Former Graduate Students
Yuerui/Julia Wu (pronouns: she/her) received a B.A. in Psychology and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2023. Julia worked with Dr. Gail Goodman and Dr. Lagattuta investigating how emotions and memory interact with each other and manifest in the larger social contexts. She investigated the role of various emotional, social, and cultural factors on children’s disclosure and recollections of details about stressful or traumatic events, as well as how children and adults remember, interpret, and predict the emotions experienced in different interpersonal events. Julia will be an Assistant Professor at New York University, Shanghai in the fall.
Dr. Hannah J. Kramer (pronouns: she/her) received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2013 and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2021. Dr. Kramer is broadly interested in developmental social cognition, especially children’s and adults’ beliefs about emotion, time, and social groups. She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, where she is working with Drs. Jocelyn Dautel, Laura Taylor, Aidan Feeney, and John Coley as part of the Developing Belief Network. In Fall 2023, she will be starting a postdoc with Seth Pollak at University of Wisconsin, Madison. To learn more about Dr. Kramer, please visit her website or just reach out ([email protected])!
Dr. Karen Hjortsvang Lara (pronouns: she/her) received a B.S. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2010 and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2019. In 2019, Dr. Lara was recognized for her outstanding teaching and mentoring with the Psychology Graduate Student Teaching Award. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Southwestern University. Dr. Lara studies children's and adults' beliefs about and experiences of the connections between expectations and emotions.
Dr. Luis Armando Parra (pronouns: he/him/his) received a B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Northridge and his Ph.D. in Human Development in 2019 from the University of California, Davis. His research applies an intersectionality lens to further understand the lived experiences of adolescents and emerging adults who belong to multiple marginalized social groups. In particular, Luis studies the effects of heterosexist and racist discrimination, as sources of stress, on neurobiological and immune system regulation and psychosocial adjustment. Dr. Parra was a Provost’s Postdoctoral Scholar for Faculty Diversity at the University of Southern California, training at the Center for LGBTQ Health Equity. He then worked a Research Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently an Assistant Professor at University of Michigan in the School of Nursing.
Dr. Katie Kennedy (pronouns: she/her) graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2012 and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2018. During her time in graduate school, Dr. Kennedy's research focused primarily on developmental social cognition, more specifically, theory of mind and social categories. Following that, she worked as a postdoctoral research fellow for the Bay Area Discovery Museum, where she studied creativity development and children’s understanding of/interest in digital technology. Currently, Dr. Kennedy is working as an independent research consultant designing, conducting, and disseminating developmental and educational research. Dr. Kennedy can be contacted at mailto:[email protected] or http://www.linkedin.com/in/katiekennedy90
Dr. Deborah Goldfarb (pronouns: she/her) received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Illinois, Chicago, her J.D. from the University of Michigan, and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis in 2017. Dr. Goldfarb is an Assistant Professor of legal psychology at Florida International University. She also practiced for a number of years as an attorney, including as a law clerk in the federal courts. Dr. Goldfarb studies a number of topics at the intersection of law and developmental psychology, including legal attitudes, developmental intuitive jurisprudence, and memory in victims and eyewitnesses.
Dr. Drika Weller (pronouns: she/her) received a B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 2005 and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2011. At UC Davis, Drika studied the development of unconscious bias. After receiving her doctorate, Dr. Weller went to Washington DC as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow where she spearheaded programs at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She later returned to the Bay Area as Executive Director of The School Fund, a nonprofit focusing on providing education for impoverished students. She later founded AcuityWorks, an inclusion and diversity consulting firm. In 2019, Dr. Weller joined Forshay, as VP of Inclusion and Diversity. She is currently an Advisor and Senior DEI Consultant at Illuceo Inc.
Dr. Christi Bamford (pronouns: she/her) received a B.A. in Psychology from Darton College in 1996, her M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Georgia, and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2009. She is currently a Professor of Psychology and the Director of Social Sciences and Education at Jacksonville University. Dr. Bamford studies the development of theory of mind and emotion understanding. More specifically, she is interested in children's developing understanding of imaginary concepts (e.g., fantasy-reality distinction), religious concepts (e.g., God, angels, prayer), optimism, and pessimism.
