Roach Lab Members
Darby Proctor
Darby is an associate professor of psychology at Florida Tech. Her research focuses on decision-making in nonhuman primates in order to understand the evolutionary roots of human decision-making biases. In addition to this line of research, she is interested in pedagogy and increasing student involvement in the classroom. Before coming to Florida Tech, she was an NIH-funded IRACDA Fellow in Research and Science Teaching (FIRST) at Emory University and Yerkes National Primate Research Center. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from Georgia State University.
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Marshall Jones
Marshall strives to facilitate improved problem identification and solving skills for students. The skills and abilities necessary to better assess problems and explore a variety of potential solutions require recognition of the existence of alternative viewpoints and perspectives. Teaching environments may differ from traditional to online but the basic understanding that each student has unique perspectives and learning styles is critical to this transfer. His teaching style is to leverage his practical experience as a bridge and offer demonstrative examples and exercises in applied problem analysis and solution options. He seeks to motivate and assist students to look beyond their own perspectives and learn to explore, and value, the viewpoints of others.
Catherine F. Talbot
Catherine (Kate) is an assistant professor of psychology at Florida Tech. Her research interests include the evolutionary and biological mechanisms underlying sociality, face recognition and social processing, autism, behavioral economics, and animal welfare. She approaches these topics from a comparative, evolutionary, and translational perspective and has investigated such behavior in several nonhuman primate species. She collaborates with Brevard Zoo to conduct her research with animals. In addition to research, she is committed to excellence in teaching. As active learning increases student learning outcomes, she utilizes the Roach Lab in her classes.
Amanda Rose Newton
Amanda Rose Newton serves as the Lab Manager for Roach Lab, where her research interests focus on the use of insects as affordable and accessible educational tools across disciplines. She is also an Instructor of Biology, Entomology, and Horticulture at Eastern Florida State College and a PhD Student at Florida Tech. When not teaching or spending time with the roaches, she volunteers with USAID to assist in worldwide efforts to increase youth engagement, food security, and pesticide management in the agriculture sector. A Board Certified Entomologist and Beekeeper, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, an Associates of Science in Horticulture, and a Masters of Science in Entomology from University of Nebraska.