Profiles of Current Students

Lorena Aceves

Lorena is from Inglewood, CA, and received her B.S. in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona. She advised by is Mayra Bamaca and her research interests seek to understand how different contexts (family, culture, school) and individual domains (academic competence, intrinsic motivation, and gender) together influence Latino youth's long term academic attainment. 

Congratulations to Lorena for being elected as a student representative for the Society for Research in Child Development Latino Caucus!

Email: lqa5151@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Hannah Apsley

Hannah's advisor is Bo Cleveland.

Email: hvb5247@psu.edu

Penina Backer

Penina is from Baltimore, MD, and received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and her M.S. in HDFS from Penn State. Her advisor is Cindy Stifter. Penina's research interests include early childhood, reactivity and regulation.

Email: pmb203@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Liu Bai

Liu Bai is from Beijing, China and received her B.S in Psychology and M.Ed. in Developmental Psychology from Beijing Normal University. Her advisor is Doug Teti. She is interested in parenting, co-parenting and children's emotional development.

Email: liubai@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Lizbeth (Libby) Benson

Libby is from Wausau, WI, and received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her advisors are Nilam Ram and David Almeida. Libby's research interests are in Methodology, dynamic systems, intraindividual variability and change, and well-Being

Congratulations to Libby for her 2018 Silver Award for Innovative Research on Aging from the Mather Lifeways Institute on Aging!

Email: leb237@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Aarti Bhat

Aartis' advisor is David Almeida.

Email: acb6009@psu.edu

Miriam Brinberg

Miriam (Mimi) is from Blacksburg, VA, and received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her advisor is Nilam Ram. Her reserch area is Methodology.

Email: mjb6504@psu.edu
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Hye Won Chai

Hye Won is from Seoul Korea and received her B.A and B.S in Political Science and Child & Family Studies, and her M.A. in Child & Family Studies, from Yonsei University. Her advisor is David Almeida. Her interests are in family relationships in late life, and demography and aging.

Email: huc178@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Meng Chen

Meng is from Dalian, China. She received her B.A. in Mathematics and Psychology from Smith College. Her advisor is Sy-Miin Chow. She is interested in the area of methodology.

Email: mxc681@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Ulziima Chimed-Ochir

Ulziimaa is from Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. She received her B.B.A from Mongolian University of Science and Technology and M.A in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University. Her advisor is Doug Teti and she is interested in parenting, co-parenting, attachment, emotional availability and parenting interventions focused on at-risk families in developing countries.  

Email: uxc17@psu.edu

Blake Colaianne

Blake is from Latrobe, PA and received his B.S. in Earth Science/Secondary Education from Juniata College and his M.Ed. in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University. His advisor is Robert Roeser, and he is interested in mindfulness and compassion education for students and teachers.

Email: bac316@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Chelsea Dickens

Chelsea is from Richmond, VA and received her B.A. in Psychology and Drama from the University of Virginia. Her current advisors are Timothy Brick and Martin Sliwinski. Her research interests include adapting and applying quantitative methods in the study of well-being, particularly in older adults. She is specifically interested in evaluating the relationships between sleep, stress, social interaction, and well-being.

Email: czd171@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Sara Freed

Sara is from Mechanicsburg, PA and received her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State. Her advisor is Lesley Ross. She is interested in aging and prevention.

Congratulations to Sara for being awarded the 2018 winner of the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Transportation!

Congratulations to Sara for being elected as the first student representative for the Transportation and Aging Interest Group at the Gerontological Society of America!

Email: syf5079@psu.edu
Twitter: @SaraFreed92
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Cassidy Fry

Cassidy is from Whispering Pines, NC, and received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is advised by Lisa Gatzke-Kopp, and her research interests include adolescent neurobiological development, family contextual influences, and psychopathology

Email: cmf338@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Lawrie Green

Lawrie is from Raleigh, NC, and recieved her B.S. in Computational Science & Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her advisor is Max Crowley. Lawrie's interests include prevention and intervention research and evidence-based policy.

Email: lzg5241@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Anna Hochgraf

Anna is from Durham, NH, and received her B.A. in psychology and public health from the College of William and Mary. Her advisor is Susan McHale. Anna’s research interests include family relationships and the development and prevention of eating disorders and obesity.

Email: akh7@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Kyle Husmann

Kyle is from Santa Clara, CA and received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University. His advisor is Tim Brick. Kyle is interested in education, poverty, and special needs.

Email: kdh38@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his, they/them/theirs

August Jenkins

August is from Detroit, Michigan. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Michigan State University, with minors in Cognitive Science and Linguistics, and her M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State. Her advisor is Steffany Fredman. August’s research interests are in the area of minority couples and families. Specifically, she is interested in how racial (e.g., discrimination, racial identity) and spatial (e.g., neighborhood context) factors intersect with individual psychopathology, health, and overall couple functioning among African American couples.

