​About Mary.

Undergraduate Education

I grew up in Burlington, North Carolina.
​I completed my undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science at the University of Southern California in 2014, including a semester in Dunedin, New Zealand in 2013. 

Graduate Education

After completing my degree in Cognitive Science, I joined the Ph.D. program in Cognitive Psychology at UCLA in 2014. I worked in the Memory and Lifespan Cognition lab with PI Dr. Alan D. Castel and earned my Ph.D. in 2019.

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Texas Christian University.

Teaching interests

I enjoy teaching and mentoring students of all levels. For specific teaching experience and ratings, please see my CV. I spent the 2018-2019 academic year as a Master Teaching Associate of the UCLA Research Methods in Psychology course, which involved introducing new instructional requirements to the course's Teaching Assistants and serving as the TA for all 300+ students enrolled in the course each quarter. At TCU, I teach courses in Memory and Cognition and other topics in Psychology.
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Research interests

My research interests include how younger and older adults study and learn information, and how and why they make certain decisions. What motivates people to learn, and how might their goals change across the lifespan? How do people remember information that they (or the experimenter) consider important? Are people accurate in their predictions and assessment of their own memory performance? Much of my work has clinical, educational, and marketing applications, including projects examining how younger and older people remember medical information.

Hobbies

Hiking in New Zealand, 2013. 

Hiking in Arizona, 2018.

​When I'm not at work, I enjoy cooking (especially breakfast food) and hiking or walking outside.

​​I also enjoy reading fiction and nonfiction, and I'm always looking for a new, interesting podcast.