The Emotion Development Lab

Meet the brains behind all our work! Dr Buss’ secret weapons are these brilliant scholars.

Pictured left: ‘Rare sighting of a think tank meeting.’

	Emeritus Professor Pumpkin Steinbacher, the elder statesman, is now enjoying retirement, but still makes his presence known at the breakfast club meetings.		Assistant Professor Dr. Winnie Buss-Steinbacher is on the fast track, as a first-gen scholar, she makes all her colleagues better. A brilliant mind and strong motivational skills, she will be leading this furry group soon.
	Associate Professor Quincy Buss-Steinbacher brings all the best ideas (and mice) to the table.		Forever PhD candidate Tobers Steinbacher likes to sit back and listen, rarely contributes, but is the first one to suggest a party or celebration so we keep him around for morale.

Deli has been the supervisor of Dr. Myruski’s home office for over 15 years. This seasoned mischief-maker is a Brooklyn native and Emeritus Professor of Napping Studies. She gives frequent boisterous lectures to her cat toys, but is unfortunately not available for invited talks as she is “quarrelsome with strangers” (Deli’s Veterinarian et al., 2015).  She enjoys breakfast pets, leaping, sunbeams, and green olives (for both playtime and snack time). Despite currently being one of the oldest pet lab members, she is also just a baby.  

Dr. Augustine Politte-Corn has mostly retired from academic work, though she does occasionally supervise Maddie’s writing and data analysis responsibilities. After working tirelessly to earn her PhD, she enjoys laying in the sun, people-watching from the window sill, and getting her exercise running up and down the hallway.

Dr. Archibald Hoff serves as the EDL cardiac specialist. With a focus on autonomic physiology, he plays a key role in optimizing ECG protocols, often testing leads on himself to ensure accurate detection of heart rate variability (HRV)—a metric he’s uniquely suited for, given his consistently high HRV and baseline anxiety. Health is a top priority for Dr. Hoff, who maintains a strict regimen of 23 hours of sleep per day and meets his potassium needs exclusively through bananas. In his limited free time, he enjoys morning walks and blending in with soft blankets.

My educational accomplishments are quite extensive as I received obedience school accreditation at the age of four months and shortly thereafter received my ESA registration. This registration allows me to provide extensive emotional support to humans. My favorite things are car rides, Starbucks pup cups with Dr. Myruski and eating all kinds of food, of which I am a connoisseur.

I have no desire to do more work than required and I am quite intelligent so I see no reason to pursue higher education. However, a topic of interest for me is emotional dysregulation and in particular difficulty managing mood swings as this topic often arises in the home my humans provide. My hobbies include biscuit making, watching small critters and playing with blocks of solidified water. 

In my 18 months of gracing this planet with my presence, I have accomplished many incredible things. I have spent a lot of my time traveling and have even earned the title of ESA from my mother. With this title I have the skill to calm people down with a purr, or regulate emotions through pats. I am an expert in getting what I want through persistence and yelling loudly. I love going on walks with my mom and aunties and love chasing birds. My favorite things are pasta, snuggles, CatTV, and stealing any food or socks that I can get my paws on.  

Dr. Bailey and Dr. Buttercup are sisters who own a business together, working as therapists. They specialize in eating bacon and peanut butter, but they always know how to make you feel better!  In their free time, they love to sleep, chase squirrels, sunbathe, and cuddle.