Graduate Alumni
Michelle Reinlieb, Ph.D
Dr. Reinlieb was the first PhD graduate from the Brain Performance Lab. She is a clinical neuropsychologist in private practice in Los Angeles, CA and conducts memory evaluations, memory training/rehabilitation, and psychotherapy for adults and older adults. She earned her BS in Biopsychology from University of Michigan and completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology-neuropsychology at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. During her graduate career, her research focused on geriatric depression and she received clinical training at Cornell Weill, NYU, and Bellevue Hospital Center. She then went on to complete specialty training in adult and geriatric Neuropsychology at UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. As a member of Dr. Sneed’s lab, She published 10 peer reviewed articles and presented extensively on the memory effects of antidepressant medication amongst depressed older adults and the construct of vascular depression.
Monique Pimontel, Ph.D
Monique’s research interests pertain predominantly to late-life depression. During her time in the lab, she examined the cognitive and neurobiological characteristics of depression in older adults, with the goal of informing the development of more targeted treatments options. Her research focused on executive dysfunction and its association with poor antidepressant treatment response, as well as on the relationship between late-life depression and cerebrovascular disease. Additionally, she collaborated with several external investigators on topics relevant to late-life depression, such as functional impairment, decreased processing speed, and placebo response in older adults. Her dissertation, entitled “Cortical Thickness Abnormalities within the Salience and Reward Networks in Older Depressed Adults with Apathy”, focused on identifying neuronal network abnormalities underlying the clinical expression of apathy in older depressed adults. Monique is currently completing her first year of postdoctoral fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she continues to study apathy in late-life depression. She is serving as co-PI for a pilot study alongside Dr. Faith Gunning, which aims to identify clinical measures that can assess different aspects of impaired approach motivation in older depressed adults. While a doctoral student in Dr. Sneed’s Brain Performance lab, Monique published 5 peer reviewed journal articles on geriatric depression.
Under Graduate Alumni
Anita Torossian
Anita earned her undergraduate degree from Queens College in May 2017 in honors neuroscience and psychology. During her time at QC, she was a Jeannette K. Watson fellow, president of the QC Golden Key International Honour Society, and tutored for statistical methods and experimental psychology for the psychology department. Her passion for mental health led her to pursue a career in research, where she gained both clinical and basic research experience at Queens College, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, and the University of Cambridge. She is currently fulfilling a post-baccalaureate research position at the National Institutes of Health where she is examining cerebral protein synthesis in mouse models of Autism spectrum disorder. Anita plans on pursuing a PhD in neuroscience in hopes to improve treatment in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. In her free time, Anita enjoys playing the piano, bicycling and fulfilling her sweet tooth.
Allan Porter
Allan is a 4th year neuroscience student at CUNY Queens College. He is collaborating on a study examining the role of computerized training in enhancing mood and cognitive skills in adults with depression. Starting next fall, Allan is planning on beginning a PHD program in neuroscience with an emphasis on studying the neurolological basis for different psychiatric disorders, and other cool neuroscience stuff. In his free time Allan enjoys playing guitar, basketball and listening to music.
Waseem Iqnaibi
Waseem is junior at Macaulay Honors College (Queens College) pursuing a bachelor degree in Biochemistry. His aspires to become a physician and to establish an Islamic high school in NYC in the future. In his free time, he enjoys watching documentaries and playing pool. His curiosity sparks his passion to debate, learn about aviation, and question mainstream knowledge. He is also the founder and CEO of a new company called WindshieldTickets.com, in which he defend clients’ NYC parking tickets and gets a majority of them dismissed. He is currently working as a research assistant for the CRISP project.
Kevin Nobari, B.A.
Kevin is a 2nd year Master’s student in the Data Analytics and Applied Social Research program at CUNY Queens College. Currently, Kevin is assisting with the ongoing chess study and mobile cognitive training study. His work is in line with his broader interests in executive functioning, behavior, and cognition. Prior to being in the Master’s program, Kevin graduated Queens College with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology. In his free time, Kevin enjoys playing video games, hanging out with friends, reading tech news, and reading short fiction stories.
Brain Performance Lab 