She has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition. Prior to coming to Hofstra, she completed a two-year research fellowship at George Mason University. She maintains an active research program including research assistants at both the undergraduate and graduate level, with her research focusing on spatial cognition, navigation, and memory. Dr. Ploran is currently collaborating with colleagues in the Geology and Rhetoric departments on hurricane evacuation messaging and with colleagues in the Psychology department on introducing more undergraduates to the role of computer programming in psychology research.