René Marois, Ph.D. – Professor & Chair of Psychology

rene.marois@vanderbilt.edu
(615) 322-1779
Education
Yale University School of Medicine- Postdoctoral Fellow
Yale University- Ph.D. Neuroscience
Dalhousie University- M.Sc Psychology
McGill University- B.Sc. Biology
Teaching
Brain & Consciousness
Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroscience
Seminar in Neuroscience
Neural Basis of Learning & Memory
Neurobiology of Attention
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Lauren Hartsough
I completed my undergraduate work at Colorado State University, receiving a BS in Psychology and BA degrees in Sociology/Criminal Justice and Spanish. I began my graduate work in the Marois Lab in August of 2015. My current research interests include the role of emotion in punishment decision-making, comparisons of human second- and third-party punishment, and legal burdens of proof. I am further interested in examining how legal thresholds, such as those applied by jurors, relate to decision-making outside of the legal system.
Michael Budianto
I received my BS in Psychology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining the Marois lab. For my graduate work, I aim to investigate and elucidate the limit and flexibility of our attention. Naturally, I am interested in multitasking mechanism through the dual-task and task-switching paradigms.
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
Qiuhai Yue
I obtained my Ph.D. at Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University in 2018. My research focuses on using cognitive neuroscience approaches to understand the theoretical and neural architecture of the human cognition system. Specifically, in the Marois Lab, I am working on several projects which examine the neural basis of attention by using fMRI and eye-tracking. I am also interested in exploring the neural basis of working memory and its relation to attention. Another research interest is employing the relation between function brain networks and behavioral performance using graph theoretic tools.
UNDERGRADUATES
Nicole Seedarnee
My name is Nicole, I am a senior originally from Orlando, Florida, and I am on track to get my degree in Psychology. I am interested in neurolaw research, especially third-party punishment decision making. I am currently working on completing my Honors Project on Blackstone’s Ratio.
Krista Panageas
Hi my name is Krista and I am a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Anthropology and Neuroscience. I am interested in Neurolaw research, specifically how neuroscience is used in the courtroom to make convictions. I am also interested in learning more about the neural pathways the contribute to the behavior and decision-making of criminals.
FORMER LAB MEMBERS
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
Dr. Jocelyn Sy – Senior Quantitative Researcher, Pearson
Dr. Benjamin Tamber-Rosenau – Assistant Professor, University of Houston
Dr. Mona Sobhani – Director of Research & Operations for the Center for Body Computing, University of Southern California
Dr. Suk Won Han – Associate Professor, Chungnam National University
Dr. Paige Scalf – Assistant Professor, University of Arizona
Dr. Paul Dux – Professor, University of Queensland
Dr. Michael Tombu – Defence Scientist, Defence Research and Development Canada
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Dr. Matthew Ginther, J.D. – Judicial Law Clerk, US District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Hana Eaton – Research Projects Coordinator, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dr. Doug Godwin – Instructor, Nashville State Community College
Anat Fintzi, M.S. – Senior UX Designer, The Home Depot
Dr. Daryl Fougnie – Assistant Professor, NYU Abu Dhabi
Dr. Christopher Asplund – Associate Professor, Yale-NUS College
Dr. Joshua Buckholtz – Associate Professor, Harvard University
Dr. Michael Treadway – Associate Professor, Emory University