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People
Dr. Mark J. Huff
Principal Investigator
Research Team
Graduate Students
Monika Mazela, MA
Monika is a fifth-year Ph.D. student at The University of Southern Mississippi. Monika earned her BS in psychology with an emphasis in forensic psychology from Western Illinois University. Monika’s broad research interests include eyewitness memory, false memory, and misinformation effects.
Alexa Tringali, MA
Alexa is a third-year PhD student under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Huff. She earned her Bachelor's in biopsychology at Oglethorpe University and her Master's in experimental psychology at The University of Southern Mississippi in 2025. Alexa's research interests include false memory, misinformation effects, and attentional control.
Amelia Morehead, MA
Amelia is a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Southern Mississippi, working under the mentorship of Dr. Huff. She earned her BS in psychology from Mississippi College in 2021, and her MA in Experimental Psychology from The University of Southern Mississippi in 2025. Amelia's research interests include the development of learning strategies and studies on the memorable elements of narration.
Bryan Franks, MA
Bryan is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Southern Mississippi working under the mentorship of Dr. Huff. He earned his Bachelor’s from the University of New Mexico and his Master’s at Louisiana State University. Broadly, his research interests include false memory and illusory recollection, recognition memory, source memory, prospective memory, and metacognition.
Hallie Culpepper, BS
Hallie is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Southern Mississippi and is working under the guidance of Dr. Mark Huff. She earned her BS in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2024, after which she worked as a post-baccalaureate research assistant. Hallie's broad research interests include encoding strategies, cognitive aging, and second language acquisition.
Undergraduate Honors Students
Elize Jackson
Elize is a senior psychology undergraduate and a Discovery Honors student with plans a graduate with a BS in Spring 2026. They are currently working on their honors thesis and has an interest in memory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Jen McClarron
Jennifer McClarron is a Senior Psychology major with a Minor in Child advocacy Studies. Her plans are to become a child psychologist working with adolescents in adverse situations.
Erin Kreiser
Erin Kreiser is a sophomore majoring in Psychology with minors in Biology and Spanish, and she is also a member of USM's Honors College. She is interested in a wide range of psychological topics, especially the interactions and relationships that exist between humans and nature.
Scarlett Scott
Scarlett Scott is a junior majoring in Psychology with minors in Chemistry and Sociology at The University of Southern Mississippi where she is also a member of the Honors College. Her academic interests center on neuroscience and memory and has the professional goal of aiding in the development of strategies to support individuals with memory and cognitive impairments while making positive impacts to her community.
Post Bac Research Assistants
Tatum Pickett
Lab Alumni
Undergraduate Researchers:
Anastasia Peach (BS, SPUR Grant, 2017)
Alyssa Di Mauro (BS, SPUR Grant, 2018)
Emily Stahley (Honors BS, 2018)
Ashley Wood (BS, SPUR Grant, 2019)
Laura Pazos (Honors BS, SPUR Grant, 2019)
Jessica Runnels (Honors BS, 2020)
Emily Cates (Honors BS, 2020)
Kyla Cosentino (BS, 2020)
Katie Hayford (BS, 2020)
Kayla Carr (BS, 2020)
Jacob Namias (BS, 2020)
Cortney Sanderson (BS, 2020)
Morgan Poulos (BS, 2020)
Holly Estopinal (BS, SPUR Grant, 2020)
Joseph (Landry) Smith (Honors BS, SPUR Grant, 2021)
Trevor Perry (Honors BS, 2021)
Mary Roth (BS, 2021)
Isabel Stoker (BS, 2022)
Anie Mitchell (Honors BS, SPUR Grant, 2022)
Wryleigh Shearin-Anderson (Honors BS, SPUR Grant, 2022)
Garima Puri (BS, 2022, SPUR Grant, 2022)
Cheyenne Matthews (BS, 2023)
Emiliee Westfall (BS, 2023)
Peyton Poe (Honors BS, 2023)
Ross Russell (BS, 2023)
Taylor Barnes (BS, 2023)
Aaliya Garataula (BS, 2023)
Joley Cameron (BS, 2024)
Hallie Culpepper (BS, 2024)
Colin Bruff (BS, SPUR Grant, 2024)
Vivian Chandler (BS, 2025)
Rachel Wince (McNair BS, 2025)
Aidan Brown (Honors, BS, 2025)
Graduate Researchers:
Matthew Gretz (MA, 2019)
Kendal Smith (PhD, 2021)
Nicholas Maxwell (PhD, 2022)
Monika Mazela (MA, 2024
Jacob Namias (MA, 2023; PhD, 2025)
Alexa Tringali (MA, 2025)
Amelia Morehead (MA, 2025)
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