Alumni
Steven Lehar, Ph.D.
Steven Lehar has a PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University, and a BS in Computer Science from Northeastern University. He has had experience in Image Processing at several companies: Eikonix corp. in Bedford MA, Avco Research Laboratory in Everett MA, and Mitre Corp. in Bedford MA. He was an adjunct professor of psychology at Boston University, and a professor of psychology at Salem State College. Steven Lehar joined the lab in 2010, and performed computer programming, data analysis, and MRI scanning functions. Steven is the author of several books and papers on visual perception and consciousness.
Rose Razzino
Ms. Razzino has been responsible for the day-to day administrative functions of the Laboratory of Neuropsychology, and academic activities for the PhD Program in Behavioral Neuroscience. Rose worked in the Laboratory of Neuropsychology for more than 30 years, and has seen the Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Program flourish since its inception in 1985, graduating more than 46 doctoral students.
Pooja Parikh, M.A.
Pooja graduated from Boston University with an MA in Psychology, with a focus on neuropsychology. She has a keen interest in learning to use neuro-assessment measures as diagnostic tools for various neurological disorders. She joined the Laboratory of Neuropsychology as a Research Psychologist in 2011. Her responsibilities included recruiting participants for study, obtaining medical history and collecting data by administration and scoring of a wide battery of neuropsychological tests to examine perception and memory functioning of recovering alcoholics and non-alcoholics.
Riya Luhar
Riya graduated from Boston University with a BA with Distinction in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She has always had an interest in conducting human research and thus joined the Laboratory of Neuropsychology as a research assistant in 2010. Here, she recruited new participants, administered neuropsychological questionnaires, and conducted MRI scans. Her research interests include application of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the characterization of long-term effects of chronic alcoholism. Riya ended her tenure at the lab in 2013 to go to medical school at Western University in Pomona, CA.
Zoe Gravitz
Zoe Gravitz was a research assistant at the Neuropsychology Lab at the VA Boston Healthcare System, beginning 2010. She graduated with a BA in History from Oberlin College where she also studied neuroscience with a focus on neural networks and Parkinson Disease. Zoe spent her time administering psychometric tests, assisting with MRI scans, and recruiting subjects. Zoe left the lab in 2013 to attend medical school at the University of Rochester.
Diane Merritt, M.A.
Diane has a Master’s degree from Harvard University where she worked with both adults and children in a program to measure and compare cognitive abilities through psychometric testing with a normal population. After graduation, she joined the neuroscience community at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital to help determine deficits and treatment in stroke and head-injured patients. She also worked for many years as a researcher in neuropsychology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to determine the effects of certain pharmaceutical drugs on cognition and behavior. She joined the lab in 2004 and administered neuropsychological testing to research volunteers to help evaluate the effects of alcohol on behavior and the brain.
