assistant, she has conducted research on how to reduce problem behavior in young children and teaching skills to people of all ages. Her research interests include education and public policy, international development, and instructional design. Before FIT, she worked for eight years as a behavior technician with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nga has also traveled abroad to places in East and West Africa and South America to gain an understanding of how learning occurs in different environments. Currently, Nga is beginning to research suicide prevention methods. She hopes to contribute research that can affect policies that impact both practitioners and clients.
Jaylen Perez
2017 SNRF Scholar-TiAnViCa Riding Academy
Three-year-old Jaylen Perez is on the Autism spectrum. Autism is a part of him but he’s much more than a diagnosis. Jaylen is a sweet, loving ball of energy, whose laugh lights up a room. He loves reading books, singing, dancing, and acting out his favorite movies. Jaylen has a jam-packed weekly schedule which includes preschool; 10 hours of applied behavior analysis therapy; feeding therapy; and, his most favorite, hippo-therapy! He played mini T-ball this season and will soon try soccer. Since beginning equine therapy at TiAnVica Riding Academy in 2016, Jaylen’s speech has improved, his muscles and bones are stronger, and his love of horses has deepened. Horses have taken Jaylen out of the usual blank therapy walls and into the outdoors!