Dr. Mullen is currently serving as the primary advisor for the following postdoctoral and graduate students.

Yan Luo, PhD | CV

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Students in Doctoral Programs

Adam Taggart, PhD Candidate, MSc | CV

Adam received his B.A. in International Business & Japanese from the University of Central Lancashire, UK in 2010, and his M.Sc. in Management from Brunel University, West London in 2015. During this time, Adam worked as a full-time martial arts coach, fitness instructor and movement coach which allowed him to switch studies to kinesiology. Adam is currently in his 4th year as a doctoral student and his research interests focus on improving cognition and academic performance using martial arts and complex movement interventions.

D. David Thomas, MS | CV

David studied exercise science at the College of Charleston (B.S. 2010) and exercise physiology and sports nutrition at Florida State University (M.S. 2012). Since then, he has worked as a clinical research assistant, exercise physiologist, adjunct professor, and most recently as a data analyst. At the University of Illinois, David is a first-year Informatics PhD student studying consumer-facing technologies that improve health and wellness.

Students in Masters Degree Programs

Reilly Ruzella, BS

Reilly completed her bachelors degree with a dual major in Brain and Cognitive Science and Molecular and Cellular Biology, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Reilly began working in the Exercise, Technology and Cognition Laboratory in 2021. She decided to continue her graduate studies with the ETC Lab, and she is currently involved in several projects involving exercise motivation and efficacy testing of novel behavioral interventions. Upon completion of her MS degree requirements, she will be attending optometry school.

Kelly Ryono, BS

Kelly completed her bachelors degree in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is interesting in the effects of resistance training on mental health among women. Kelly is also a student-athlete and plays as an outfielder for the University of Illinois’ Fighting Illini Softball Team. After completing her MS degree, Kelly will attend the Gies College of Business at UIUC to pursue a Masters of Business Administration.

Dr. Mullen is also supervising the following graduate and undergraduate students

Vaishnavi Krishna | CV

Vaishnavi completed her Bachelor’s in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology from Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, India in 2021. She is currently working on her M.S. degree in Speech and Hearing Science at University of Illinois. Vaishnavi is aiming to specialize in interventions that improve cognitive functioning, and she ultimately wants to work in the field of neuro-communication disorders.

Kamila Makhambetova | CV

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Shantanua Solanki | CV

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