Faculty & Staff

Francesca Arnoldy

StoryListening Investigator

Founding Program Director, UVM End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate Program

Interests: Reading, nature walks with my pup, making memories with loved ones, genuine conversations, and all things doula 

Life Advice: My motivational mantra: “You’ll never have more time than right now!”

Kirsten Bonson, PhD

Data Manager

Research Specialist, Department of Electrical & Biomedical Engineering

Interests: travel, kayaking, baking, indie games, learning new things, and spoiling my dogs rotten.

Life Advice: “Do not let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers

Katharine L. Cheung, MD, PhD

Telemedicine Investigator

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Nephrology ; Center of Aging

Interests: Hiking, kayaking, cooking, gardening

Life Advice:”Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.” -W.B. Yeats

Maggie Eppstein, PhD

Machine Learning Investigator

Research Professor and Professor Emeritus, Department of Computer Science

Interests: Research-wise, I love discovering things about how the world works using computational modeling and analysis in a wide variety of application domains. Aside from research, I love being in Nature – especially camping, hiking, kayaking, and rock-hounding. Around the house I love designing remodeling projects (that my husband implements), landscaping and perennial gardening, sewing, upholstering, and other creative crafty projects, and hosting family get-togethers over the Holidays for my two grown sons and various other siblings, cousins, in-laws.

Life Advice: A wise piece of advice passed down to me from my Mom: “If you’re going to feel guilty about something, don’t do it. Once you decide to do something, don’t feel guilty about it.

Bob Gramling, MD, DSc

Principal Investigator

NIH biosketch

DEI Statement

Holly and Bob Miller Chair in Palliative Medicine, Professor of Family Medicine  

Interests: Laughing, hiking, biking, writing, dancing, sharing big ideas, iaido

Life Advice: Watch for a second arrow”

Emily Manetta, PhD

Professor of Linguistics

Interests: travel, child-wrangling, soccer, doing linguistics, open water swimming, long conversations

Life Advice: ” A word after a word after a word is power.” – Margaret Atwood

Maija Reblin, PhD

Health Psychology Investigator

Associate Professor, College of Medicine

Interests: Running, rowing, playing outside, beach reads, exploring mechanisms in social contexts, dogs & friends.

Life Advice: Spend your time with people who make you better.”

Donna Rizzo, PhD

Machine Learning Investigator

Professor and Dorothean Chair, School of Engineering

Interests: Machine-Learning and developing computational tools to improve the understanding of human-induced changes on natural systems and the way we make decisions about natural resources and multi-scale environmental problems.

Life Advice: “Learn a lot and have fun!

Elise Tarbi, PhD, MBE, APRN

Conversation Science Investigator

Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing

Interests: Puns, poetry, and high-quality communication, climbing mountains, the phases of the moon, cleaning up legos and my blind cat.

Life Advice:Always find a reason to celebrate (and remember to pack a snack).”


Students

Natalie Ambrose

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Professional Nursing

Interests: Crocheting, cooking, watching trashy reality TV, spending time with loved ones, and calling my mom.

Life Advice: Don’t miss out on your life trying to get it together.”

Nabil Balach

Undergraduate Volunteer

Major: Linguistics

Interests: I started playing Rugby this year, which I love, plus I enjoy going to the gym. It’s tougher in a dorm, but I also like to cook and i like to eat even more.

Life Advice: Life is like a sandwich, no matter which way you flip it the bread comes first.”

Ian Bhatia

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Psychological sciences

Interests: Hiking, skiing, playing the drums, and listening to music

Life Advice: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Beuller

Isabel Brown

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Film

Interests: Music, rock climbing, film, creativity, community

Life Advice: Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the star, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant’s eye” –
Kimya Dawson

Suzannah Buehler

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Political Science and Sociology

Interests: Swimming, rock climbing, finding new recipes, and the NYT Crossword

Life Advice: “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

Maggie Demeo

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Biological Sciences

Interests: Hiking, skiing, listening to music, reading, and yoga

Life Advice: “Stop comparing yourself to other people, your journey is not supposed to look like theirs.”

Advik Dewoolkar

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Biomedical Engineering

Interests: Hiking, snowboarding, tea, and popular culture

Life Advice: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.” – Oogway

Cailin Gramling, MSc

PhD Student- Complex Systems & Data Science

Data Scientist

Interests: Dance, statistics, debate, coffee

Katie Grenon

PhD Student – Interprofessional Health Sciences

Communication Pathologist

Interests: Cognition, context, and consilience. Also, weeding, splitting wood, flat skiing, trail running, and belting it out in the car.

