Lab Manager
Annie Mears
amears4@jhu.edu
I am a December ’22 graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Psychology and Writing Seminars. Young children have a unique view of the world, and it’s fascinating to work with them and get a glimpse into their minds. Previously, I worked in the LCD as a Research Assistant, and I am so happy to be able to contribute further as Lab Manager. In the future, I’m hoping to pursue a PhD in child and adolescent psychology.
Graduate Students
Qiong Cao | 5th year graduate student
qiong.cao@jhu.edu
What are the fundamental representations and computations children use to make inference? How do young children be selective about information when choosing what to learn? My research focus on how infants and young children reason about agents, objects, and daily life events. I’m also interested in how violation of expectations can help or hinder infants’ learning.
Nick Bisbee | 2nd 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.
Caroline Myers | 2nd year graduate student
cmyers60@jhu.edu
Babies have an intuitive understanding of a number of things in the physical world, like solidity and gravity. My research investigates the expectations babies have about the visual properties of natural phenomena. For instance, do infants expect water to flow downward, or fire to burn upward? I am also interested in how the visual system changes over the course of development, including how perceptual and attentional capacities develop in childhood and adolescence.
Peter Mazalik | 1st year graduate student
pmazali1@jhu.edu
I am interested in the developmental trajectory of our logical capacities and the internal structure of infants’ representations.
Undergraduate Students
Jaima Devries
I am a Senior Psychology major, and I couldn’t be more excited to join the Lab for Child Development! The adult mind is fascinating and being able to work with children to understand how the mind as we know it comes to be is an amazing opportunity. I’m beyond excited to contribute to this research and help develop deeper understandings.
Molly Atiencia
I am a Senior majoring in Public Health Studies and minoring in Psychology. I am very excited to be a part of this lab and learn more about the world of babies! My long term goal is to use my knowledge and research experience of developmental psychology to help children. As an aspiring pediatrician, I can’t wait to further my understanding on child development through our research.
Mashiyat Ahmed
I am a Senior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Behavioral Biology. I have always been fascinated by a child’s deceptively simple mind, which is, in reality, the host of incredibly complex functions and learning. At the lab for Child Development, I am excited to uncover some of the capabilities infants hold and the process by which they acquire skills that are fundamental to our functioning as adults.
Joanna Zhou
I am a Junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Writing Seminars! I am so excited to work in the lab to dive deeper into the minds of babies. I am extremely interested in learning about their thinking and logical processes and how that may lead to specific reasoning processes as adolescents. Working in the Lab for Child Development will allow me to build a strong foundation towards becoming a Child Psychologist!
Sharon Lee
I am a Junior majoring in Cognitive Science with a minor in Spanish for the Professions. My dream job is to work in early childhood education, whether that may be as a teacher in a classroom or in policy development and administration. I believe that our childhood experiences serve as the key foundation for our adult beliefs, values, and overall success. By studying infants’ developing cognitive abilities in the lab, I am eager to gain a deeper understanding of how children learn and apply that knowledge in my future to foster better care and support systems for our children!
Shivanie Patiram
I am a Junior Cognitive Science major taking prerequisite courses for my future career in neonatal/pediatric nursing. I am so excited to be a part of the Lab for Child Development and learn more about the fascinating minds of children! By participating in such important research, I hope to ultimately contribute to a deeper understanding of how children acquire certain skills and be able to apply this to medicine!
Kevin Centeno
I am a senior studying Psychology and Writing Seminars. From a developmental standpoint, we were all babies at one point, but this striking truth belies processes—occurring before birth and onwards—that span years. Drawn to the ever-growing fields of mental health counseling and child and adolescent psychology, I believe understanding the capacities of young children will only serve to enrich a possible future practice as a child psychologist. I am captivated by what goes on “in between” infancy, toddlerhood, and adulthood and am eager for the opportunity to work in the Lab for Child Development!
Layla Salomon
I am a Junior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Cognitive Science and Environmental Studies. I’m very excited to be working in the Lab for Child Development and expanding my understanding of developmental cognitive science, potentially leading me toward a future in child psychology or therapy. I think that who we are as babies can have profound effects on who we become later in life, and I can’t wait to learn more about this relationship in practice!
Kyarie Shelton
I am a Sophomore majoring in Psychology. I am incredibly grateful to be a research assistant in the Lab for Child Development because I have the chance to gain a unique insight into the minds of babies and toddlers. Since the birth of my two little sisters, I have been extremely fascinated with baby brain development. Additionally, I am beyond excited to apply what I learn in the Lab for Child Development to my future career as a physician.
Arianna Sforza
I am a Junior at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Public Health and minoring in Spanish for the Professions. I am deeply interested in the manner in which babies and young children of all backgrounds perceive and learn about the world, and how this can serve as a predictor for their behavior, mannerisms, and preferences as they grow. As an aspiring child psychiatrist, I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved in relevant, hands-on research which will provide me with a solid foundation in the field of child development and the knowledge to treat patients in a sensitive, developmentally accurate way.
The Johns Hopkins University 