Department of Psychology

The Georgetown University doctoral program in Developmental Science currently hosts 18 graduate students specializing in three concentrations: Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience (LCN), Human Development and Public Policy (HDPP), and a joint MPP/PhD concentration.  All three concentrations maintain a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary study.  The LCN program is closely affiliated with existing PhD programs in Linguistics and the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN).  The HDPP and Dual Degree concentrations are closely affiliated with the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI).

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LCN Students

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Ilana Bennett (Howard) is a fifth-year student in the Psychology PhD program with a concentration in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience. As a member of the Cognitive Aging Lab, her research has primarily focused on age-related differences in two forms of implicit learning that call on separate neural systems. A related line of research assessed implicit learning as a function of reading ability in healthy older adults and young adults with dyslexia. She was awarded an NRSA from NIH for her dissertation research that will use diffusion tensor imaging to examine if age changes in white matter integrity underlie age-related differences in implicit learning. Lani received a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine in 2002.  «email Lani at ijb5@georgetown.edu

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Katherine Gamble (Howard) is a first-year student in the Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience track.  She works in the Cognitive Aging Lab and is beginning research with healthy aging adults and implicit learning.  She is interested in studying the effects of aging using functional and diffusion tensor imaging.  Katherine received her BA in Psychology, with minors in Neuroscience and Biology from Gettysburg College in 2006, and her MS in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Florida in 2008. <<email Katherine at krg27@georgetown.edu

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Anna Mikulak (Walker) is a second-year student in the Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience track.  Her research to date has focused on the role that prenatal and/or early postnatal immune response (due to infection, stress, and other factors) may play in the etiology of autism spectrum disorders.  Although this research began with animal model studies, Anna is now exploring available clinical data for human subjects.  In addition to these research interests, she is also intrigued by the world of science policy and hopes to delve further into neuroscience-related policy issues as part of her graduate studies.  Anna received a BA in psychology with a minor in cognitive science from Georgetown University in 2006.  «email Anna at akm26@georgetown.edu

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Eric Murphy (Vaidya) is a first-year student in the Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience concentration of the Psychology PhD program.  His research will investigate the neural mechanisms underlying emotion and attention, and particularly the effects that these cognitive systems have on each other.  He plans to use functional neuroimaging techniques to study these cognitive processes in children with developmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder.  Eric received his BA in Biopsychology from Oberlin College in 2003, and his MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago in 2004.  <<email Eric at erm8@georgetown.edu

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Devon Brost Oskvig (Walker) is a fifth-year student in the Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience concentration in the Psychology PhD program.  She is a member of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Regulation/ Section on Functional Neuroanatomy at NIMH under the guidance of Dr. Miles Herkenham and the Georgetown University Integrative Systems Neuroscience Laboratory under the Guidance of Dr. Ben Walker.  She is interested in the underlying neurobiology of developmental disorders, namely, autism.  Specifically, she is investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which maternal immune activation during pregnancy alters fetal brain and behavioral development as related to autism.  Devon reeceived a BA in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College in 2003 and an MS in Psychology from Georgetown in 2007.  <<email Devon at drb38@georgetown.edu

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Jessica Simon (Howard) is a third-year student in the Developmental Psychology PhD program with a concentration in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience.  Her research interests include the study of the biological bases of age-related differences in memory and in particular, implicit learning.  Jessie's research uses neuroimaging techniques to investigate what cognitive and neural systems are impaired versus spared in healthy aging. Jessie received her BA in Psychology from Skidmore College in 2004.  «email Jessica at jrs92@georgetown.edu

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Melanie Stollstorff (Vaidya) is a third-year LCN student in Professor Chandan Vaidya’s research lab.  She is studying executive functioning and decision making in children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  Her current project investigates the role of dopamine genes in modulating cognitive functioning and response to ADHD medication.  She is also investigating the effects of dopamine genotype on the brain using functional neuroimaging (fMRI) and the brain’s response to methylphenidate as modulated by genotype.  Melanie completed her B.Sc. degree at the University of Toronto, and her M.A. degree at York University.  She has also conducted research at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School on the Neurobiology of Attention and Memory using both human and rodent models.  Melanie is also the Vice President of the Georgetown Graduate Student Organization (GSO). «email Melanie at mls79@georgetown.edu

