Support Team

Udon & Mochi

Udon (left) and Mochi (right) are purr-miere twin studies researchers. Mochi’s research interests include testing which type of meow is most effective for telling her humans it’s feeding time. Udon, on the other hand, experiments with how quietly she can open and climb into dresser drawers. In their free time, both love belly rubs, sleeping in strange positions, and running from window to window tracking the local wildlife.

Norman

Norman is a hop, skip, and a jump away from receiving his doctorate in psychology. Careful not to take a hare-brained approach to methodology, Norman dives into the psych-law rabbit hole of investigative interviewing. He loves to dig deep in his search to understand deception detection, factors leading somebunny to falsely confess, and where carrots *really* come from. In his spare time, Norman enjoys the finer things in life and considers himself something of a clothing connoisseur - if you ever want to know what fabrics are the most ear-resistible to nibble, you are in luck, just ask Norman! Feel free to visit office hours, he is all ears!

Bo

Dr. Bo Welu, Ph.D., has a primarily behaviorist approach to his research. He’s got a bone to pick with Pavlov and works primarily with human subjects. Bo is currently studying the moderating effects of audible breathing in relation to owner’s guilt caused by puppy dog eyes. He hypothesizes that heavy breathing will strengthen the relationship between puppy dog eyes and owner’s guilt. His work is cross culturally focused and has direct applications in treat procurement for good boys and girls across the globe. In addition to his current research, you can find past experiments he’s conducted in prominent journals like the Journal of Pawgnitive Psychology, Training Humans, Pawspectives on Psychological Science, and Dogvelopmental Psychology.

Cookie

My research interests are focused on the power of treats and snackies towards emotional well being. Similarly, I also explore the negative impact on mental health of dogs of observing others (humans) eat without sharing. Clinically, I offer group counseling to humans to help raise interpersonal awareness towards how their behaviors impact pets in their life. The goal of our group is to increase positive interpersonal actions, such as sharing their food. I also offer group counseling for pets which focuses on providing a space to cope when humans don’t respect their need for snackies and to explore strategies to express their needs and boundaries effectively (like my personal favorite strategy: screaming).

Lottie

Lottie graduated with her dogtorate from Saint Paws University, an American Pupological Association- accredited program. Her research seeks to understand interspecies aggression, specifically the ways in which squirrels verbally taunt dogs on their daily walks. Lottie is also interested in researching how likely it is that dogs will ever be able to catch the wild bunnies which they so desperately seek. The results of her research have been published in Science and Nature and she is open to collaboration with anyone who has treats or ear scratches to contribute.

Boca

Boca graduated from the Good Dog Academy. He uses the principles of operant conditioning to study how good dog behaviors can be used to maximize treat-giving in humans. Please contact him if you have treats and would like to collaborate. In a second line of work he explores cross-species relations by observing changes in squirrel behavior in response to the presence of canines.

Joanie

My clinical interests are focused on separation anxiety, relevant coping strategies, and interpersonal strategies to convince pawrents to stay home from work. My research interests are focused on social media, the role of influencers, and how I can gain more followers (@joaniesrescuepups). In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my friends Julia and Boca, napping, trying to convince my mom to give me pizza, stealing food from my mom, and shredding toys into the tiniest pieces possible.

Brie

Brie’s research focuses on implementation intentions and behavior change in humans. She provides humans with training on how to develop better habits, like giving more treats and twirling ribbons more often. In her time off, she ponders what life would be like if she had opposable thumbs to open the ribbon and treats drawer herself.

Reny

Reny is pursuing a dogtorate degree in psychology after a career in the Canine Intelligence Agency (CIA). He has received national recognition for his work, “Law and Odor: Dogs Detect Deception in Terror Suspects by Identifying Scents in Their Sweat Emitted During Interrogation”. His current research project focuses on how dogs use tactical deception and adjust their behavior to get what they want from humans, such as snuggles and bacon. Feel free to email Reny at renyiscute@gtail.com to collaborate. In his free time, Reny enjoys hiking, looking out the window, and playing hide-and-seek with his human, Jessica. He especially likes popping in Jessica’s virtual meetings and squeaking his hedgehog toy while she talks.

George

Professor George Assadipour is an esteemed scholar in the field of cognitive psychology, with a particular focus on feline learning and memory. George has spent the better part of his career cat-napping between groundbreaking research sessions, such as the important relationship between catnip and cognitive flexibility. His ongoing research investigates the behavioral effects of laser pointer stimuli and purr-based emotional regulation. In his free time, he enjoys eating plants and potato chips.

Elena Andrae

Research and clinical Interests:

Walk and talk therapy.

Favorite psychologist:

Not Pavlov, that guy was a jerk.

Emeritus

Bessie

Bessie is an expert in sass. Her primary research interest lies in how her human reacts when she tries to lie down in his lap immediately after using the litter box. Her findings suggest that his responses vary widely, from picking her up and putting her back on the floor to fake human hissing at her to resigned acceptance that he’ll have to put his pants in the laundry. She also has an ongoing side project seeing how deeply she can carve into her human’s front door by repeatedly using it as a scratching post.

Meatball

Meatball is a 7th year Ph.D. student majoring in food consumption. Her current research project focuses on how to get fed more than twice a day. She developed techniques such as scratching the bed to get more attention, which in turn reminds the absent-minded humans that it is already past her feeding time. She is advised by Prof. Ellim K. and Prof. Nick B. (emeritus).