Research Assistants

lab director

grad students

research coordinator

RAs

prospective students

Research Assistants

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Nikki Ghazimorad is a senior in Lyman Briggs Colleges, pursuing degrees in both Neuroscience and Psychology, and graduated in 2018. She is particularly interested in reported problem behaviors in children and adolescents, and how these behaviors affect later adult outcomes. After graduation, she plans to continue researching and later continue her education in psychology. When she's not in the lab, she likes to hike, spend time with friends and family, and read anything she can get her hands on.

Kamryn Holtz is a second-year undergraduate student graduating in 2019 with a B.S in Psychology. She is studying the effects of parental psychopathology on the development of their children, as well as the development of psychopathology in children and adolescents. After graduation, Kamryn plans on attending graduate school in pursuit of a doctorate in clinical psychology. When not in the lab, Kamryn enjoys watching movies, feeding the ducks, taking long walks, and volunteering.

Bahar Haste is a sophomore Cognitive Psychology major qualifying towards a BS at Michigan State University. She is interested in neural and developmental psychology and chose the MSU Child Emotions lab for it's work with children over a period of time, allowing observation of important neurodevelopment changes. In her free time she enjoys working on her Creative Writing minor, reading, and online shopping.

Sacha Moravy-Penchansky is a senior in the Psychology Department who will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in May 2018. He is interested in studying Social Psychology in Graduate School and enjoys working with children and learning about their development. Sacha plays on the MSU GLLL Club Lacrosse team and works in University Advancement in his free time.

Joe Bourdages is sophomore in Lyman Briggs and a member of the Honors College. He expects to graduate in Spring of 2020 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Philosophy. He plans to attend medical school upon graduating from MSU. He chose to work in the MSU Child Emotions Lab because he loves learning about kids and hope to become a pediatric neurologist in the future. In his free time, Joe loves listening to music, reading, and cooking.

Rebekkah Baldwin is a junior graduating in Spring 2019 with a degree in Neuroscience and a BS in Psychology. She is interested in motivated behavior, the effects of body odor on mother-infant bonding and child emotionality/temperament. She plans on eventually attending graduate school in Germany, but is currently unsure of her exact career path. In her free time, she enjoys watching entirely too much Netflix, reading, listening to podcasts and spending time with her family abroad.

Dalia Fragoso is a second year undergraduate student in the psychology B.A. program at Michigan State University. She chose the MSU Child Emotions Lab because she has an interest in working with children. After she graduates in 2019 she plans to go on to graduate school, and continue research focusing on childhood temperament and emotion. When Dalia is not in the lab she enjoys music, art, and playing with her dog.

Shelby Rosalik is a junior undergraduate student expecting to graduate in the spring of 2019. She is working toward a bachelor of science degree in psychology with a minor in health promotion and currently works as a teaching assistant for the MSU Adolescent Diversion Project. After graduation she plans to pursue a masters in Applied Behavior Analysis and work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She joined the MSU Child Emotions Lab due to her interest in child psychopathology. In her free time, Shelby enjoys ski racing for the MSU Alpine Ski and Snowboard Team, weight lifting, and cooking.

Elif Turk is a senior at Michigan State University studying Psychology. She plans on graduating Spring 2018 and chose this lab because she plans on pursuing a career with children. It is important and interesting for her to learn as much as she can from experience and statistical data during undergrad. In her free time, she does photography, paints, and spends time with loved ones!

Madeline Lenhausen is a senior at Michigan State University graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology in Spring 2018. She will be pursuing her Ph.D. for psychology in the fall, focusing on personality change. In her spare time, Madeline enjoys meditation, binge watching anything on Netflix, the occasional jog, and naps.

Christina Craig is a sophomore honors college student at Michigan State University majoring in Nutritional Sciences and minoring in LGBTQ and Sexuality Studies. She plans on graduating in 2020 and chose this lab because she intends on working with children in the future, and what better way to do that than working with Dr. Durbin’s Child Emotions lab?! When Christina's not in the lab, she enjoys intense workouts (Tough Mudder anyone?), peanut butter banana walnut smoothies, listening to G-Eazy, ice skating, and helping others with organic chemistry.

Xinrui Huang graduated from Michigan State University with B.S. in Psychology. She is interested in Children's behaviors and lab researching, and she would like to learn new things over time. When Xinrui is not in the lab, she usually goes horse riding, rock climbing, besides, she enjoys skydiving and scuba diving.

Jenna Lemon is a junior receiving a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies at Michigan State University. She is expected to graduate in May 2019.  After graduation, she plans on attending a master’s program for occupational therapy.  Jenna loves working with children and learning how they grow and develop.  This is one of the many reasons why she joined the Child Emotions Lab.  In her free time, Jenna enjoys running, reading, and hanging out with friends.

*Not Pictured: Vannesa Marquez*

Vanessa Marquez is a senior majoring in Psychology here at Michigan State University. She will be graduating this year in May of 2018. She hopes to continue onto graduate school in the School Psychology program in the Fall. Throughout her undergraduate career, she has participated in many experiences such as conduct a research project in Fiji on children's psychological being, intern at local organizations to working with child trauma victims. She specifically chose this lab for the interaction aspect and has worked as a research assistant before, which was more of a "behind the scenes" job, so having the opportunity to actively participate in research was intriguing to me. Besides working in the lab, she enjoys yoga, photography, and finding new places to eat (and then kinda obsesses over them).