Dr. Liat Sayfan (pronouns: she/her) received a B.A. from Tel-Aviv University, Israel in 1995, her M.A. from Bar-Ilan University in Statistics in 2001, and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2008. Dr. Sayfan published multiple articles on the development of children's understanding of the causes of fear and how to cope with negative emotions. She further contributed to several projects on children's understanding of emotion and theory of mind as well as executive function. Dr. Sayfan is a Senior Research Analyst at Applied Survey Research.
Former Research Assistants
If any lab alumni have additional updates, we would love to hear from you!
Phoebe Wendell (2021 - 2024)
Sonakshi Khanna (2021 - 2023): Sonakshi graduated with a BA in Cognitive Science.
Lia Abrams (2019-2021)
Victoria Rietmann (2019-2020): Victoria is getting a M.A. at the New York School of Interior Design.
Rodney Tompkins (2019-2020): Rodney is a lab manager at the Liberman Child Studies Lab at UC Santa Barbara.
Emily Allen (2019): Emily is a Project Management Intern at Teladoc Health.
Kelsey Davinson (2018-2019): Kelsey is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Connecticut.
Brianna Fay (2019): Fay is a research assistant in Dr. Gail Goodman's lab at UC Davis.
Deepinder Nagra (2018-2019): Deepinder earned a M.A. in Public Health at the University of California, Davis.
Shelby Novak (2018-2019): Shelby is getting a M.A. in school psychology from Humboldt State University.
Christen Irel Tamisin (2017-2019): Christen is an Undergraduate Academic Advisor in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Philosophy, & Science and Technology Studies Department at the University of California, Davis.
Taylor Wood (2016-2019): Taylor is a Junior Specialist at the University of California, Davis MIND Institute.
Sanam Baidar (2018): Sanam is getting a Psy.D. at California Northstate University College of Psychology.
Pat Chitnuchtaranon (2017-2018): Pat is an Assistant Counselor at the Milieu Center.
Emily Ornstein (2017-2018): Emily is a Physical Therapy Doctoral Student.
Melissa Ortega (2017-2018): Melissa is getting a M.A. at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at CUNY Baruch.
Austen Trainor (2016-2018): Austen is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at Penn State University.
Elizabeth Kroll (2017): Elizabeth is getting a M.A. in Education at Harvard University.
Jordan Mullins (2016-2017): Jordan is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of California, Riverside.
Amia Andrade (2014-2016): Amia is the Clinical Research Coordinator in Emergency Medicine at UC Davis.
Angel Guan (2013-2016): Angel is a nursing student at the Columbia University School of Nursing.
Courtney Jimenez (2015-2016): Courtney is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at Dartmouth College.
Lauren Morelli (2013-2016): Lauren is getting a M.A. in School Psychology at Sacramento State University.
Stephanie Schindler (2014-2016): Stephanie is getting a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Wright Institute.
Jenna Sheppard (2015-2016): Jenna earned a nurse practitioner degree from Yale University.
Riley Sims (2014-2016): Riley is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Kelli Stager (2015 -2016): Dr. Stager earned a M.D. at the University of Southern California.
Nichole Bouffard (2013-2015): Nichole is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Toronto.
Gloria Gistand (2015)
Avantika Kapoor (2014-2015): Ava earned a M.S. in Organisational and Business Psychology from the University College London.
Callison Kernick (2015): Callie is getting a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Denver.
Jamie Napan (2014-2015): Jamie is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at Loma Linda University.
Sarah Tashjian (2012-2015): Dr. Tashjian earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from UCLA, and she is now a post-doctoral researcher at Cal Tech.
Phillip Witkowski (2014-2015): Phillip is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of California, Davis.
Ashley Wolf (2014-2015): Ashley earned a M.A. in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Noel Elrod (2013-2014): Dr. Elrod received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from St. Louis University. She is a Clinical Psychology Addictions fellow at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC.
Hali Hanson (2013-2014)
Hannah Kramer (2012-2014): Dr. Kramer earned a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of California, Davis and is a post-doc at Queen's University Belfast.
Brighid O’Halloran (2013-2014): Brighid is an Undergraduate Academic Advisor in the University of California, Davis College of Letters and Science.
