The Emotion Development Lab

Leah is a second-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology (Child-Track) PhD program at Penn State, working with Dr. Kristin Buss. She received her B.A. with a double major in Psychology and History from the University of Michigan in 2022. Previously, she served as an undergraduate research assistant in the Michigan Neurogenetics and Developmental Psychopathology Lab (directed by Dr. Luke Hyde) and as the lab manager/research coordinator for the Trauma History Investigation of Neurodevelopment in Kids Lab (directed by Dr. Hilary Marusak). Leah’s research interests include the psychophysiological regulation of fear and anxiety risk in children and adolescents.

Maddie is a fourth-year graduate student in the Developmental Psychology program, working with Dr. Kristin Buss and the Emotion Development Lab. She received her BA in Psychology from Cornell College with a minor in Applied Statistics, and completed an undergraduate research fellowship with Dr. Jasmine Fardouly at Macquarie University in Sydney, AU. After graduating, Maddie completed her Masters in Clinical and Developmental Research at Vanderbilt University, where she was mentored by Dr. Autumn Kujawa and worked as a research assistant for Dr. Judy Garber. At Vanderbilt, Maddie became fascinated with developmental psychopathology, multi-method research (including EEG/ERP and EMA) and quantitative methods. She is excited to study both longitudinal and proximal risk factors for the emergence of internalizing psychopathology during adolescence, particularly related to social-emotional processing, temperament, and interpersonal stress. In her free time, Maddie likes watching baseball (go Cards), spending time outside, and trying new recipes.

Jianing is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program working with Dr. Erika Lunkenheimer and Dr. Kristin Buss. She received her master’s degree in psychology from Beijing Normal University, China in 2022. Her research interests are the impact of family risks (e.g., child maltreatment) on child outcomes, physiological pathways between childhood adversity and health, and individual differences in above associations. In pursuing her Ph.D., she hopes to further investigate how familial adversities and parent-child dynamic contribute to child physiology and psychopathology, and the protective processes in parent-child relationships.

Alyssa is a second-year graduate student in the Developmental Psychology program working with Dr. Kristin Buss and Dr. Koraly Pérez-Edgar. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Psychological Science at Western Kentucky University through their joint undergraduate masters program. Under the mentorship of Dr. Diane Lickenbrock, she worked as an undergraduate/graduate research assistant for 5 years. Alyssa’s interests in emotion development include using a multimethod approach to understanding individual differences in cardiac autonomic reactivity (RSA/PEP), temperament (behavioral inhibition), and parent-child interactions. She is particularly interested in exploring these factors as they work dynamically, in tandem to shape the way children respond to stress. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, calligraphy, and spending time with friends and family.

Daiqing Zhao (Iris) is a fifth-year graduate student in Developmental Psychology working with Dr. Jenae Neiderhiser and Dr. Kristin Buss. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2018, where she primarily studied individual differences and personality structure with Dr. Colin DeYoung, and childhood social cognition with Dr. Melissa Koenig. She received her M.A. from Boston University, where she worked with Dr. Michael Lyons on genetic and environmental risk factors of Mild Cognitive Impairment in mid to late-age twins. Her interests lie in mechanisms of childhood and adolescence adjustment problems (e.g. internalizing and externalizing problems), development of temperament and personality, and how gene-environment interplay could explain the above.