Lab Director
Assistant Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Tara graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in Biological Anthropology, then from the University of Chicago with her Ph.D. in Comparative Human Development. She loves developing research studies to figure out how kids think about the people and places around them.
Graduate Student
Gorana González , M.S., is a PhD candidate in the lab. She is interested young children and how racism (structural and institutional) impacts their social cognitive development.
Graduate Student
Jordan Legaspi, M.S., is a 4th year PhD Student in the Cognition Across Development Lab. He is interested in the global development of cognitive heuristics and social bias, with special consideration to how essentialism and stereotyping affect intra- and inter- personal relations.
Graduate Student
Yuchen Tian, M.A. is a PhD student in the CAD lab. She is interested in studying how children understand social status and social inequality across cultures. Before joining the CAD lab, Yuchen got her Master's degree in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University.
Seham Albalawi
Research Assistant
Seham is a senior at Umass Amherst, majoring in psychology and minoring in women, gender and sexuality studies. Seham loves working with children as she worked as an ABA therapist and she plans to pursue higher education in clinical psychology. She is an advocate for mental health and hopes to remove stigma around mental health issues and to make a difference in accessibility to mental health services for marginalized communities.
Mia Baskey
Research Assistant
Mia is a senior at UMass Amherst majoring in psychology and minoring in business. She hopes to pursue a career utilizing both of these fields to positively impact the world in the future. She is excited to collaborate with everyone and contribute to research at the CAD lab!
Sarah Berliner
Research Assistant
Sarah is a junior double majoring in Psychology and Education (with a concentration in Community Education and Social Change). She is interested in developmental psychology and hopes to one day work with children and adolescents as a school psychologist or school counselor!
Katrina Chang
Research Assistant
Katrina is a sophomore Psychology and Sociology double major who is also working on an Asian and Asian American Studies Certificate. She is interested in child and adolescent development and how various experiences can affect the formation of self-construal and individuality as well as cultivations of self-worth, self-esteem, and self-love. Katrina hopes to pursue a career in educational psychology and would like to work with numerous children and adults not only in school systems but in numerous institutions to maintain child safety and healthy social relationships.
Ziqi Ding
Research Assistant
Ziqi is a senior at Umass Amherst, majoring in Psychology. She hopes to pursue clinical psychology for graduate school and is interested in applying psychology with other interdisciplinary fields to improve life quality for the public. She loves working with people who have diverse cultural backgrounds.
Lada Filippov
Research Assistant
Lada is a senior psychology major on the neuroscience track. She plans to pursue a doctorate in neuropsychology following her graduation, and hopes to open her own private practice one day. In her free time, Lada enjoys crocheting and drinking herbal tea!
Lydia Flagg
Research Assistant
Lydia is currently a Sophomore at UMass Amherst studying Psychology in the neuroscience track. She hopes to pursue research full time post-graduation. She primarily wants to focus on how different cultural belief systems pertaining to death impact the likelihood of individuals experiencing suicidal ideations actively attempting suicide.
Kailin Huang
Research Assistant
Kailin is a second-year psychology student who is interested in research. She loved working with the wonderful people here and gained valuable insights in the CAD lab. She is interested in studying psychopathology across the lifespan and hopes to pursue graduate studies in the future.
Advika Kamath
Research Assistant
Advika is a sophomore at UMass Amherst, double majoring in psychology and biology. She hopes to go to dental school after graduation and wishes to work with children in the future. She is extremely excited to research and learn more about the psychology behind how children view the world!
Waverly Leonard
Research Assistant
Waverly is a sophomore psychology major who is excited to be part of the CAD lab! She is interested in the conjuncture of developmental and clinical psychology and hopes to attend grad school after college. She is fascinated by the ways in which childhood experiences shape cognition and hopes to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
Carine Mansour
Research Assistant
Carine is a senior Public Health major on the pre-med track, who is also minoring in Business. After graduating she plans on attending optometry school in Boston and is hoping to become an ophthalmologist!. She hopes one day to open her own practice and help out communities in need.
Rishabh Nair
Research Assistant
Rishabh is a sophomore psychology major on the neuroscience track. This is his second year being part of the CAD Lab! He hopes to become a doctor as a career. He loves to enjoy time with his family and friends, loves to listen to music, and is an avid sports fan.
Shivaangi Salhotra
Research Assistant
Shivaangi is a sophomore Linguistics and Psychology double major with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. They are interested in interdisciplinary work that examines language, psychology, and development from socio-historically informed perspectives. In their free time, they love trying new teas and reading old books!
Jayla Sanchez
Research Assistant
Jayla is a senior Psychology major at UMass and she hopes to attend medical school after graduation. She is excited to learn about the intricacies of essentialism and bias to reduce inequities in the healthcare system.
Delaney Sherman
Research Assistant
Delaney is a Psychology major with a concentration in Neuroscience. She anticipates that her work in the CAD lab will increase her comprehension of how impactful environmental context is for children as they form their perspective on the social world. She intends to attend graduate school after her time at UMass. One day, she would like to collaborate with schools in order to promote a stronger psychology curriculum and an equitable system of learning in order to equip kids of all social groups for the obstacles of life!
Mila Splawska
Research Assistant
Mila is a sophomore psychology major in the honors college. She is thrilled to be working in the CAD lab and gain hands on experience with research. In the future, she hopes to be a therapist for adolescents struggling with personality disorders and mood disorders.
Oluchi Ukairo
Research Assistant
Oluchi is a Senior psychology major on the pre-medical track. She is passionate about developmental psychology as it relates to equity amongst the younger population and plans to continue this work as an aspiring pediatrician. Outside of school Oluchi loves working out and is a certified personal trainer at UMass!
Eric Yu
Research Assistant
Eric is a senior at Macalester College, majoring in psychology and minoring in political science. He is interested in ethnic and racial identity and identity development.
Chen Zou
Research Assistant
Chen is a Psychology major from Mount Holyoke College and is now working as an undergraduate research assistant at the CAD lab. She is interested in studying child and family well-being and environmental impacts (familial, social, cultural, etc.) on children's emotional development.
Claire Ladd
Natasha Dimitruk
Tayla Bent
Alyssa Mielke
Hailey Pensky
Ashwin Srinivasan
Emmy Fulcidor
Amber Nguyen
Edye Benedict
Alix Alto
Jess Guertin
Andrew Delgado
Nandini Sharma
Amulya Jonnalagadda
Aarti Jeslani
Benjamin Heim
Naimid Abelenda
Emily Adams
Saliha Bayrak
Laya Bharath
Elizabeth Cho
Alex Dhima
Kerleene Dorceus
Madeline Kennedy
Emily Kitsock
Seda Korroch
Genesis Medina
Dagney Overbey
Henry Pareto
Prachi Patel
Jenna Rubin
Kaitlyn Rybicki
Naomi Small
Riley Zimmerman
2021 - 2022 in the CAD Lab
2021- 2022 was an amazing year for the CAD Lab. Our honors thesis students presented their research projects at the PBS poster session, our graduate students shared their science at the 2022 Cognitive Development Society meeting, and Gorana Gonzalez was awarded the UMass Commitment to Diversity Award! Let's hear it for all of the awesome things these awesome students accomplished!
© 2017