Alyssa Parsons (2013-2014): Alyssa is getting a Ph.D. in Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.
Kathleen Yu (2013-2014): Kathleen is getting a Ph.D. in School Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Rachael (Prow) Barnett (2010-2013): Dr. Barnett earned a Ph.D. in School Psychology from University of California, Berkeley. She is a school psychologist in the Roseville Joint Union High School District.
Alice Luu (2010-2013): Alice is an RN. She earned a B.S. degree in Nursing from Samuel Merritt University.
Samantha Frick (2010-2012): Sam is an Event Associate for ElasticON.
Marissa Knox (2010-2012): Dr. Knox earned a Ph.D. in Positive Psychology from the University of Texas, Austin.
Megan (Smith) Provonost (2010-2012): Dr. Provonost earned a Ph.D. from University of California, Merced. She is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at California State Fresno.
Holly Rus (2010-2012): Dr. Rus earned a Ph.D. from University of California, Merced. She is the Director of Research at SleepScore Labs
Vah Vue (2010-2012): Vah earned a M.A. in School Psychology from Cal State Fresno.
Jasleen Bhardwaj (2010-2011): Jasleen is an MBA Student at University of California, Davis Graduate School of Business.
Kate Burger (2010-2011): Dr. Burger earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Western Michigan University.
Sandra Diaz (2009-2011): Sandra earned a M.A. from Sacramento State University.
Rachel Ebner (2009-2011): Rachel earned a multiple-subject teaching credential from San Diego State University. She is a teacher with the San Diego Unified School District.
Alejandra Garibay (2009-2010): Alejandra is an Academic Advisor at the University of California, Davis.
Samantha Gordon (2008-2010): Samantha is an Associate Producer at Dick Clark Productions.
Christina Harvey (2008-2010): Cristina is the Associate Director of Programs and Marketing at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Erika Lee (2009-2010): Erika earned a B.S. in Nursing from Samuel Merritt College. She is an RN II at Providence Health Services.
Forogh Rahim (2009-2010): Forogh earned a M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology/Palo Alto University. She is getting her Ph.D. at Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions.
Nico Storrow (2009-2010): Nico earned a M.S. in Counseling from San Francisco State University.
Carli (Portz) West (2008-2010): Carli is a Senior Sales Specialist.
Ashley Albiani (2008-2009): Ashley earned a J.D. from Santa Clara Law School. She is Corporate Counsel (CIPP/US) at Zscaler.
Marvyn Arvalo-Avolos (2008-2009): Dr. Arvalo-Avolos earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University.
Amanda Blattman (2007-2009): Amanda earned a MA in Occupational Therapy from University of Southern California.
Amber Buckelew (2008-2009)
Bryan Low (2008-2009)
Brian Maruyama (2008-2009): Dr. Maruyama earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University. He is is Rehabilitation Neuropsychology Resident at San Francisco VA Medical Center.
Lakeshia McGee (2008-2009)
Sarah Mian (2007-2009)
Michael Monsour (2007-2009): Michael earned a M.A. in Psychology from Antioch University. He is a Student Services Coordinator at College of the Canyon.
Malay Phoong (2008-2009): Dr. Phoong earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Palo Alto University.
Abigail Smith (2008-2009): Abigail earned a M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist at Inner Light Therapy Private Practice.
Nicole Yee (2009): Dr. Yee earned a M.D. from the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
Kristine Aphugh (2007-2008). Kristine is the Human Resources Manager at Victor Treatment Center.
Jonah Cox (2007-2008). Dr. Cox earned a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from UC Davis.
Hui Jing (2008)
Julie Schwabenlender (2008)
Sarah Ballantyne (2006-2007)
Diana Selmeczy (2007): Dr. Selmeczy earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
Katherine Chi (2004-2006)
Gloria Garcia (2005-2006)
Cortney Winkle (2006): Dr. Winkle earned a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is a senior project manager at Boston University.
Nina del Rosario (2004-2005): Nina earned a M.S. in Human Computer Interaction from the University College London.
Shauna Geraghty (2003-2005): Dr. Geraghty earned a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University. She is a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University.
Desiree Galenti (2003-2004): Desiree earned a M.A. in Organizational Behavior from Alliant University. She is the Human Resources Director at Northrup Grumman.
