Students in the Lab
Adriana Herrera is a Ph.D. student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science Program. Her research interests focus on using a cognitive and affective neuroscience approach to understanding the neurodevelopmental sequelae of early social experience on children’s emotional development. More specifically, her work examines the impact of early deprivation on the development of brain structures involved with emotion processing and attention regulation in post-institutionalized children adopted into the United States. The goal of this research is to elucidate the possible mechanisms through which early adverse social experiences increase a child’s vulnerability to psychopathology. She is currently involved in a longitudinal study examining aspects of attention, patterns of brain activity, social behaviors, and emotion regulation abilities in post-institutionalized children. This work is currently being conducted within the International Adoptions Project and in partnership with Dr. Megan Gunnar’s Human Developmental Psychobiology Laboratory.
Camelia Hostinar is a first year Ph.D. student in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, aiming to pursue her interest in the developmental neurobiology of the human stress response system and the underpinnings of individual differences in stress reactivity. Camelia received her Bachelor of Science degree from Towson University, in Baltimore (MD), where she completed the Honors Clinical Psychology Program and a one-year internship in the Johns Hopkins Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit. Camelia has been actively involved with the International Adoption Project since August 2008.
Anna Johnson is a graduate student in the Developmental Psychology doctoral program at the Institute of Child Development. Her research questions focus on the impact of early life experiences on the development of neurobehavioral regulatory systems and the learning of self-regulatory strategies related to stress, anxiety, and emotion. She plans to study these questions through the integrated neurobiological processes of emotional, physiological, and cognitive regulation in children and adolescents. Anna has been working with the International Adoption Project since 2007. She is currently involved in a study of emotional reactivity, cognitive executive functions, and endocrine activity among pre- and post-pubertal adolescents with diverse early life experiences.
Michelle Loman is a graduate student pursuing her PhD through the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science program. Michelle has been working on the International Adoption Project since 2005. She is particularly interested in studying cognitive and affective neuroscience, with specific interest in the effects of early adverse care on cognitive functioning and brain development. Michelle is currently involved in several IAP studies, including a study that examines the impact of diverse early life experiences on attentional control and response monitoring in 10- and 11-year-old children. Additionally, she is conducting a study with early adolescents investigating the impact of early adversity across a variety of domains including executive functioning (e.g. selective attention, set-shifting, and decision-making), emotional processing, motivational systems, and endocrine activity.
Sarah Stellern is a graduate student pursuing her PhD through the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science program. Sarah has been working on the International Adoption Project since 2008. Her research interests focus on the ways in which the caregiving environment contributes to adjustment and emotional development in childhood. She is particularly interested in understanding how genes interact with the social environment to shape the development of physiological systems that support stress and emotion. Sarah is currently involved with the Transition Study, which examines children’s adaptation and development following international adoption from institutional settings.
Kristen Wiik is a graduate student in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science doctorate program and has been working on the International Adoption Project since 2004. She is particularly interested in how adversity in early life may relate to the development of behavioral and emotional difficulties, such as anxiety and attention problems. Kristen is currently involved in several IAP studies, including a study of 8 and 9 year old children that examines the impact of children’s early life experiences on acoustic startle response and attention to emotional information. In addition, she is working on a longitudinal study with 5 year old children investigating the impact of early adversity on a variety of domains, including electroencephalogram (EEG) activity, attention, language, and social cognition.