College of Education and Human Development

Institute of Child Development

PhD students

Melody Altschuler Melody Altschuler

Melody is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science doctoral program at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development and Department of Psychology.

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Melody Altschuler

Jasmine Banegas Jasmine Banegas

Jasmine Banegas (LICSW), NIMH T32 Predoctoral Fellow, is a third-year doctoral student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science program at the Institute of Child Development.

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Jasmine Banegas

Maya Bowen Maya Bowen

My general research interests are in early life stress and resilience. I am particularly interested in evaluation of early parenting intervention programs with an emphasis on responsive caregiving in low and middle income countries.

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Maya Bowen

Romulus Castelo Romulus Castelo

My research revolves around better understanding the influence of early life adversity, specifically post-institutionalization, on cognitive development.

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Romulus Castelo

Tyler Choate Tyler Choate

I am excited to join the ICD community as a first year doctoral student. I am bringing with me 10 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist and infant/early childhood mental health consultant.

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Tyler Choate

Trevor Day Trevor Day

At ICD, study early language development and resting state functional connectivity in infants and toddlers through the Baby Connectome Project with Dr. Jed Elison and Dr. Damien Fair.

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Trevor Day

Erika DeAngelis Erika DeAngelis

I am a fifth-year doctoral student at ICD working primarily with Dr. Melissa Koenig and Dr. Charisse Pickron. I am broadly interested in how children learn from others' testimony.

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Erika DeAngelis

Nathalie Dumornay Nathalie Dumornay

I am a PhD student in the clinical track. I am primarily interested in researching the effects of early life stress and adversity on brain and behavioral development and the mechanisms linking adversity to later psychopathology.

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Nathalie Dumornay

Lauren Eales Lauren Eales

Lauren Eales is a predoctoral intern (in her last year of her PhD training) interested in better understanding the influences of screen media and the larger global media landscape in mental health development.

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Lauren Eales

Ekomobong Eyoh Ekomobong Eyoh

Ekomobong Eyoh is a Ph.D. student on the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science track at the Institute of Child Development (ICD).

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Ekomobong Eyoh

Maddie Fung Maddie Fung

Maddie is a Ph.D. student in the Developmental Psychology program at the Institute of Child Development.

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Maddie Fung

Emily Furtado Emily Furtado

Emily J. Furtado is a first-year PhD student in the developmental psychopathology and clinical science program.

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Emily Furtado

Sarah Gillespie Sarah Gillespie

I am a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science track. My research focuses on child development in the context of globalization, systemic racism, and migration.

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Sarah Gillespie

Bria Gresham Bria Gresham

Bria Gresham is a fourth-year PhD student in the Institute of Child Development’s Developmental Psychology program and a Population Studies Predoctoral Trainee.

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Bria Gresham

Hopewell Hodges Hopewell Hodges

H.R. Hodges is pursuing her PhD in clinical and developmental psychology at the Institute for Child Development. Her undergraduate and masters degree focused on post-violence literature and collective resilience practices.

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Hopewell Hodges

Angelina Jones Angelina Jones

Angelina is a first-year doctoral student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science track working primarily with Jed Elison.

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Angelina Jones

Finola Kane-Grade Finola Kane-Grade

Finola Kane-Grade is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and Ph.D. student on the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science track at the Institute of Child Development (ICD).

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Finola Kane-Grade

Beyza Kazan Beyza Kazan

Beyza is a first year PhD student working with Dr. Charisse Pickron and Dr. Melissa Koenig. She previously worked with Dr. Elizabeth Spelke and Dr. Ashley Thomas at Harvard University, focusing on understanding social relationships.

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Beyza Kazan

Seokyung Kim Seokyung Kim

I am a first-year doctoral student in the Developmental Science track. I am interested in neurobiological bases of executive function skills in typical and atypical development, as well as genetic and environmental risk factors associated with…

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Seokyung Kim

Sanju Koirala Sanju Koirala

Sanju is a first year PhD student in the developmental psychology track at the Institute of Child Development (ICD).

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Sanju Koirala

Jacob Kunkel Jacob Kunkel

My primary research interests include the role that lifespan interpersonal experiences have on physical, cognitive, and mental health into adulthood. Working with Dr.

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Jacob Kunkel

Carolyn Lasch Carolyn Lasch

Carolyn Lasch is a 4th year Ph.D. student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science track working primarily with Jed Elison.

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Carolyn Lasch

Cara Lucke Cara Lucke

Cara is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science track at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Before attending UMN, she received her B.A.

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Cara Lucke

Sophia Magro Sophia Magro

My research focuses on the intersections of family and school influences on children's development.

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Sophia Magro

Timothy Martin Timothy Martin

Timothy Martin is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science program at the University of Minnesota, Institute of Child Development.

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Timothy Martin

Mirinda Morency Mirinda Morency

Mirinda Morency (LCSW), NIMH T32 Predoctoral Fellow, is a third-year doctoral student in the joint Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science program at the University of Minnesota, Institute of Child Development.

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Mirinda Morency

Kayla Nelson Kayla Nelson

Kayla is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science track at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Before attending UMN, she received her B.S.

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Kayla Nelson

Ngan (Nora) Nguyen Ngan (Nora) Nguyen

Ngan (Nora) Nguyen is a first-year doctoral student on the Developmental Science track at the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development. She is interested in studying the impacts of intergenerational transmission of risks (e.g.

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Ngan (Nora) Nguyen

Emily Padrutt Emily Padrutt

I am a second-year doctoral student in the developmental psychopathology and clinical science track, working with Dr. Sylia Wilson and Dr. Daniel Berry.

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Emily Padrutt

Sarah Pan Sarah Pan

Sarah Pan is a fourth-year doctoral student at ICD on the developmental science track. She works with Dr. Michèle Mazzocco to investigate children's early numerical development.

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Sarah Pan

Ayah Phuly Ayah Phuly

My main research interests are focused on the relationships that young children cultivate in their early years of schooling, both at home and in school, and how they impact development and educational achievements/beliefs.

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Ayah Phuly

Tralucia Powell Tralucia Powell

My research centers on understanding the developmental mechanisms linking children’s early environments with risk for psychopathology, with an emphasis on the context of early childhood poverty.

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Tralucia Powell

Jaylen Santos Jaylen Santos

Jaylen Santos is a first year PhD student at ICD. Jaylen worked as a research assistant with the Center for Critical Public Health conducting qualitative interviews with young adults living in rural Northern California about their alcohol and…

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Jaylen Santos

Tori Simenec Tori Simenec

Tori Simenec is a fourth-year graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science.

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Tori Simenec

Sally Stoyell Sally Stoyell

Sally Stoyell is a Ph.D. student in the Developmental Science program at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development.

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Sally Stoyell

Yeon Ju Suh Yeon Ju Suh

I am a first-year doctoral student at ICD working with Dr. Melissa Koenig and Dr. Charisse Pickron.

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Yeon Ju Suh

Akira Wang Akira Wang

I am a PhD student in the developmental psychopathology and clinical science program at the University of Minnesota starting in the Fall of 2023. I will be working with Dr. Sylia Wilson and other amazing faculty at the Institute of Child Development.

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Akira Wang

Diqi Zeng Diqi Zeng

I am a second-year doctoral student at ICD primarily working with Dr. Melissa Koenig and Dr. Benjamin Munson.

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Diqi Zeng

Danruo Zhong Danruo Zhong

Danruo is a first-year doctoral student in the Developmental Science track in ICD working with Dr. Megan Gunnar and Dr. Kathleen Thomas. Her research interests lie in stress neurobiology through childhood and adolescence.

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Danruo Zhong