Caitlin Mills, PhD
Caitlin Mills joined UNH in 2018 as an assistant professor of psychology. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Christian Brothers University (2010), followed by a M.S. (2014) and Ph.D. (2016) from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Mills then completed a two-year postdoc in the Psychology Department at the University of British Columbia. Her research mainly focuses on constructs related to mind wandering and engagement – in that, their neural correlates, relationship to affect, and impact on learning. Dr. Mills’ interdisciplinary research program incorporates theoretical and methodological approaches from cognitive psychology, computer science, cognitive neuroscience, and education. She is currently pursuing three main lines of research: 1) Using educationally relevant paradigms to characterize when mind wandering occurs and how it influences learning; 2) Building machine learning detectors that can predict and respond when someone goes off-task in real-time; and 3) Conducting studies to uncover the dynamic brain network interactions that give rise to spontaneous thought. Other ongoing research interests include how emotions and other affective states impact comprehension in educational contexts, such as complex problem solving and reading.
Lab members
Post-Doctoral Research Assistant
Aaron Wong
1st Year Post-Doctoral Research Assistant
Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Mississippi State University ‘20
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B.S. in Psychology from University of California San Diego ‘09
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B.A. in Mathematics from University of California San Diego ‘09
Grad Students
Shelby Smith
M.A. in Cognitive Processes from Ball State University '18
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B.A. in Psychology/Statistics from UNC Wilmington '16
M. Cati Poulos
B.S. in Psychology from Mississippi State University '20
Alex Colby
B.A. in Psychology from Siena College '18
Undergrad Students
Tyler Stetson
B.S. Candidate in Neuroscience & Behavior '21
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A.S. in Health Science from NHTI '19
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Ian Gliser
B.S. Candidate in Neuroscience & Behavior '21
Cierra Cowan
B.S. Candidate in Neuroscience & Behavior/English '20
Lexi Loyed
B.A. Candidate in Psychology '21
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Olivia Ucci
B.A. Candidate in Psychology '21
Morgan Flaherty
B.A. Candidate in Psychology '23
Alix Ecker
B.S. Candidate in Neuroscience & Behavior '21
Lab VIPs (Very Important Pets)
Millie Mills
Ph.D. in Cute-ness from Harvard University
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M.S. in Diva-ness from University of British Columbia
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B.S. in Lab Dog from Notre Dame University
Thea Creer
Ph.D. in Sweet-ness from University of New Hampshire
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M.A. in Goofy-ness from Yale University
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B.A. in Lab Dog from Union College
Josie 'JoJo' Allen
Ph.D. in Sweet-ness from Mississippi State University
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M.S. in Lab Dog from Southern New Hampshire University
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B.A. in Street Dog from Arizona State University
Foley O'Brien
Ph.D. in Cute-ness from MIT
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M.S. in Tricks-For-Treats from Boston College
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B.S. in Lab Dog from UMass - Amherst
Lab Alumni
Travis Horan
B.S. in Neuroscience & Behavior from University of New Hampshire '19
Laura Tilton
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Maddie Abeels
B.A. in Psychology/Business from University of New Hampshire '19
Sydney Eldridge
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Benton Edwards
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Jay Forgey-Carpenter
B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior from University of New Hampshire '20
Heidi Martin
Post-bac Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Catherine McGrath
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '20
Jake Gagne
Post-bac Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Lauren Flynn
B.A. in Psychology/Human Development & Family Studies from University of New Hampshire '20