Thank you for visiting the page of the INS Student Liaison Committee! You may read about the history of SLC and about our student committee members on this page, or connect with the INS-SLC on their Facebook page.
The INS Student Liaison Committee also operates a google group especially for students. The google group is intended to provide a novel means of communication amongst neuropsychology trainees on professional development topics. The google group is a place where students can pose questions regarding training, provide peer consultation, and share ideas. The SLC will also post INS programming updates and upcoming deadlines.
Donations to the Student Activities Fund supports the Student Liaison Committee in fostering student leadership, creating student-oriented programs and events, and developing funds and services to support students in the field of neuropsychology.
Non-North American Co-Chair (July 2025 – July 2027)
Levi Muyela is a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Nairobi, with a strong interest in neuropsychology and global mental health. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Medical Psychology from Moi University. His research focuses on perceived stress and its influence on depressive symptoms among undergraduate medical students at the University of Nairobi. He has been actively involved in community-based and cross-cultural mental health research, with the goal of advancing equitable approaches to brain health assessment and intervention in low- and middle-income countries.
As a Non-North American Co-Chair of the International Neuropsychological Society Student Liaison Committee, Levi is committed to creating opportunities for international students to collaborate, exchange knowledge, and strengthen the global neuropsychology community. His long-term career aspiration is to advance neuropsychological research and clinical practice in Africa through culturally relevant assessments, training, and policy advocacy. He can be reached via abisaimuyela@gmail.com.
North American Co-Chair (February 2026 – February 2028)
Jakob Thorn is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Mercer University, and he is currently completing his predoctoral Internship at the University of Oklahoma. Jakob’s clinical and research interests center on neurodegenerative diseases and movement disorders. He recently defended his dissertation, which examines the efficacy of different machine-learning techniques in improving the diagnostic utility of neuropsychological assessment batteries for the differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative conditions. He also maintains a strong focus on qualitative and theoretical work, seeking to employ methods from the various social sciences in investigating the logical underpinnings of modern neurological and neuropsychological practice.
Jakob is excited to work as the North American SLC Co-Chair to help promote greater global involvement in INS and neuropsychology, more broadly. As neuropsychology remains in its infancy, as a defined area of study and practice, he believes that the active inclusion of new and different voices at this stage of its development, bringing with them different cultural, methodological, and/or theoretical perspectives, is necessary to ensure the continued creation of an innovative science and praxis.
Past Co-Chair (February 2026 – July 2027)
Kendra Pizzonia is a neuropsychology post-doctoral fellow at Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Kendra’s clinical and research experience has prioritized training in adult neuropsychology, with a focus on geriatric populations. Kendra is looking forward to continuing to serve INS In-Training Members as the SLC Past Co-Chair. She can be
reached via email (ka104818@ohio.edu) or Twitter (@KLPizzonia).
Annual Meeting Representative (2025 – 2026)
Kimberly Halberstadter is a second-year PhD student in Clinical Psychology, concentrating in Neuroscience, at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, USA under the mentorship of Dr. Tania Giovannetti. Before this, she earned her BA in Cognitive Science from the University of Pennsylvania and completed post-bacc research and clinical work in neuropsychology with older adults at the Penn Memory Center. Kimberly’s clinical and research experiences focus on aging populations, with specific interest in improving emotional, cognitive, and functional well-being for older adults with or at risk for neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. Kimberly is excited to serve as the SLC’s Annual Meeting Representative for the Philadelphia 2026 event, and more broadly to facilitate community and connection among future generations of clinical neuropsychologists! She can be contacted via email at Kimberly.Halberstadter@temple.edu.