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HDPP Students

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Natalie Brito (Barr)  is a first-year student in the Human Development and Public Policy Concentration.  Using the medium of media, she is involved in a project to increase the quality and quantity of interactions between children and their incarcerated parents.  Additionally, she is working on a longitudinal study looking at the effects of media on infants and preschoolers.  Natalie received her BA in  Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2005 and her M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the College of William and Mary in 2008.  <<email Nataile at nhb3@georgetown.edu

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Nancy Crowell (Phillips) is a fifth-year student in the Human Development and Public Policy concentration.  Her research interests include development of literacy skills in young children, aspects of the child care setting that help to foster literacy development, and the role of the overall quality and amount of child care on cognitive and social development. Her dissertation research is examining the role of adult literacy of child care providers on the quality of the care environment and on child language outcomes. Nancy works with Deborah Phillips in her child care lab. Previous areas of research include family violence, child labor, juvenile delinquency, and health disparities. Nancy received a BS in mathematics and French from St. Lawrence University in 1973 and in an MA in audiology from Vanderbilt University in 1976.  «email Nancy at nac2@georgetown.edu

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Naomi Lee (Moghaddam) is a fifth-year student in the Human Development and Public Policy concentration.  Her publications and teaching reflect her research interests in cultural processes, qualitative analysis, and the psychology of intergroup relations. She has been conducting field research in South and North America, particularly among Spanish-speaking communities.  Her dissertation research will examine the cultural psychology of rights and duties in the context of immigrant domestic labor in the United States.  Prior to beginning her studies at Georgetown, Naomi worked as a Bilingual Case Manager for a women's shelter in Durham, North Carolina.   She holds a BA (German) and an ABE (Engineering) from Dartmouth College, and she received her MS in Psychology from Georgetown University in 2007.  «email Naomi at nlp3@georgetown.edu

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Sarah Vidal (Woolard) is a first-year student in the Human Development and Public Policy Concentration.  Her research interests lie primarily within the fields of Psychology and Criminal Justice.  More specifically, she focuses on adolescent development and juvenile delinquency; and studies juvenile competency and decision-making in legal settings.  Prior to coming to Georgetown, Sarah worked as a Research Assistant and Interviewer in the Psychopathology and Criminal Justice Research Lab at the University of California- Irvine where she also received her BA in Psychology and Social Behavior and Criminology, Law, and Society in 2006.  <<email Sarah at sjv6@georgetown.edu

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Elizabeth Zack (Barr) is a fourth-year student in the Human Development and Public Policy concentration at Georgetown. She is involved in projects examining how children learn from 2D and transfer information to the real world and parent-infant interactions during media use. Beth holds a BA in Psychology from Gettysburg College and a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology from the University of Melbourne in Australia, which she attended as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. She was previously employed as a Junior Research Scientist in the Infant Action Lab at New York University.  «email Elizabeth at eaz3@georgetown.edu

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Dual Students

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Beth Corrington (Phillips) is a third-year student in the Dual MPP/PhD program.  Her research interests include the effects of early education programs on subsequent academic achievement (particularly for minority and low-income children), as well as the effect of involvement with the child welfare system on subsequent child development.  Her masters project examined the role of gender in the effects of participation in the Tulsa Oklahoma Pre-K Program on school readiness.  In summer 2008 she interned at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, investigating DC and federal policies that affect the development of children involved with the child welfare system.  Beth currently serves as the APA graduate student representative for Georgetown University.  She received her BA in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 and her MPP from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute in 2008.  «email Beth at mec87@georgetown.edu

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Hayley Daglis Cleary (Woolard) is a fourth-year student in the dual Psychology-Public Policy MPP/PhD program. Her research interests include adolescent decision making in legal contexts, juvenile crime, interrogation of juvenile suspects, and police interaction with youth. Her dissertation will examine police interviewing and interrogation strategies with juvenile suspects. Hayley received BAs in Psychology and Russian Studies from the University of Virginia in 2004 and an MPP from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute in 2007.  «email Hayley at hd35@georgetown.edu