Alanna Stenberg (2003-2004)
Katrina Bloomquist (2002-2003): Katrina earned a M.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.S. in Nursing from Oregon Health and Science University.
If any lab alumni have additional updates, we would love to hear from you!
Phoebe Wendell (2021 - 2024)
Sonakshi Khanna (2021 - 2023): Sonakshi graduated with a BA in Cognitive Science.
Lia Abrams (2019-2021)
Victoria Rietmann (2019-2020): Victoria is getting a M.A. at the New York School of Interior Design.
Rodney Tompkins (2019-2020): Rodney is a lab manager at the Liberman Child Studies Lab at UC Santa Barbara.
Emily Allen (2019): Emily is a Project Management Intern at Teladoc Health.
Kelsey Davinson (2018-2019): Kelsey is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Connecticut.
Brianna Fay (2019): Fay is a research assistant in Dr. Gail Goodman's lab at UC Davis.
Deepinder Nagra (2018-2019): Deepinder earned a M.A. in Public Health at the University of California, Davis.
Shelby Novak (2018-2019): Shelby is getting a M.A. in school psychology from Humboldt State University.
Christen Irel Tamisin (2017-2019): Christen is an Undergraduate Academic Advisor in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Philosophy, & Science and Technology Studies Department at the University of California, Davis.
Taylor Wood (2016-2019): Taylor is a Junior Specialist at the University of California, Davis MIND Institute.
Sanam Baidar (2018): Sanam is getting a Psy.D. at California Northstate University College of Psychology.
Pat Chitnuchtaranon (2017-2018): Pat is an Assistant Counselor at the Milieu Center.
Emily Ornstein (2017-2018): Emily is a Physical Therapy Doctoral Student.
Melissa Ortega (2017-2018): Melissa is getting a M.A. at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at CUNY Baruch.
Austen Trainor (2016-2018): Austen is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at Penn State University.
Elizabeth Kroll (2017): Elizabeth is getting a M.A. in Education at Harvard University.
Jordan Mullins (2016-2017): Jordan is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of California, Riverside.
Amia Andrade (2014-2016): Amia is the Clinical Research Coordinator in Emergency Medicine at UC Davis.
Angel Guan (2013-2016): Angel is a nursing student at the Columbia University School of Nursing.
Courtney Jimenez (2015-2016): Courtney is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at Dartmouth College.
Lauren Morelli (2013-2016): Lauren is getting a M.A. in School Psychology at Sacramento State University.
Stephanie Schindler (2014-2016): Stephanie is getting a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Wright Institute.
Jenna Sheppard (2015-2016): Jenna earned a nurse practitioner degree from Yale University.
Riley Sims (2014-2016): Riley is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Kelli Stager (2015 -2016): Dr. Stager earned a M.D. at the University of Southern California.
Nichole Bouffard (2013-2015): Nichole is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Toronto.
Gloria Gistand (2015)
Avantika Kapoor (2014-2015): Ava earned a M.S. in Organisational and Business Psychology from the University College London.
Callison Kernick (2015): Callie is getting a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Denver.
Jamie Napan (2014-2015): Jamie is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at Loma Linda University.
Sarah Tashjian (2012-2015): Dr. Tashjian earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from UCLA, and she is now a post-doctoral researcher at Cal Tech.
Phillip Witkowski (2014-2015): Phillip is getting a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of California, Davis.
Ashley Wolf (2014-2015): Ashley earned a M.A. in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Noel Elrod (2013-2014): Dr. Elrod received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from St. Louis University. She is a Clinical Psychology Addictions fellow at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC.
Hali Hanson (2013-2014)
Hannah Kramer (2012-2014): Dr. Kramer earned a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of California, Davis and is a post-doc at Queen's University Belfast.
Brighid O’Halloran (2013-2014): Brighid is an Undergraduate Academic Advisor in the University of California, Davis College of Letters and Science.
Alyssa Parsons (2013-2014): Alyssa is getting a Ph.D. in Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.
Kathleen Yu (2013-2014): Kathleen is getting a Ph.D. in School Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Rachael (Prow) Barnett (2010-2013): Dr. Barnett earned a Ph.D. in School Psychology from University of California, Berkeley. She is a school psychologist in the Roseville Joint Union High School District.
