Colleen Parks, Ph.D.
Although Dr. Parks first studied memory with Paula Hertel at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, she conducted her first memory experiment in 5th grade for a science project. She has continued that line of study throughout her career. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, working with Jeff Toth and Andy Smith and concentrating on aging and memory. She then went on to a postdoc with Andy Yonelinas at UC Davis, where she concentrated on process models of recognition. She continues to study memory at UNLV, focusing on different explanations (models) of recognition memory, the relationship between different memory processes, and reconsolidation in human episodic memory. In her free time she hikes, reads a lot, and listens to many podcasts. Don't ask her about her favorite books though unless you want to get into a discussion about how her memory of books is organized.
Graduate Students
Jackson Pelzner, M.S., M.A.
Jackson received his B.Sc. in Psychology from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2013, and his M.S. in Applied Psychological Science from Pacific University in Oregon. His master’s thesis at Pacific examined the joint effects of music and emotion on memory. He is now working towards his Ph.D., which will examine episodic memory for melodies. His research interests include learning, recognition memory, mental representations, music cognition, and cognitive load and fatigue. jackson.pelzner@unlv.edu
Farnaz Norouzizadeh, M.A.
Farnaz earned her B.A. in General Psychology and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Shiraz University in Iran. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Psychological and Brain Sciences program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Her research focuses on autobiographical memory, trauma, and self-referential processing. She is currently analyzing trauma narratives of mass shooting survivors to explore memory fragmentation and self- reference. Farnaz is also interested in the cognitive and emotional mechanisms of memory across different cultural and clinical populations. norouziz@unlv.nevada.edu
Ariel (Junyoung) Huh, M.A
Ariel received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2022, and her M.A. in Psychological Science from San Francisco State University in 2025, under the advisement of Dr. Ezequiel Morsella. Her master’s thesis at SFSU examined the establishment of mental associations and their activation upon experiencing autobiographical memory. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Psychological and Brain Sciences at UNLV. Her research interests include associative memory and memory models. huhj1@unlv.nevada.edu
Hannah Shirey, B.A.
Hannah earned her BA in Psychological Sciences from California State University, San Marcos. As an undergraduate, she worked in the Visual Cognition Laboratory under Dr. Carrick Williams, studying the impact of time on target search and incidental memory. She is currently working towards her Phd in Psychological and Brain Sciences at UNLV. Hannah’s current research examines auditory and visual recognition memory. She is interested in the underlying mechanisms and the differences between them. Hannah’s research interests include attention, recognition memory, and visual cognition. shireh1@unlv.nevada.edu
Lab Alumni
Rhiannon (Rhi) Soriano Smith, Ph.D.
Rhiannon received her B.A. in Psychology and Child and Youth Studies at the University of San Francisco in 2018. Prior to coming to UNLV, Rhiannon worked in the Sleep and Performance Research Center at WSU Spokane with Dr. Gregory Belenky. She received her PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences at UNLV in May 2026. Rhiannon’s research thesis examins forgetting in recognition memory, with the aim of identifying how the different underlying processes change over time. Her research interests include forgetting, recognition memory, and attention. rhiannon.sorianosmith@unlv.edu
Kevin Mohawk, Ph.D.
Kevin received her B.S. at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, in 2012, and her M.S. from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, in May 2019 under the advisement of Dr. Justyna Olszewska. She received her Ph.D. from UNLV in May 2025 under Colleen Parks. Her graduate work examined the role of prediction error in episodic memory. Her primary research interests include examining the cognitive processes involved in human memory distortions. Kevin is now adjunct faculty at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. kevin.mohawk@marquette.edu
William (Blake) Ridgway, Ph.D.
William Ridgway earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from UNLV in May 2024. His dissertation, analyzed trauma narratives from survivors interviewed within one month of the mass shooting (see pubublications). William is now an aerospace psychologist at NASA, where he works in the Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP) Operations Group. He supports the assessment and selection of high-risk, mission-critical personnel by advancing astronaut selection methods through the validation of performance-based tools, behavioral simulations, and structured rating frameworks. william.ridgway@unlv.edu
Alanna Messenger (née Osmanski), M.A.
Alanna received her B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Human Development at Montana State University in May 2020, and her M.A. in UNLV's PBS program in May 2022. Alanna's master’s thesis examined the relationship between sleep, emotion, and memory consolidation. She is now studying publich health.
Laura Werner, Ph.D.
Laura received her B.A. at University of North Carolina, Greensboro in 2010, her M.A. at University of North Carolina, Wilmington in 2014 with advisor Dr. Karen Daniels, and her Ph.D. in 2019 under Colleen Parks. Her work examines behavioral models of verbal working memory. Laura completed a postdoc in Jarrod Lewis-Peacock's lab and is now at Texas State University.
Chris Kiley, Ph.D.
Chris graduated from the University of South Florida in 2012 with a B.A., and his M.A.and Ph.D. from UNLV in 2015 and 2019. Chris is broadly interested in the processes associated with retention and forgetting. He is currently working at Exponent.