last updated: 5/4/2023

Principal Investigator

David V. Smith, Ph.D.

Dr. Smith is the Principal Investigator of the Neuroeconomics Lab at Temple University. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology. The work in the lab is supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Mental Health. For more about his background (including courses that he teaches), please see his faculty page and his current curriculum vitae. 

david.v.smith [at] temple.edu

Post-Doc

Rita Ludwig

Rita is a postdoctoral fellow in the Neuroeconomics lab. She received her PhD in psychology from the University of Oregon in 2021. Her research interest is in illuminating the psychological, neural, and socioeconomic factors that influence decision-making and predict long-term goal achievement. When not in the lab, she spends her time picking up heavy objects and putting them back down again, and sewing her own clothes.

rita.ludwig [at] temple.edu

Graduate Students

Jeff Dennison

Jeff is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Cognition and Neuroscience program at Temple University. He hopes to use his time in the lab using a subjective-value framework to study the cognitive and biological processes underlying human decision-making across different domains. He received his masters degree at New York University and his bachelors degree at Hawaii Pacific University studying Psychology. He likes to use his time outside of the lab playing music, board games, and his dog.

jeffrey.dennison [at] temple.edu

Daniel Sazhin

Daniel is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Cognition and Neuroscience program at Temple University. He is interested in decision-making, especially in how people adapt to changing environments. His research questions generally revolve in how changes over time in payoffs, risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity affect behavior. He received his Master’s degree at New York University in General Psychology and his Bachelor’s degree at Pace University in Marketing. Outside of the lab, he enjoys racing sailplanes.

daniel.sazhin [at] temple.edu

Karen Shen

Karen is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Cognition and Neuroscience program at Temple University. She is interested in interactions between decision-making and episodic memory. She is co-mentored by Dr. David V. Smith and Dr. Deepu Murty. She received her Master’s degree in Cognitive Science from Columbia University and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Finance from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing with her cat and traveling with her friends.

karen.shen [at] temple.edu

Jen Yang

Jen is a third-year doctoral student in the Cognition and Neuroscience program at Temple University. She is interested in the integration of social and non-social information during decision making across lifespan, and how such information processing is associated with cognition. Outside the lab, Jen enjoys crochet, collecting animal pictures, napping, and long walks.

jen.yang [at] temple.edu

Jimmy Wyngaarden

Jimmy is a third-year doctoral student in the Social Psychology program. He’s interested in the roles of social and non-social feedback in guiding judgment and behavior. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree from Appalachian State University. Outside of the lab, Jimmy enjoys playing basketball, running, and painting.

james.wyngaarden [at] temple.edu

Research Staff

Ori Zaff

Ori is a research coordinator with the Neuroeconomics Lab. He received his Master’s degree in Linguistics & Cognitive Science from the University of Delaware, where he also completed his undergraduate studies. His research interests include links between reward processing and mental health disorders, as well as links between music and language processing. Outside of research, Ori enjoys writing and producing music, rock climbing, and teaching Hebrew. CV

ori.zaff [at] temple.edu

Makayla Collins

Makayla is a research assistant with the Neuroeconomics lab. She recently graduated with her bachelors in Adult and Organizational Development in 2022. Her research interests include mental health disorders, depression’s impact on reward processing, and decision making across the lifetime. Outside the lab Makayla enjoys sculpting, longboarding, and visiting friends.

makayla.collins [at] temple.edu

Undergraduates, Interns, and Volunteers

Collaborators

Lauren Alloy, Temple University (Professor of Psychology).

Eunice Chen, Temple University (Associate Professor of Psychology).

John Clithero, University of Oregon (Assistant Professor of Marketing).

Dominic Fareri, Adelphi University (Assistant Professor of Psychology).

Tania Giovannetti, Temple University (Associate Professor of Psychology).

Chelsea Helion, Temple University (Assistant Professor of Psychology).

Johanna Jarcho, Temple University (Assistant Professor of Psychology).

Bart Krekelberg, Rutgers University (Professor of Neuroscience).

Vishnu “Deepu” Murty, Temple University (Assistant Professor of Psychology).

Vinod Venkatraman, Temple University (Associate Professor of Marketing).