Email: acj5@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Linying Ji

Linying received her B. A in English from Guandong University and her M.Ed. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard. Her advisor is Sy-Miin Chow. Linying is interested in methodology and child development.

Email: lzj114@psu.edu

Ni Jian

Ni is from Fuding, China, and received a B.A. in Public Finance and a B. S. in Psychology from Peking University. Her adviser is Susan McHale. Her research interests are development of attachment, emotion regulation, and parenting.

Email: nxj133@psu.edu

Jee Eun Kang

Jee eun is from Seoul Korea and received her B.A in Consumer & Child Studies and Business Administration, and her M.A. in Child Development & Family Studies, from Seoul National University. Her advisor is Martin Sliwinski. She is interested in the social environmental factors that influence middle and older adults' health and well-being.

Email: jxk692@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Abigail Keim

Abigail (Abby) is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and received her B.A. in Psychology from Hamilton College. Her advisor is Scott Gest. Abby's reserch interests include peer and teacher relationships in elementary classrooms, English learners and immigrant students, and school-based interventions.

Email: abk5338@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Christine Kim

Christine received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Alabama. Her advisor is Doug Teti. She is interested in parenting and early childhood development.

Email: ywk1@psu.edu

Kyler Knapp

Kyler is from Lake Odessa, MI and received his B.S. in Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies from Central Michigan University. His advisor is Bo Cleveland. Kyler's research interests include adolescent and young adult wellbeing and identity development across cultures, and prevention/intervention research.

Email: ksk40@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Eric Layland

Eric is from Phoenix, AZ, and received his M.S. in Youth & Family Recreation and B.S. in Recreation Management at Brigham Young University. His advisers are Jennifer Maggs and Bethany Bray. Eric's research interests include the use of innovative methods to understand the etiology and prevention of substance use disparities among people of color and sexual minorities during the transition to adulthood.

Email: eml5482@psu.edu
Twitter: @eric_layland
Pronouns: he/him/his

Jungmin Lee

Jungmin Lee is from Seoul, South Korea, and received his B.A and M.A in Psychology from Seoul National University. His research area is methodology, which includes modeling psychological growth in the academic context. His advisors are Peter Molenaar and Sy-Miin Chow.

Email: jzl95@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Yanling Li

Yanling is from Shandong, China, and received her B.A. and M.A. in Statistics from Renmin University of China. Her advisors are Sy-Miin Chow and Zita Oravecz. Her research interest is methodology.

Email: yxl823@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Emily LoBraico

Emily is from Shrewsbury, NJ, and received her B.A. in Psychology from Syracuse University. Her advisor is Greg Fosco. She is interested in the effective use of family-based prevention programs for adolescent problem behavior development, including substance use and aggression

Congratulations to Emily on her F31 predoctoral fellowship from NIH!

Email: eql5177@psu.edu

Christa Mahlobo

Christa's advisor is Max Crowley.

Email: ctm35@psu.edu

Hio Wa (Grace) Mak

Grace is from Macau and received her B.S in Psychology and M.S. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Macau. Her advisor is Greg Fosco. She is interested in family, peer, and emotional risk factors for adolescent internalizing symptoms and substance use.

Email: gracemak@psu.edu

Griselda Martinez

Griselda is from Los Angeles, CA, and received her B.A. in Psychology and Chicana/o Studies and her M.A. in General Experimental Psychology from California State University, Northridge. Her advisor is Mayra Bámaca. Griselda’s research interests include parent-adolescent relationships, adolescents’ mental health, and academic outcomes.

Email: gxm212@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Keiana Mayfield

Kieana is from Richmond, VA, and received her B.A in Sociology from University of Virginia and her MSW from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her advisors are Greg Fosco and Doug Teti. Kieana is interested in interparental relationships, child and adolescent development, family processes, and prevention/intervention.

Email: kmm7001@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Devin McCauley

Devin received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Connecticut. His advisor is Gregory Fosco. His research interests include family influences in adolescent social-emotional development, as well as school-based prevention interventions.

Email: dwm23@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Sara Miller

Sara's advisor is David Almeida.

Email: sem588@psu.edu

Suyong Nah

Suyoung is from Seoul, Korea and received her B.A in Consumer & Child Studies, and her M.A  in Child Development & Family Studies, from Seoul National University. Her advisor is Lynn Martire. She is interested in family caregiving and health in later life.

Email: sxn88@psu.edu

Anneke Olson

Anneke is from Glen Ellyn, IL, and received her B.S in Psychology and B.A. in Sociology from Tulane University. Her advisor is Chad Shenk. Anneke’s research interests include the impacts of child maltreatment and early life stress on biological and psychological development, the mechanisms underlying early adverse experiences and later outcomes, and the development and evaluation of  targeted prevention and intervention programs for vulnerable children and families.

