Meet the Zimmerman Clinical Neuropsychology Lab

Director

Molly Zimmerman, PhD
Dr. Zimmerman is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist who enjoys engaging in a wide-range of research, teaching, and clinical practice activities. Her research interests explore the many ways in which cognitive abilities interact with medical conditions such as insomnia, sleep apnea, dementia, and sports-related traumatic brain injury. Much of her early clinical work involved diagnosis of dementia syndromes and she has maintained that interest in her research investigations that seek early predictors of age-associated cognitive decline. She also has a longstanding interest in sleep disorders and the complex relationships between sleep, cognition, and mood. An emerging interest has been the relationship between lifestyle factors (e.g., naps, sleep, circadian misalignment, diet) and cognition in adults across the lifespan. And finally, she has focused on the impact of so-called subconcussive events sustained during normal sports play, such as heading of the ball in soccer, on measures of cognitive function and brain structure and function.

Graduate Students 

Kayri Bartolotta, MS
Kayri is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at Fordham University. She holds a Master of Science in Neuroscience and Education from Columbia University and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Neuroscience and Anthropology from Wheaton College, MA. Kayri is an accomplished clinical research professional, and psychometrist with extensive experience in clinical trial management, study coordination, regulatory compliance and psychometric testing. Kayri received her post-baccalaureate training in psychometric testing from Harvard’s training hospital Brigham & Women’s in Boston. She has been involved in clinical projects within Columbia University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital and Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Kayri has also contributed to multiple scientific publications, including studies focused on Alzheimer's disease and cognitive aging. Kayri will be completing the Neuropsychology Major Area of Study at Fordham University and is looking forward to broadening her knowledge in healthy cognitive aging and in creating early preventive measures for Dementia and related disorders. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis with her husband John and spending time with their cat, Mr. Rocky.

 

Caitlin Dougher, MS
Caitlin is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at Fordham University. She received her BS in Psychology with a minor in Biology from Villanova University, followed by her MS in Psychology from Drexel University. Right before starting at Fordham, Caitlin worked as a Psychometrist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. She was directly involved in intake interviews and neuropsychological assessment of individuals over 18 years old with varying disorders and diseases. More notably, this involved working with pre and post-surgical Epilepsy, TBI, Parkinson's, and dementia patients. Caitlin is interested in sleep behaviors and quality in TBI, specifically sports concussion. Additionally, she hopes to study rehabilitation outcomes and treatment interventions for the same population. 

 

Hasib Mia, BS
Hasib is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at Fordham University where he also received his BS in 2023. Prior to graduate school, he worked at Columbia University Irving Medical Center as a clinical research coordinator studying longevity, the genetics behind Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Early-Onset AD and neuropsychiatric symptom (NPS) in AD. Hasib is particularly interested in the effects of sleep across the lifespan with a focus on its impact on cognitive decline and NPS. He is also interested in how specific sleep disorders such as sleep fragmentation or irregular circadian rhythms may accelerate cognitive decline with the goal of early intervention strategies to mitigate the cognitive toll of these disruptions. 

 

Charlotte Meyer
Charlotte is a graduate student in the Clinical Research Methods M.S program at Fordham University. She received her B.S from the University of Tampa in Psychology in 2025. Before starting Fordham, Charlotte worked as a psychometrician at a private practice on Long Island, New York. She was involved in neuropsychological assessment and report writing for individuals across the lifespan with varying disorders. She also served as a research assistant for a cognition lab and completed a senior thesis as a student at the University of Tampa. Charlotte is interested in studying traumatic brain injuries in adults, the effect of chronic pain on cognition, and memory disorders.

 

Undergraduate Students

Samantha Bunjaj

Samantha is currently an undergraduate at Fordham Rose Hill majoring in Biological Sciences and planning to minor in Psychology. She is part of the Pre-Health program and hopes to pursue her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies after completing her undergraduate degree, with a goal of working in pediatric neurology. Samantha is interested in exploring the connection between physical and mental health, particularly how biological processes and external factors, such as sleep, influence cognition, behavior, and emotional well-being. She hopes to better understand how these factors affect development and overall health in youth populations. 

 

Lucy Kochman-Sabbatino
Lucy is currently an undergraduate at Fordham Lincoln Center majoring in psychology. She is interested in research and neuropsychology and aims to get her PhD in the future. Lucy’s interest in psychology stems from her high school studies where she was most interested in cognitive behaviors and psychological disorders.

 

 

Rebecca Rodriguez

Rebecca is currently an undergraduate at Fordham Rose Hill majoring in Integrative Neuroscience. She plans to earn her Master's degree through Fordham's accelerated master's program before attending medical school. She is interested in cognitive neuroscience, with a particular interest in understanding the relationship between the brain and cognition. Outside of the lab, she contributes to the Montefiore Genetics Childhood Cancer Predisposition Clinic by developing educational materials to help pediatric patients better understand their medical conditions. She hopes to continue gaining research experience while preparing for a career as a physician. 

 

Alumni

Alessandra Palladino (BS, graduated 2016)

Katrazyna McNeal (BS, graduated 2016)

Tiffany Le (BS, graduated 2017)

Anika Masand (BS, graduated 2017)

Brianne Roche (BS, graduated 2017)

Jess Weathers (MS, graduated 2018)

Jerome Vessichio (BS, graduated 2019)

Daniella Toto (BS, graduated 2019)

Antigone Phili (MS, graduated 2019)

Rachel Zimmerman (MS, graduated 2019)

Eileen Moran (PhD, graduated 2020)

Cara Levitch (PhD, graduated 2020)

Julia Marsden (BS, graduated 2020)

Carlotta Santoni (BS, graduated 2020)

Julia Phillips (BS, graduated 2020)

Katya Farber (BS, graduated 2021)

Alexander Makatsaria (BS, BA, graduated 2021)

Amy Wang (MA, graduated 2022)

Clare Culver (BS, graduated 2023)

Alyse Peduto (BS, graduated 2023)

Sebastian Garbanzos (BS, graduated 2023)

Hasib Mia (BS, graduated 2023)

Ben Fusco-Gessick (PhD, graduated 2024)

Eric McConathey (PhD, graduated 2024)

Franklin Croce (BS, graduated 2024)

Alexandra Shurek (BS, graduated 2024)

Malorie Watson (PhD, graduated 2025)

Emily Galano (MA, graduated 2025)

Ava Musacchia (BS, graduated 2025)

Stella Haralambou (BS, graduated 2026)

Theresa Lin (PhD, graduated 2026)

Rebecca Lothson (BS, graduated 2026)

 

 

2022-2023 End of Year Lab Party (L-R): Sebastian Garbanzos, Hasib Mia, Clare Culver, Theresa Lin, Caitlin Dougher, Malorie Watson, Ben Fusco-Gessick, Eric McConathey, Alyse Peduto, Molly Zimmerman

 

 

 

 

2022-2023 Lab Members (L-R): Theresa Lin, Clare Culver, Caitlin Dougher, Malorie Watson, Alyse Peduto, Hasib Mia, Molly Zimmerman, Basti Garbanzos. Not pictured: Eric McConathey, Ben Fusco-Gessick