Alice Luu (2010-2013): Alice is an RN. She earned a B.S. degree in Nursing from Samuel Merritt University.
Samantha Frick (2010-2012): Sam is an Event Associate for ElasticON.
Marissa Knox (2010-2012): Dr. Knox earned a Ph.D. in Positive Psychology from the University of Texas, Austin.
Megan (Smith) Provonost (2010-2012): Dr. Provonost earned a Ph.D. from University of California, Merced. She is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at California State Fresno.
Holly Rus (2010-2012): Dr. Rus earned a Ph.D. from University of California, Merced. She is the Director of Research at SleepScore Labs
Vah Vue (2010-2012): Vah earned a M.A. in School Psychology from Cal State Fresno.
Jasleen Bhardwaj (2010-2011): Jasleen is an MBA Student at University of California, Davis Graduate School of Business.
Kate Burger (2010-2011): Dr. Burger earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Western Michigan University.
Sandra Diaz (2009-2011): Sandra earned a M.A. from Sacramento State University.
Rachel Ebner (2009-2011): Rachel earned a multiple-subject teaching credential from San Diego State University. She is a teacher with the San Diego Unified School District.
Alejandra Garibay (2009-2010): Alejandra is an Academic Advisor at the University of California, Davis.
Samantha Gordon (2008-2010): Samantha is an Associate Producer at Dick Clark Productions.
Christina Harvey (2008-2010): Cristina is the Associate Director of Programs and Marketing at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Erika Lee (2009-2010): Erika earned a B.S. in Nursing from Samuel Merritt College. She is an RN II at Providence Health Services.
Forogh Rahim (2009-2010): Forogh earned a M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology/Palo Alto University. She is getting her Ph.D. at Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions.
Nico Storrow (2009-2010): Nico earned a M.S. in Counseling from San Francisco State University.
Carli (Portz) West (2008-2010): Carli is a Senior Sales Specialist.
Ashley Albiani (2008-2009): Ashley earned a J.D. from Santa Clara Law School. She is Corporate Counsel (CIPP/US) at Zscaler.
Marvyn Arvalo-Avolos (2008-2009): Dr. Arvalo-Avolos earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University.
Amanda Blattman (2007-2009): Amanda earned a MA in Occupational Therapy from University of Southern California.
Amber Buckelew (2008-2009)
Bryan Low (2008-2009)
Brian Maruyama (2008-2009): Dr. Maruyama earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University. He is is Rehabilitation Neuropsychology Resident at San Francisco VA Medical Center.
Lakeshia McGee (2008-2009)
Sarah Mian (2007-2009)
Michael Monsour (2007-2009): Michael earned a M.A. in Psychology from Antioch University. He is a Student Services Coordinator at College of the Canyon.
Malay Phoong (2008-2009): Dr. Phoong earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Palo Alto University.
Abigail Smith (2008-2009): Abigail earned a M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist at Inner Light Therapy Private Practice.
Nicole Yee (2009): Dr. Yee earned a M.D. from the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
Kristine Aphugh (2007-2008). Kristine is the Human Resources Manager at Victor Treatment Center.
Jonah Cox (2007-2008). Dr. Cox earned a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from UC Davis.
Hui Jing (2008)
Julie Schwabenlender (2008)
Sarah Ballantyne (2006-2007)
Diana Selmeczy (2007): Dr. Selmeczy earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
Katherine Chi (2004-2006)
Gloria Garcia (2005-2006)
Cortney Winkle (2006): Dr. Winkle earned a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is a senior project manager at Boston University.
Nina del Rosario (2004-2005): Nina earned a M.S. in Human Computer Interaction from the University College London.
Shauna Geraghty (2003-2005): Dr. Geraghty earned a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University. She is a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University.
Desiree Galenti (2003-2004): Desiree earned a M.A. in Organizational Behavior from Alliant University. She is the Human Resources Director at Northrup Grumman.
Alanna Stenberg (2003-2004)
Katrina Bloomquist (2002-2003): Katrina earned a M.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.S. in Nursing from Oregon Health and Science University.