Email: aeo442@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Jonathan Park

Jonathan is from La Mirada, CA and received his BA in Psychology as well as an MA in Experimental Psychology from the California State University at Fullerton. Currently, he is working under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Molenaar and Dr. Sy-Miin Chow. His research interests are in applying and developing quantitative methods to better understand the underlying dynamics of personality and emotional affect under different estimation procedures (i.e., Graphical VAR and GIMME).

Email: jjp409@psu.edu

Daniel Petrie

Daniel is from Oakland, CA, and received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. His advisor is Charles Geier. Daniel is interested in neuroscience, reward processes, and adolescent risk-taking behaviors.

Email: djp67@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Wen Ren

Wen is from Nanjing, China and received his B.A. in Statistics and B.S. in Psychology from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. His advisor is Diana Fishbein. Wen is interested in substance use and adolescent risk taking.

Email: wxr37@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Jacoba Rock

Jacoba is from Spring Mount, PA, and Lyons, CO, and received her M.S.W. (Social Work) degree from the University of Denver. Her advisors are Bo Cleveland and Denni Fishbein. Jacoba’s research interests are adolescence and young adulthood, externalizing behaviors (such as physical aggression and criminality), the impact of childhood trauma, biological and social contributions, and implications for intervention in the juvenile and adult justice systems.

Email: jar77@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Patrick Ryan

Patrick (Pat) is from Marshfield, MA, and received his BA in Psychology from Emmanuel College and his M.S. in Neuroscience from Trinity College, Dublin. His advisor is Lisa Kopp. Pat is interested in psychophysiology and emotion regulation.

Email: ppr5047@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Carlie Sloan

Carlie is from Grayling, MI, and received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame. Her advisor is Greg Fosco. Carlie is interested in parental conflict, influences on adolescent adjustment, and family intervention. 

Email: cjs543@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Ashley Stanford

Ashley is from Crown Point, IN and received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Indianapolis. Her advisor is Lynn Martire. Ashley is interested in the dissemination and implementation of interventions for unpaid caregivers.

Email: axs6110@psu.edu

Jillian Strayhorn

Jillian is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and she received her B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University. Her advisor is Linda Collins. Jillian is interested in the methods of developing, optimizing, and evaluating behavioral interventions for children and families. 

Email: jcs532@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Agus Surachman

Agus is from West Java, Indonesia, and received his B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences from Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia and M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Purdue University-Calumet. His advisor is Dave Almeida. Agus’ research interests focus on biopsychosocial mechanisms associated with socioeconomic disparities in health across adulthood.

Email: axs527@psu.edu
Pronouns: he/him/his

Shyuan Ching Tan

Shyuan is from Singapore/Taiwan. She received her MBA from University of Minnesota and her MA in Gerontology from San Francisco State University. Her research interest is in minority older adults’ cognitive health and she is currently working with Dr. Gamaldo.

Email: sxt387@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Sarah Terell

Sarah's advisor is Lisa Gatzke-Kopp.

Email: sut523@psu.edu

Junyan (Joanne) Tian

Joanne is from Tianjin, China. And she received her M.S in Psychology from Sun Yat-sen University, and M.S. Ed in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development from the University of Pennsylvania. Her advisor is Lesley Ross, and she is interested in cognitive aging and intervention.

Email: jxt717@psu.edu

Sabrina Voltaire

Sabrina is from Cap-Haitien, Haiti, and received her B.S. in Psychology and her M.A. in Human Services from Liberty University. Her advisor is Doug Teti. Her interests include early childhood development and prevention/intervention.

Email: stv113@psu.edu

Julie Wood

Julie is from Columbia, MO and earned their B.S. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota with minors in Mathematics and Statistics. Their advisor is Zita Oravecz. Julie's interests broadly center on the development of quantitative methods for intensive longitudinal data at multiple timescale analysis, with particular focus on Bayesian methods and dynamical systems modeling. 

Email: jfw5255@psu.edu
Twitter: @quant_wood
Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Mengya (Mona) Xia

Mengya is from Wuhan, China, and recieved a B.E. in Computer Science and B.S. in Psychology from Wuhan University. She also received her MEd. in Psychology from Wuhan University. Her advisor is Greg Fosco. Her research interests are family system processes and family relationships.

Email: mxx108@psu.edu

Congratulations to Mengya for her Emerging Scholars Award from the Society for Research in Adolescence!

Xiao Yang

Xiao (Wendy) is from Beijing, China, and recieved her B ENG and M ENG, from Tisinghua University, and M.A. in Statistics from Columbia University. Her advisor is Nilam Ram. Wendy's interest is in methodology, specifically, multilevel modeling, differential equation modeling, social network analysis and peer relations.

Email: xfy5031@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Xutong Zhang

Xutong is from Hebei, China, and received her B.S. in Psychology from Beijing Normal University. Her adviser is Lisa Gatzke-Kopp. Xutong's research focuses on emotion regulation, parenting behaviors, and related psychophysiological mechanisms.

Email: xxz58@psu.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers