Staff and Students

Lab Manager

I am from Kennebunkport, Maine, and graduated in 2024 from Elon University with my BA in Psychology. As one of six kids, I have always been fascinated with the ways babies and children learn and grow and how the environment in which they live shapes their development. Previously, I worked as a research assistant in the Infant Development Lab at Elon University, and am thrilled to now be part of the Baby Lab Team! Welcome to our lab!

Graduate Students

Nick Bisbee | 5th year graduate student
nbisbee1@jhu.edu

Humans quickly learn to use physical objects, symbols, and icons to manipulate the world around them. In what ways are we built for tool usage and how do we create systems of intangible tools like numbers or logic? How does our curiosity lead us to learn about so many systems (eg. block tower physics, Algebra, Game of Thrones politics) that we may not see a need for? As a first year, I intend to study what bounds our learning and what inspires it – with an emphasis on object representations and how they interact with our desire to share our conceptualizations.

Peter Mazalik | 4th year graduate student
pmazali1@jhu.edu

I am interested in the developmental trajectory of our logical capacities and the internal structure of infants’ representations. Currently, I am researching how children understand and contemplate possibilities and how infants represent change as a constant feature to determine individuation.

Sally Berson | 3rd year graduate student
sberson1@jh.edu

I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2023 where I majored in Biopsychology and Cognitive Science with a Philosophy focus. I think it is fascinating that infants and young children can reason about their environment using their primitive expectations about the way the world works. How does this early knowledge develop? I am studying how surprise and curiosity drive children’s explanation seeking, recognition, and generation. I am also interested in the cognitive and developmental origins of causal-reasoning abilities.

Justine Griego | 3rd year graduate student
jgriego2@jh.edu

I graduated from Emory University in 2021, with a double major in Linguistics and Psychology. My past research experience in psycholinguistics, comparative ecology, and neuroscience piqued my interest in the origins of the human mind. Currently, I work with the Social & Cognitive Origins Laboratory and the Laboratory for Child Development to dive into new questions on the evolution of the mind: how does language influence other mechanisms and capacities of cognition? How does perception differ between species? What is the structure and function of thought? And how well do contemporary philosophies of the mind answer these questions? If you are a dog, ape, or baby, or you have a friend who is, feel free to reach out to hear more!

Di Liu | 3rd year graduate student
dliu88@jh.edu

I am always amazed at how much babies know! This intrigues me to explore how early cognition is structured to store that knowledge. Currently, I’m researching how infants update their representation of objects and others’ mind. I’m also interested in how they utilize the knowledge they possess to guide their own information seeking behaviors. Outside the lab, I’ve been trying to apply my knowledge to understanding my cat’s behavior – an ongoing project I’m really passionate about!

Undergraduate Students

Priscilla Animadu

I am from Houston, Texas, and I am a Senior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Psychology. My interest in how infants reason and interpret their surroundings led me to the baby lab, where I am studying their ability to generate explanations. I hope to later become a maternal-child nurse, with a focus on how maternal health issues affect early childhood development!

Lissette Gonzalez

I am a Senior at Johns Hopkins University from Philadelphia, PA, majoring in Cognitive Science. Growing up with younger cousins, I became very interested in understanding the best ways to facilitate children’s learning. I am excited to discover the different ways children engage with the world around them and how they use this information to decide what to learn. I hope to apply this knowledge in my future career as a pediatric sonographer!

Maggie Tang

I am a Junior at Johns Hopkins University from Singapore, majoring in Cognitive Sciences and International Studies. The theory and origins of the mind have always fascinated me and I think there is no better place to attempt to unravel this mysterious topic than studying childhood development. The minds of children are unbounded reservoirs of potential and I’m curious to see what we can tap into to aid their development. I aspire to devote my academic and future career to working with children, potentially in the context of international organizations and I am grateful for this hands on research experience.

Esther Kehinde

I am a Senior at Johns Hopkins University from Nigeria and I am majoring in Psychology. I have always been curious about how children function the way they do in spite of their level of development. After graduation, I hope to obtain a graduate degree in clinical psychology in order to work with young individuals suffering from mental illness.

Claire Han

I am a Senior at Johns Hopkins University from Pensacola, FL majoring in Molecular Cellular Biology and Psychology. I’m fascinated by how children and infants perceive the world so differently and how early development contributes to many milestones. I aspire to be a pediatrician and hope to use this knowledge to better understand child development.

Helena Swaak

I am a Senior at Johns Hopkins University from McLean, Virginia, majoring in Psychology and Public Health. Through previous coaching experiences, I’ve developed a passion for working with kids. I’m excited to apply this to my interest in the remarkable ability children have to learn and absorb information, particularly in areas like language acquisition. I hope to use the knowledge I gain from this lab in a future career in nursing.

Chloe Lee

I’m a current Sophomore at Johns Hopkins University planning to major in public health and psychology. I have always believed babies were a lot more complex than what we initially thought so I joined this lab to understand and explore my curiosity. I’m especially interested in research involving children with ASD, as I have a great deal of experience working with them.

Jessica He

I am a junior at Johns Hopkins University, from San Jose, California, majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. I have always loved interacting with babies and children. I worked as an after-school tutor, not only helping children with their homework, but also finding ways to have fun. I am also the older sibling, and I often reminisce about the hours spent drawing and playing with my younger sister. Babies and children are curious, expressive, and deeply intuitive, seeing and knowing more than we give them credit for. I am especially interested in core knowledge systems in children and how these systems enable infants and children to learn and how learning affects these systems. As an aspiring clinical neuropsychologist, I believe my interactions with babies and children can further my understanding of the brain and how it develops, hopefully enabling me to better assess and treat individuals with brain disorders and neurological conditions.

Lauren Fang

I am a junior at Johns Hopkins University double majoring in Public Health Studies and Natural Sciences with a minor in Psychology. My experiences as an older sister, coach, and volunteer with underserved families sparked my passion for working with young children. This interest led me to the Baby Lab, where I can explore the mechanisms of childhood cognitive development. I am particularly interested in how children perceive the world around them and how surprise can play a key role in learning. I hope to carry the insights and experience I gain from this lab into my future career as a physician.

Yukang Han

I am a senior and transfer student at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Neuroscience. Previously, I studied Clinical Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. I have always been passionate about understanding what happens inside the human body, especially at the neuronal level. My interests focus on how the conscious system develops and how early childhood development influences individuals throughout life. I’d love to combine my backgrounds in neuroscience and psychology to explore the development of consciousness and explore my future career path here.

Athina Ramphal

I am from New York, and I am a junior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Psychology. I am a Research Assistant in the Child Development Lab, and my interests focus on how infants make choices and how those choices are influenced by the people around them. By examining the “why” behind early decisions, I aim to understand the mechanisms of learning and human behavior across development. I also hope to apply these insights to my current work with youth in the community and to other endeavors at the intersection of child psychology and the justice system.