Lauren Raine, Ph.D., MPH

Principal Investigator

Dr. Lauren Raine is the Principal Investigator of the Interdisciplinary Health, Body Composition, and Neuroscience (i-HBN) lab and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Sciences and Department of Physical Therapy, Movement & Rehabilitation Sciences. Dr. Raine received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interest is in the public health implications of cognition and brain health; specifically, the investigation of physical activity, fitness, and (excess) body mass on brain health and cognition in children.

Dr. Raine has examined these relationships using behavioral and neuroimaging measures to study the influence of acute and chronic physical activity on cognition. She is also interested in the relationship between body composition and cognition, as the obesity epidemic continues to spread in children. She hopes her work will lead to increased public health awareness about the benefits of physical activity and movement in children.

Bianca Braun, B.A.

Senior Research Coordinator

Bianca was born and raised in Germany and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology and the highest honors in her field from Harvard University in 2023. She is currently a Senior Research Coordinator for both the Speech, Hearing, and Communication Lab under Dr. Peelle’s supervision and the Interdisciplinary Health, Body Composition, & Neuroscience Lab under Dr. Lauren Raine’s supervision at the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health at Northeastern University. She is particularly interested in investigating the protective role of physical exercise on emotion regulation and dysregulation as transdiagnostic factors contributing to psychopathology in children and adolescents. Bianca will conclude her post-baccalaureate journey at Northeastern this summer and will start her PhD in Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Miami in Fall 2025. For fun, Bianca works out regularly and loves exploring new spots, places, and countries. Hiking the “Stairway to Heaven” in Hawai’i was one of her most memorable experiences.

Greg Cloutier, MPH

Center Laboratory Operations Manager

Greg is the Center Laboratory and Operations Manager at the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health (CCBH). For the past 12 years, Greg was the Project manager for the Human Performance and Exercise Science Laboratory in Bouvé and exercise physiologist for CCBH. Prior to coming to Northeastern, Greg was the Senior Research Coordinator for the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, and Sarcopenia Laboratory at Tuft’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. There, he was involved in research investigating nutrition, exercise, and aging, particularly in the areas of muscle, bone, and function on the gross and molecular level. Some of his most notable projects were bedrest studies with NASA Space Center, hormone replacement in older men, resistance training while having dialysis, and resistance training with whey protein supplementation in older men and women. As well as the Novartis study comparing muscle fiber and translation in young compared to older adults after eight weeks of heavy resistance training, and the IGNITE study here at Northeastern University. Greg’s education started at UMass Boston for his Undergraduate degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology followed by an MPH at Tufts Medical and Northeastern University. His research interests are in exercise and nutrition as interventions to attenuate declines in aging and inactivity. Greg has a special interest in “wellness” in a wide variety of groups. Outside of Northeastern, Greg enjoys competing in triathlons, biking, trail running with his dog, landscaping, and photography.

Luke Sodemann

Lab Tech

B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience

Katerina Garcia-Chope

Lab Tech

Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience Major