Alumni at a Glance: Ashley Stillman Clausen ’09

After graduating from Cornell College, Ashley Stillman Clausen ’09 worked as a research coordinator at the University of Iowa Hospital prior to starting graduate school. Currently, Clausen is a postdoctoral neuropsychology research fellow at Duke University and the Durham VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center.

“I spend most of my time engaging in research activities focused on understanding how combat and posttraumatic stress disorder impact neurologic health (using structural and functional neuroimaging), psychological health, and physical health,” said Clausen.

Major: Psychology
Resides in: Durham, North Carolina

 

She also conducts neuropsychological assessments one day a week with veterans who have experienced traumatic brain injuries, in order to help determine the causes of their cognitive and emotional dysfunction. This helps aid in the veterans’ treatment planning.

Clausen attributes her research opportunities at Cornell and at the University of Iowa as what made her a competitive applicant for graduate school. “Hands down, Dr. Melinda Green was my favorite professor at Cornell! Her courses and mentorship served to spark my passion for neuropsychological research,” Clausen said.

Her fondest memory? Well, it’s one only a neuropsychologist could cherish.

Clausen said, “While some people may find this squeamish, my favorite memory was getting to dissect a human brain in our neuroscience class!”

Clausen has many achievements in her life. She’s received several awards and local grants to support her research endeavors, but she attributes her biggest achievement as graduating with her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Tulsa and Laureate Institute for Brain Research, followed by securing a competitive postdoctoral fellowship at Duke.

When asked what she’d tell students interested in applying to Cornell, Clausen said, “Do it! With One Course At A Time, you get to interact with professors more frequently, gain more hands-on experience, and of course, meet some amazing people and friends along the way.”