Research Projects & Skills
Current Project
Aim One: Test associations between COVID-related stressors and episodic memory accuracy in preschoolers.
Aim Two: Examine associations of biological stress and maternal reminiscing style with episodic memory accuracy
Aim Three: Explore potential moderating effects of biological stress and maternal reminiscing style on episodic memory accuracy.
Early adversity has been widely linked with over general memory recall. We aim to understand if family strain, related to the COVID-19 pandemic, will relate to individual differences in episodic memory in preschoolers.
Similarly, biological stress and maternal reminiscing have also been linked with episodic recall. We aim to replicate previous findings that biological stress is related with poorer recall whereas maternal reminiscing is related with better recall
Finally, we aim to understand whether biological stress and maternal reminiscing style may buffer or worsen any potential negative relations from the family strain associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional Ongoing Projects
Parents Advancing Toddler Health
My Role: Behavior and Sleep Health Assessor
This study seeks to determine which parent coaching programs are the most engaging and helpful for families whose toddlers have sleep and behavior problems.English and Spanish-speaking parents would receive one of three possible parent coaching programs: sleep, behavior, or safety. Over the course of a year, parents would participate in weekly video calls for the parent coaching program for two months, plus four research video calls.
Neurocognitive Development of Infants in South Africa
My Role: Physiological Data Processor (EEG & HRA/RSA)
This project uses EEG measures of brain activity and eye-tracking measures to assess the neurocognitive development of infants in rural South Africa. Infants are enrolled in the project at birth, and we will assess them at ages 6, 15, and 24 months. This study will characterize the patterns of neural and cognitive development in this population, as well as examining whether an early intervention program improves these neurocognitive outcomes.
Early Biological and Environmental Correlates of School Readiness
My Role: First Author
This study investigates the early correlates of school readiness by considering both environmental influences and biological factors. Several measures of SES, maternal caregiving style, and biological stress were tested as correlates of academic competence. Manuscript is currently under review.
Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation
My Role: First Author
This study utilizes a pre-existing longitudinal dataset to investigate the early neural correlates of emotion regulation in early- to mid-childhood. Analyses included a region-of-interest investigation and an exploratory whole-brain vertex-by-vertex analysis. Manuscript is currently under revision.
Former Projects
Hippocampal Development and Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation in Preschoolers
Hippocampal Memory Development
Consequences of Unsolicited Advice in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
My Role: Project Coordinator
This study examined whether maturation of memory-related brain structures (specifically, the hippocampus) results in more information being retained without interference, reducing the need for frequent consolidation, which underlies the transition out of naps.
My Role: Research Assistant
This multimodal and longitudinal study examined the structural and functional development of brain regions known to play an important role in memory during childhood.
My Role: Primary Investigator
Therapist and Client Collaboration was coded in the three minutes prior to and after unsolicited advice was offered by the therapist. Changes in therapist-client collaboration and the role of therapist and client attachment styles were analyzed. Findings were published in Counseling Psychology Quarterly.