Lab
Lab Team
Dr. Brian Rivera
Principal Investigator
I’m originally from northern Mexico (Chihuahua), I then moved to Los Angeles where I attended high school before completing my undergraduate degree at Franklin and Marshall College. There, I competed in Track and Field while majoring in Scientific and Philosophical Studies of the Mind.
I earned my PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Alabama, with a concentration in Educational Neuroscience, where I used EEG and fMRI to investigate the development of numerical cognition. I subsequently worked on the Baby’s First Years study at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, researching how poverty affects brain development in early childhood.
This diverse background—spanning philosophical inquiry, neuroscientific research, educational psychology, and developmental studies—provides me with a unique interdisciplinary perspective on neuroscience, learning and development. My research interests focus on numerical cognition, and I bring this integrative approach to my teaching, to help students understand the brain through multiple lenses.
When not in the classroom or lab, I enjoy thinking about the brain, playing chess, watching movies, and spending time with my English Bulldog (Gus). A long time ago, I used to be a magician, although I am retired now, it continues to influence how I think about attention, perception, and the unexpected!
Current Members
Sadé Brooks-Robinson Undergraduate Research Assistant · Fall 2026 CURI Scholar
Sadé Brooks-Robinson is a Mathematics and Biology double major with a concentration in Engineering Studies at St. Olaf College. Sadé is passionate about the intersection of biotechnology and engineering and hopes to pursue a career in biomedical engineering. Beyond the classroom, she is a student-athlete on the St. Olaf Softball team, a Calculus I Supplemental Instruction (SI) leader, an Econ/Math SI Mentor, and a Mathematical Biology undergraduate student researcher. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, watching movies, water sports, photography, and traveling.
Sam Zins Undergraduate Research Assistant · Fall 2026 CURI Scholar
Sam Zins is a junior Psychology and Biology major at St. Olaf College with a concentration in Neuroscience. He is interested in sleep and memory and plans a research career studying sleep from a neuroscience perspective. In his spare time, Sam enjoys all kinds of exercise, competitive memory, lucid dreaming, and watching movies.
Ava Sticka-Jacobs Undergraduate Researcher · Spring & Summer 2026 CURI Scholar
Ava Sticka-Jacobs is an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College double majoring in Psychology and Biology with concentrations in Neuroscience and Race and Ethnic Studies. Ava is preparing herself for a career in neuroscience research, with special interests in cognitive neuroscience and the neuroscience of addiction. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, practicing guitar, exercising, and collaging. She currently volunteers as an advocate for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Kaitlyn Casselman Undergraduate Research Assistant · Summer 2026 CURI Scholar
Kaitlyn Casselman is a current Psychology major at St. Olaf College. She enjoys studying the overlap of neuroscience and psychology and is interested in going to graduate school to become a neuropsychologist. She hopes to become the first person in her family to hold a PhD.
Rubi Herrera Zelaya Undergraduate Research Assistant · Summer 2026 CURI Scholar
Rubi Herrera Zelaya is an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. Her research interests are in cognitive psychology, especially the effect trauma has on the brain. Her hobbies include reading, watching movies, writing, and spending time with friends and family. She is a McNair Scholar and works as a Writing Tutor at the Writing Desk.
Hall of Fame
Previous members of the Root Lab. Their contributions helped build the lab and its research.
Mary Hendrickson Former Undergraduate Researcher
Mary Hendrickson ‘26 was an undergraduate researcher in the Root Lab and a Spring 2026 CURI Scholar. She worked on the FAVE project, presenting her work at the Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference (MUPC) in April 2026.
Join the Lab
We’d love to hear from you. The Root Lab is open to St. Olaf students from any major who are curious about how the brain makes sense of numbers. You don’t need any experience with EEG or programming. We’ll teach you.
Lab members help design experiments, run participants, record and analyze EEG data, and present their work at conferences. Students can also join through programs such as CURI.
If you’re interested, email Dr. Rivera at rivera21@stolaf.edu with a few lines about yourself and what draws you to the lab.
This page is regularly updated with current lab activities and team member information.