Our Team

Nikki Hill, PhD, RN Associate Professor

Co-Director of ReMind Lab

Dr. Hill is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Penn State. Her research focuses on identifying older adults at risk for cognitive impairment and tailoring interventions to maximize their daily functional abilities and well-being. This includes investigating the relationship between self-reported and objectively-measured cognition in later life, assessment of cognitive decline and dementia, as well as the impact of individual factors on well-being and activity engagement in older adults. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the National Institute on Aging, the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Dr. Hill is also Associate Director of Education at Penn State’s Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, providing leadership to develop and enhance innovative research and education efforts at the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing.

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Jacqueline Mogle, PhD Associate Research Professor

Co-Director of ReMind Lab

Dr. Mogle is an Associate Research Professor of College of Health and Human Development, the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State. She has a PhD in Experimental Psychology and her research expertise includes development of methods for the assessment of cognition in naturalistic environments. Dr. Mogle uses a combination of subjective and objective methods to create a broader snapshot of cognitive performance. These assessments allow more ecologically valid approaches to the estimation of cognitive functioning. She also has extensive experience in the application of powerful statistical models like multilevel modeling to understand within-person processes across brief windows (e.g., days) as well as longer periods of time (i.e., years).

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Sakshi Bhargava, PhD Research Associate

Dr. Bhargava joined the ReMind Lab after completing her PhD in Developmental Psychology at Penn State in August 2017. She brings her expertise in advanced statistical methods, dissemination of research findings, and project management to the team. Dr. Bhargava previously investigated the development of children and adolescents in multiple contexts, and applies a developmental perspective to aging that further enhances the interdisciplinary strengths of the lab.

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Gabrielle Yoder, MBA Research Project Manager

Gabrielle Yoder is a Research Project Manager for the College of Health and Human Development, at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, at Penn State. She received her MBA and B.S. in Business Administration/Management from Wheeling Jesuit University and comes with experience in the construction industry as an Ethics and Compliance Manager. Gabrielle has a passion for organizational development and is excited to bring her enthusiasm and experience to the ReMind Lab. She is excited to be a part of a team that is striving to make a lasting impact and improve the lives of many through prevention research.

Jennifer Turner, PhD Postdoctoral Scholar

Jennifer R. Turner is a postdoctoral scholar at Penn State University working under the mentorship of Jacqueline Mogle, Ph.D. on a NIA-funded project exploring the functional and emotional outcomes associated with the daily experience of memory lapses in middle-aged and older adults. Jennifer earned her M.A. (2017) and Ph.D. (2020) from the University of Akron, Adult Development and Aging Program. Her research interests primarily consist of applying the social cognitive perspective to investigate social and emotional influences on lifespan development, such as nostalgia and mechanisms to reduce ageism.

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Emily Bratlee-Whitaker, PhD, MS, RN Postdoctoral Scholar

Emily Bratlee-Whitaker is a postdoctoral scholar working with Jacqueline Mogle on the Improving assessment of subjective memory impairment for detecting Alzheimer’s disease: A coordinated analysis in two measurement burst studies project, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). During her postdoctoral training, she will work with the ReMind Lab team to investigate the impact of daily experiences of subjective memory impairment on functional and emotional well-being and their predictive utility of future cognitive decline. Emily is also a Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Postdoctoral Fellow and received funding to conduct a mixed methods study investigating health consequences of dementia worry in older adults. Emily earned her BSN (2016), MS in Nursing (2018), and PhD in Nursing Science (2021) from the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. Her research interests include understanding how the experience of cognitive problems impacts well-being and related health outcomes, and how individual difference characteristics can influence the experience and consequences of self-reported cognitive problems throughout the aging process.

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Leslie Brautigam, MNHP, RN Graduate Assistant

Leslie Brautigam is a Ph.D. student in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State with nine years of clinical experience in adult oncology. Her practice areas include Adult Leukemia and Bone Marrow Transplant, Hematology, and Neuro-oncology. Leslie is interested in factors associated with accelerated cognitive decline, as well as caregiver mental health and support.

Justin Do, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Justin is a sophomore who is currently studying Premed at Penn State Eberly College of Science. Justin was most interested in joining ReMind Lab because he enjoyed the interdisciplinary nature of some of the projects and feels the research is impactful and for a good cause. In the future, Justin hopes to become a physician and apply the skills learned from his experiences in the lab to patient care. Some of Justin’s hobbies include reading (especially sci-fi) and exploring his interest in engineering through building robots.

Riley Noga, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Riley is a junior studying Nursing in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State. She has a lot of interest in aging and is excited to take on this role with the ReMind lab. She is very grateful for this position and is looking forward to everything this opportunity entails. In her free time, Riley enjoys playing sports, hanging out outside with her friends, swimming, and skiing.

Paige Seitam, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Paige is a third-year nursing student in Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. She has a lot of interest in the impact that aging has on cognitive development and is very excited to explore more about the topic in this role. In her free time, Paige likes to spend time with her family and friends and volunteers on the executive board of her Special Interest THON organization, Eclipse.