Lab Director

Dr. Keely Muscatell

Keely Muscatell is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC Chapel Hill. Trained as a social neuroscientist, her research focuses on elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms that link social experiences and health. Her work is highly interdisciplinary, as she employs theory and methods from social psychology, cognitive and affective neuroscience, psychoneuroimmunology, pharmacology, and population health. Keely completed post-doctoral training in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars program at UCSF/UC Berkeley, and in the Psychology Department at Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from UCLA in June 2013, an MA in Psychology from UCLA in 2009, and a BA in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Oregon in 2006. When not in the lab, Keely can be found reading Dave Eggers, Ben Lerner, and Zadie Smith, watching college football, and/or drinking craft beer while listening to their vinyl collection with her partner, Dave Rose.

To learn more about Dr. Keely Muscatell’s qualifications and experience, please view her CV here.

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If you're interested in writing an NSF or NRSA post-doc application, contact Keely Muscatell!

CaRRington Merritt, BA

Carrington is a sixth-year doctoral student dually enrolled in the Clinical and Social Psychology programs at UNC. Prior to being a graduate student, she worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Carolina SNH lab while obtaining a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Neuroscience at UNC. Her research combines clinical psychology and social neuroscience approaches to explore neural and physiological mechanisms through which racism-related stress impacts the mental health of Black Americans. In addition to her research interests, as a therapist in training, Carrington has experience in and a passion for trauma recovery therapy through the implementation of evidence-based practices for PTSD and other stressor-related disorders.  Outside of research and clinical work, Carrington enjoys Target shopping sprees, CrossFit, spending time with family and friends, and listening to podcasts.

Email: carritt@live.unc.edu

Mallory feldman, BA

Mallory is a sixth-year doctoral student in Social Psychology at UNC. She studies how sensations from the body are made meaningful by the brain - and how this meaning-making process impacts both interpersonal and intergroup relations. To explore these topics, Mallory draws from research and methods in  Psychophysiology, Affective Neuroscience, Computational Psychology, and Social Cognition. In 2016, Mallory received her B.A in Psychology and Peace and Justice Studies from Tufts University. After graduating, she spent time on the Appalachian Trail with her brother and waitressed before completing a 1-year RA position in the Harvard Intergroup Neuroscience Lab and then a 2-year research technichianship in the Interdisciplinary Affective Science Lab at Northeastern University. In her spare time, Mallory enjoys running, hiking, eating, and making music. 

Email: mallory.feldman@unc.edu

Website: malloryjfeldman.com

Maurryce Starks, BA

Maurryce is a fourth-year doctoral student in Social Psychology at UNC. Maurryce received his B.A. in Cognitive-Behavioral Neuroscience from The College of Wooster, working under the advisement of Dr. Grit Herzmann. After graduating from The College of Wooster, Maurryce received additional training at The Ohio State University. There he worked as a Lab Manager/ Research Assistant under the guidance of Dr. Julie Golomb in the Vision & Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. He currently hopes to utilize psychophysics and neuroimaging techniques (e.g., EEG, fMRI) to investigate how social factors (e.g., race, socioeconomic status) can affect a person’s brain function as well as their mental and physical heath. In his spare time, Maurryce enjoys trying new food-places, listening to music, and spending time with friends. 

Megan Cardenas, Bs

Megan is a fourth-year doctoral student in Social Psychology at UNC. She graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration from Baylor University in 2019. She then completed a two-year research assistantship with Baylor Scott and White’s Warriors Research Institute, a behavioral health research center and telehealth clinic for trauma-exposed populations. While obtaining her doctorate, Megan would like to study the different pathways linking psychosocial stress and health. More specifically, she would like to draw on psychoneuroimmunology to investigate how physiological responses to stressors in the social world, such as racial discrimination and economic inequality, influence disease risk. Her long-range objective is to conduct research that promotes health equity for marginalized populations. In her spare time, Megan enjoys eating, listening to live music, watching stand-up comedy, and searching for the best coffee shops and breweries. 

Natalie Antenucci, BS

Natalie is a first-year doctoral student in Social Psychology at UNC. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and English in 2021. She is interested in studying the way inflammation may alter social behavior and how this may impact an individual’s overall health. She is also interested in applying psychoneuroimmunological methodology to questions within the domain of cultural psychology. Outside of research, she enjoys doing yoga and pilates, reading, playing video games, watching Michigan football, and spending time with her dog, Raf.

Stephanie Forlemu, BS

Stephanie is the SNH Laboratory Manager. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Neuroscience and minors in Chemistry and Women’s and Gender Studies, weaving together hard science, psychology, and identity politics in her studies. Her research interests lie in exploring how social identity, stress, and physiology intersect to shape mental and physical health outcomes, particularly in underserved populations. Drawing from her interdisciplinary background and lab research experience, Stephanie aims to address psychosocial determinants of health disparities in her future career. Outside the lab, she enjoys cooking, reading, thrifting, and exploring local markets with friends.

Jon Bunting, BS

Jon Bunting is a research-coordinator at the SNH lab. He graduated from UC Davis in 2024 where he earned a B.S. degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Biology. Prior to moving to North Carolina, Jon worked in Dr. Karen Bales’ laboratory as an undergrad, where he learned about the neurobiological mechanisms and behavioral features of pair-bonding, using socially monogamous titi monkeys as models. During his senior year, Jon designed an original research project aiming to enrich the environments of laboratory animals using methods inspired by the psychitecture theory of biophilia. In the future, Jon is interested in studying the immune system’s role within affective science to help contribute to our understanding of how we experience emotions. In addition to his psychology endeavors, Jon loves reading poetry, finding new favorite restaurants, watching football, and playing banjo.