Brain Development and Social Cognition Lab Staff

Eric Nelson, PhD
Principal Investigator
Eric.Nelson@NationwideChildrens.org

Eric Nelson, PhD, is principal investigator and director of neuroimaging research at the Center for Biobehavioral Health of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Eric received a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience in 1995 at Bowling Green State University under the guidance of Jaak Panksepp and did postdoctoral training at Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin before joining the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health in 2001. In 2016, Dr. Nelson joined the faculty of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and was appointed professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University. Dr. Nelson has published widely in the field of developmental and affective neuroscience and is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and Flux Congress of Developmental Neuroscience.

Whitney Mattson, PhD
Research Scientist
Whitney.Mattson@NationwideChildrens.org

Whitney Mattson is a research scientist in the Brain Development and Social Cognition Lab, supervising data collection and analysis, as well as participating in the reporting of scientific findings. Before joining the Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Whitney received a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of Miami and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the psychology department at the University of Michigan. Whitney’s research examines the impact of early experiences and psychopathology on later affective and neural development, and how these experiences result in resilient or risky trajectories. His work employs techniques from multiple disciplines, including machine learning, eye-tracking/computer vision, and multi-level modeling.

Kahiau Among
Clinical Research Coordinator
Kahiau.Among@NationwideChildrens.org

Kahiau joined the Nelson Lab as a clinical research coordinator. in July 2024 and participates in all aspects of study implementation from recruitment to data analysis. She received a bachelor of science in psychology and a bachelor of arts in english and creative writing from Loyola University Chicago in May 2024. Among is originally from Mānoa, Hawai’i and hopes to pursue a doctorate in cognitive psychology or cognitive neuroscience in the future.

Haileigh Galloway
Clinical Research Coordinator
Haileigh.Galloway@NationwideChildrens.org

Haileigh works across both the Hoskinson and Nelson Labs as a clinical research coordinator. Haileigh received a bachelor of science in psychology in the Neuroscience Track from the University of Central Florida and is interested in pursuing a medical degree.

Caley Lane
Clinical Research Coordinator
Caley.Lane@NationwideChildrens.org

Caley is a clinical research coordinator and works on joint projects between the Nelson Lab and Katie Burkhouse at Penn State University. She performs all aspects of data acquisition including subject recruitment, neuropsychological assessment and neurophysiological testing using both EEG and MRI measures. She received a bachelor of science in psychology from the University of Illinois and is interested in pursing a doctorate in clinical psychology.

Colton Olexa
Clinical Research Coordinator
Colton.Olexa@NationwideChildrens.org

Colton works in the Nelson Lab as a clinical research coordinator. He also works closely with Dr. Musa Yilanli in the Institute for Mental and Behavioral Health Research on psychosis and suicide-based research projects. Colton is interested in the intersection of mental illness and neuroscience in adolescents and hopes to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology or neuroscience.

Florencia Ontiveros
Clinical Research Coordinator
Florencia.Ontiveros@NationwideChildrens.org

Florencia works in both the Nelson and Hoskinson Lab as a clinical research coordinator. She received a bachelor of science in neuroscience from The Ohio State University in 2024. Florencia is involved in all aspects of neuroimaging research from recruiting to data analysis and hopes to pursue a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience.

Christine Roberts
Clinical Research Coordinator
Christine.Roberts@NationwideChildrens.org

Christine is a clinical research coordinator and works on joint projects between the Nelson Lab and Katie Burkhouse at Penn State University. She performs all aspects of data acquisition including subject recruitment, neuropsychological assessment and neurophysiological testing using both EEG and MRI measures. She received a bachelor of arts in psychology from The Ohio State University in 2022 and is interested in pursuing a doctorate degree in clinical psychology.

Aliyah Webb
Clinical Research Coordinator
Aliyah.Webb@NationwideChildrens.org

Aliyah works in both the Nelson and Hoskinson Lab as a clinical research coordinator. She received a bachelor of science in psychology from the University of Cincinnati in 2023 and is interested in pursuing a doctorate in psychology or neuroscience.