Aubrey Wank

Real name:

Aubrey Wank

Graduate Student, Clinical Psychology

Faculty Advisor: Matt Grilli

Email:

aalw@email.arizona.edu

Degree(s):

B.A. Psychology, University of Conneticut

M.A. Clinical Psychology, University of Arizona

Office:

Psychology 244

Research Interests:

I am in the clinical psychology PhD program, specializing in neuropsychology. I received my Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Connecticut. Post-graduation, I conducted memory research on medial temporal lobe amnesia at the Memory Disorders Research Center (Boston University and Boston VA Healthcare System). Currently, my research is broadly examining autobiographical memory in normal cognitive aging. My master's project focused on how the mental search for specific autobiographical memories may differ in cognitively normal, older individuals and I am presently examining what the impact of these age-related effects may be on the overall process of retrieving specific autobiographical memories. I hope to use both behavioral and neuroimaging methods, and recruit other neuropsychological populations to better understand the underlying mechanisms of this mental search and the possible distinguishing features of autobiographical memory in normal and abnormal aging.

Selected Publications:

Published articles:

Verfaellie, M., Wank, A.A., Reid, A.G., Race, E., & Keane, M.M. (2019). Self-related processing and future thinking: Distinct contributions of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobes. Cortex, 115, 159-171.

Grilli, M.D., Bercel, J.J., Wank, A.A., & Rapcsak, S.Z. (in press). The contribution of the left anterior ventrolateral temporal lobe to the retrieval of personal semantics. Neuropsychologia.

Grilli, M.D., Wank, A.A., Bercel, J.J., & Ryan, L. (in press). Evidence for reduced autobiographical memory episodic specificity in cognitively normal middle-aged and older individuals at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease dementia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

Grilli, M.D., Wank, A.A., & Verfaellie, M. (2018). The life stories of adults with amnesia: Insights into the contribution of the medial temporal lobes to the organization of autobiographical memory. Neuropsychologia, 110, 84-91.

Recent conference presentations:

Wank, A.A., & Grilli, M.D. (2019, February). Relationship of inhibition ability to early versus later stages of episodic autobiographical memory retrieval in cognitively normal older adults. Poster presented at the International Neuropsychological Society Conference, New York City, NY.

Wank, A.A., Moseley, S., Polsinelli, A.J., Mann, L., Glisky, E.L., Mehl, M.R., & Grilli, M.D., (2019 February). From laboratory to real-world: Measuring autobiographical memory retrieval in naturalistic settings replicates laboratory-based findings. Poster presented at the International Neuropsychological Society Conference, New York City, NY.

Wank, A.A., Andrews-Hanna, J., & Grilli, M.D. (2018, May). The efficiency of direct and generative retrieval modes of episodic autobiographical memories in healthy older adults. Poster presented at the Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Research Program:

Clinical