Life Advice: “Success is just linked recoveries.”

Josie Leit

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Neuroscience

Interests: Activism, community, long walks, art history, food, travel

Life advice: “Follow your childhood passions”

Lucia Marsiglio

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Anthropology

Interests: Skiing, movies, music, writing, coffee, and the human condition.

Life advice: “Enjoy life! And get an education!” – Pasqualina Ciccarello, my great-grandmother

Zac Pollack

Summer Research Assistant

Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School

Interests: Computer science, music, travel, baking, learning languages, photography, and board games.

Life advice: “The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune

Luke Stoughton Nawrocki

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Music Technology and Business

Interests: Early childhood education, technology, music, the outdoors, science, water, gratitude, skiing, creativity, and friends

Life advice: “Be kind and live the way that makes you happy!”

Susanna Schuler

Medical Student

Interests: Community gardening, crosswords, audiobooks and podcasts, cooking, camping, and doughnuts.

Life advice: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

Tej Thambi

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Computer Science and Linguistics

Interests: Guitar, chess, basketball, volleyball

Life advice: “Live, Laugh, Love”


Student Alumni

Bridger Banco

Environmental Engineering

Interests: Hiking and backpacking, paddling, fishing, dogs, skiing, and birding

Life Advice: “Be kind to others and others will be kind to you. Also, always have fun!”

Larry Clarfeld, PhD

Computer Science

Interests: My interests outside of academia include field ecology, birding, hiking, camping, playing guitar and spending time with my family. 

Bradford Demarest, PhD

Postdoctoral Associate

Interests: Language, science, machine learning, interdisciplinarity, hiking, music, cooking, biking, games. Interstitial stuff. Analogies. Collaboration.

Life Advice: Practice compassion toward yourself and other people. Lift with your legs, not your back. Drink water. Take walks. Do new things.

Brigitte Durieux

Biochemistry and French

Interests: Music, language, painting, hellbenders, space, stand-up, comedy, and trees.

Life Advice: “Enjoy all that you can”

Katie Flynn

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Neuroscience

Interests: Skiing, hiking, piano, medicine, music

Life Advice: “Take a moment once and a while to look back and see how much you’ve accomplished”

Laura Hirsch

Chemistry

Interests: Cycling, Irish Dancing, gardening, hiking and chemistry poetry

Life Advice: “If the grass is greener on the other side, there is probably more manure there

Ali Javed, PhD

Computer Science

Interests: Food, traveling and fitness

Life Advice: “Persistence, determination and patience.”

Hope Linge

Summer Research Internship

Quaker Valley High School

Interests: Skiing, swimming, hikes with friends, playing the piano

Life Advice: Be strong, trust yourself, love yourself, conquer your fears. Just go after what you want, and act fast because life just isn’t that long” -Pam Halpert, The Office

Viktoria Manukyan, MS

Product Engineer at Global Foundries

UVM Complex Systems Master’s Degree 2018

Interests: Big Data, Machine Learning, SUP Yoga and Dancing 

Life Advice: “Being confident and believing in your own self-worth will make everything possible

Jeremy Matt, PhD

Computer Science

Interests: Machine learning and computational methods, mountain biking, hiking, blacksmithing, telemark skiing, woodworking, and reading

Life advice: My mom’s response when I resisted getting off the couch to go do something (a bike ride, a school assignment, a cross-country ski, etc): “Tough”

PS: My kids HATE that response as much as I used to

Aidan May

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Biochemistry

Interests: Running, biking, origami, nonfiction, and bagels

Life advice: “Just breathe”

Nina Pastore

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: English Writing

Interests: Skiing, rowing, poetry, listening

Life advice: “Spend less time on social media!”

Max Perrotto

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Data Science

Interests: Music, Cooking, Snowboarding, Community Activism, Jeopardy

Life advice: “There’s always more than meets the eye, so pay attention to everything, big and small.”

Lindsay Ross

Computer Science

Interests: Cooking, running, singing, crafting 

Life Advice: “If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time.” –Billy Joel

Aidan Ryan

Civil Engineering

Interests: Playing guitar, anything outdoors, and of course diner breakfasts

Life Advice: “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.” – Steve Prefontaine

Jack Straton

Statistics

Joseph Wills

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Computer Science

Interests: research wise: natural language processing, human computer interaction. in general: filmmaking, books about space, and Frasier

Life Advice: Be yourself.

Ann Wong

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major: Biology

Interests: Skiing, surfing, playing the piano, and drinking tea