Our Team

Josie Fryar received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Southeast Missouri State University. She is currently in the Applied Psychology program at SIUC working on her master's degree. Josie is currently a research assistant for the CORE Institute. Her research interests include forensic psychology, studying individuals' attitudes, and corrections.

Taige Zhao received her B.S. in Applied Psychology in 2020 and her M.S. in Social Psychology in 2024 from Ludong University in China. She is currently a first year Ph.D. student in the Applied Psychology program at Southern Illinois University and working as a TA for PSYC 102 Introduction to Psychology. Her research interests include pro-social behavior, pro-environmental behavior, and unethical pro-organizational behavior.

Brenna Gusewelle received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Southern Illinois University in May 2026. Currently, she is a master's student in the Applied Psychology program at SIUC. Her research interests include psychometrics, people analytics, and quantitative psychology. 

Lauren Liening is earning her Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She is currently in Dr. Kibby’s neurodevelopmental and neuropsychology lab. Her research interests include neuropsychology and clinical psychology, neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ADHD, Autism) and comorbidities in childhood through adulthood, as well as intervention and treatment strategies. 

Ryan C. Nation is a PhD candidate in Applied Psychology at Southern Illinois University in his final semester of classes. His academic training has brought him expertise in survey design, quantitative and qualitative research methods, complex data analysis, and effective report writing. His professional experience has provided him with extensive qualitative experience, conducting work both as a licensed therapist and as a qualitative researcher.

He earned his B.A. at St. Bonaventure University in 2017, his M.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2020, and his M.A. from Southern Illinois University in 2023, while currently pursuing his Ph.D.

Jennifer A. Brantley is from Monroeville, Alabama.  She received her B.A. in Political Science and her M.S. in Psychology in Mobile, from the University of South Alabama.  Her research interests involve developing tests and measures of 21st Century Skills in institutional and organizational settings as well as studying tacit knowledge transfer and applied learning, and learning analytics, which measure, procedural knowing, perspectival knowing, and participatory knowing as well as the philosophy of science underpinning learning in higher education as well as other academic, government, and private training sectors. Jennifer currently serves as a Teaching Assistant for Advanced Field Research Methods and Statistics.  She is part of Dr. Yue-Ting Lee and Dr. Eric Jacobs’ research labs. Her career goals include research consulting, training and development, and teaching at the university level.  

Dollie Kuzmickus received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and her M.A. in Applied Psychology at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. She is currently in her third year as a Ph.D. student in the Applied Psychology program and working as the lab manager for Dr. Tamara Kang's Barriers to Reducing Crime lab. Her research interests include criminal rehabilitation, barriers to re-entry, and translation of research to practice. After graduation, she hopes to pursue research in both industry and academic settings. 

Jacquelyn Spence received a B.S. in psychology from Millikin University in 2019 and an M.A. from SIU-C in 2024. She is working on a Ph.D. in psychology at SIU-C. She was, in previous semesters, a research assistant to Dr. Eric Jacobs, and is currently a teaching assistant for Research Methods and Statistics. Her research interests include behavioral economics, cooperation in decision-making, and resource management. Upon graduation, she intends to pursue a career in user experience (UX) research. 

Dr. Dustin Nadler is the Director of Applied Research Consultants (ARC) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Originally from the St. Louis metropolitan area, he received his Ph.D. from the Applied Psychology program at SIUC. Since graduating, he has worked at several universities in the greater St. Louis area and as a research consultant, a role which he currently holds. Additionally, Dr. Nadler is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Fellow of the Center for Access and Achievement at Maryville University in St. Louis. In his role at the Center for Access and Achievement, he is heavily involved in grant and program evaluation work. His program evaluation and grant work focus on evaluating STEM and coding educational programming for K – 12 students in various settings and professional development training for teachers within the same arena.