Brandon Woolman, PhD in Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors, 2026
I joined the Aging, Cognition, and Action lab in the Fall of 2021. After some training I was onboarded for a project, funded by the National Institute of Health, looking at early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease and long-term retention in motor adaptation. We specifically were looking at two different types of motor adaptation: visuomotor rotation and force-field adaptation. This work helped me not only learn valuable research skills but fueled my passion for research.
I have spent my years at Tech investigating the impacts of aging and cognitive decline on motor adaptation. My dissertation seeks to distinguish the overlapping- and unique- neural networks involved in motor sequence learning and motor adaptation. We plan to measure changes in oxygenated hemoglobin in the pre-frontal cortex using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We expect this region to be of importance to the explicit memory systems involved in motor learning. This work will contribute to knowledge of how healthy aging changes motor learning, and how better understanding motor learning may help better assess cognitive abilities and supplement neuropsychological evaluations.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Graduate Dean Awards Advisory Panel for granting me this award. I would also like to thank my advisor, Dr. Kevin Trewartha, for his continued support and guidance throughout my graduate school journey. I am excited to complete my PhD and continue my passion for health-related research.