Mid-Year Meeting Representative (July 2025 – July 2026)
Abigail is a second-year PhD candidate in the School of Psychology at University College Dublin (UCD), supervised by Associate Professor Michelle Downes. She holds a BSc in Psychology from UCD and an MSc in Clinical Neuroscience from the University of Galway. Abigail’s research interests lie in developmental neuropsychology, with a particular focus on early childhood. Her MSc dissertation examined the relationship between parental bonding, inflammatory biomarkers, and cognitive outcomes in adulthood—an experience that deepened her passion for neuroscience and shaped the direction of her current research. She is now pursuing her PhD as part of the ECHO project, which investigates the neurocognitive development of infants prenatally exposed to e-cigarettes. As an active member of the UCD Babylab, Abigail is heavily involved in research exploring how early life experiences influence brain and cognitive development. In addition to her research, Abigail is enthusiastic about contributing to the broader scientific community and is currently preparing to serve on the INS Student Liaison Committee ahead of the INS Mid-Year Meeting in Dublin in 2026. She can be reached on Instagram @ucdbabylab or via email (abigail.oconnell2@ucdconnect.ie).
Global Engagement Representative (July 2025 – July 2027)
Shivani Rajeshree is an MPhil Rehabilitation Psychology trainee at NIEPID, India. She has completed a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Christ University, India. She has worked in the areas of epilepsy surgery, dementia diagnosis and neurorehabilitation in her hometown Mumbai, India. Her clinical and research work so far has focused on adult neuropsychology assessments and rehabilitation. Her dissertation work is about developing culture specific cognitive assessment tools following paediatric and adult stroke and TBI. She is excited to work with the SLC, to promote inclusivity and support and address needs of trainees, especially from the Global South.
Global Engagement Representative (July 2025 – July 2027)
Rachel Munyard is a third year PhD (Clinical Neuropsychology) candidate at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) from Deakin University, and is now currently completing her PhD research on international clinician perspectives of cognitive rehabilitation following acquired brain injury, exploring rehabilitation pathways, needs and experiences of multidisciplinary clinicians globally. She is passionate about the inclusion of low and middle income countries in research, and understanding how we can best advance global health equity through knowledge translation. Rachel’s doctoral research is supervised by Professor Jennie Ponsford and Dr. Jessica Trevena-Peters at Monash University as part of Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre (MERRC). She also works as a research assistant in paediatrics at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and serves on the Australian Paediatric Neuropsychology Research Network Student & ECR Committee (APNRN). Along with research and clinical practice training, Rachel is motivated to advance student education and holds an educational leadership position at Monash University within the undergraduate psychology program. She is excited to work with the SLC to continue to promote training, global collaboration and enhance connection among neuropsychology trainees worldwide. You are welcome to reach her out to her at rachel.munyard1@monash.edu.
Communications and Outreach Representative
Hannah Hagy is a clinical neuropsychology postdoctoral fellow at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. She completed her PhD at Loyola University Chicago and her predoctoral neuropsychology internship at the University of Chicago Medicine. Her research interests include exploring behavioral and psychological factors that promote optimal cognitive aging, specifically during hormonal transitions (e.g., menarche, menopause). Additionally, she is interested in cognitive outcomes of neurosurgical interventions. Hannah’s clinical interests include geriatric and adult assessment of neurodegenerative disease and neurological conditions, as well as exploring neurosurgical postoperative cognitive outcomes. As part of the International Neuropsychological Society’s Student Liaison Committee, Hannah works to promote the open international exchange of neuropsychology research and education. Hannah also serves as the Programming Officer for the Association of Neuropsychology Students and Trainees (ANST) of the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN), Division 40 of the American Psychological Association (APA). She can be reached over email at hannah.m.alves@gmail.com or via twitter @hagy_hannah or BlueSky @hannahalveshagy.
Member-at-Large
Nicole Eng is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program at Marquette University, under the mentorship of Dr. James Hoelzle. Prior to starting her PhD program, Nicole earned her Master of Science in psychology at Drexel University under the guidance of Drs. Maria Schultheis and Kathryn Devlin, and served as an Active Duty Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army. As a veteran, Nicole’s primary research interests focus on neuropsychological assessment in military service members and veterans with traumatic brain injury. Her master’s thesis investigated the risk of traumatic brain injury during Army pre-deployment training. Nicole is excited to join the Student Liaison Committee as Member-at-Large, where she looks forward to advocating for the needs of students and trainees within the neuropsychological community. She can be reached via email at nicole.eng@marquette.edu.
