CURRENT LAB MEMBERS




LAB DIRECTOR:

Karen Rudolph, Ph.D.

| CV | Publications

Karen Rudolph is a Professor of Psychology in the Developmental Program. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology at UCLA and completed her clinical internship at the Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital (now the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior) at UCLA. The major goal of Dr. Rudolph's research is to understand why some youth are more vulnerable than others to the development of psychopathology, with a focus on adolescence as a stage of particular sensitivity. To accomplish this goal, her research considers how personal attributes, developmental changes, and the social contexts in which youth live contribute to psychopathology, particularly depression, and how these risks can be counterbalanced by protective resources. She has authored over 100 publications, and has been the recipient of several awards, including a William T. Grant Faculty Scholars Award, a James McKeen Cattell Award, and an Arnold O. Beckman Award. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, hiking, and hanging out with her husband, kids, and cocker spaniel.



POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW:


Erin Wood

Erin Wood is a postdoctoral research associate in the developmental division of psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with concentrations in development and comparative neurobiology from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in May 2021. Broadly, she is interested in how early life adversity and family relationships influence behavioral and biological development. The current focus on her research is to understand the interplay between emotion regulation and response to stress and how it influences the development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence.





GRADUATE STUDENTS:


Haina Modi

Haina Modi is a doctoral student in the developmental division of psychology. Before joining the lab in the fall of 2016, she received a B.S. at the University of Houston and worked as a full-time research assistant at the UTHealth Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders. The current focus of her research is to examine how a confluence of factors, such as parent characteristics, adversity, and temperamental traits all contribute to the development of emotion processing during adolescence. Using fMRI, she also studies how these behavioral processes unfold at the neural level, and whether differences in neural activity across adolescence can predict risk for psychopathology.




Haley Skymba

Haley Skymba is a doctoral student in the clinical/community division of psychology at UIUC. Prior to joining the lab, she received her BS from Moravian College and worked as a junior specialist at the TCAN lab at UC Davis. Broadly, she is interested in understanding how early life experiences of peer and family adversity can impact emotional development in children and adolescents. She has a specific interest in the influence of such experiences on emotion regulation skills and executive functioning at both behavioral and neural levels. Her research ultimately aims to examine how alterations in these processes are related to, or can predict, internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety) in adolescence.




Pearl Ye

Zihua (Pearl) Ye is a doctoral student in the developmental division of psychology. She previously earned a B.A. from Rice University in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences and a M.A. from the University of Chicago. Before joining the lab, she worked as a full-time research associate at the CAR lab (currently at USC). Broadly, she is interested in adopting a multimodal and developmental framework to investigate the contribution of environmental, interpersonal, and biological processes to emerging gender differences in psychopathology. She is particularly interested in understanding how early adversity, youths' development of emotion functioning and stress response systems, and parental factors interact to affect risks of developing depression among adolescents.




Rebekah Clapham

Rebekah Clapham is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical-Community division of psychology. She previously earned a B.A. from Skidmore College in Psychology. Before joining the lab, Rebekah worked as a full-time research coordinator in the Risk Behaviors Lab at Western Kentucky University. Broadly, she is interested in understanding risk factors for emotion regulation difficulties that contribute to self-harm outcomes, such as suicide and NSSI. She is particularly interested in understanding how lack of emotion regulation skills interacts with internalizing and externalizing symptoms, as well as stress response systems to affect the development of self-harm outcomes among adolescents.


UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:



Jasmine Bigelow



Jasmine Bigelow is currently a junior studying Developmental Psychology with minors in Philosophy and Journalism. She joined the Family Studies Lab in the Spring Semester of 2021. She is passionate about studying sibling differences and how parenting practices affect the development of adolescent personality. Outside of the lab, Jasmine plays flute in the University Concert Band and volunteers with the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity. She also loves reading, going to the gym, and thrift shopping.







Katherine Hilbing



Katherine Hilbing is a senior studying Clinical/Community Psychology with a minor in Informatics. She joined the Family Studies Lab in the Spring Semester of 2021. Katherine is passionate about studying autism spectrum disorder and is interested in pursing a career in both research and therapy. Outside of the lab, Katherine helps run the Undergraduate Psychology Association. She also loves reading, exercising, and board games.






Trinity Nelson



Trinity Nelson is a senior studying Clinical/Community Psychology and receiving a double minor in Criminology and Business. She has been a part of the Family Studies Lab since January of 2021. Trinity is interested in pursuing a career in therapy. She spends time as a facilitator in the Social Justice Educators program. Outside of the lab, Trinity enjoys exercising, reading, and thrift shopping.







Norah Yao



Norah Yao is currently a junior studying Clinical/Community Psychology and Music. She hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and work as a researcher in the future. She is also interested in pursuing a master’s degree in music therapy to combine her profession with her hobby. She joined the Family Studies Lab in the Fall Semester of 2021. Outside of the lab, Norah plays the electric guitar with her bands in Jasmine Field Orchestra. She also enjoys composing music and writing poems.







Sahana Sainath



Sahana is currently a sophomore studying Psychology. She joined the Family Studies Lab in May 2022. She is interested in working with children and adolescents in the realm of counseling, school psychology, or developmental psychology. She also enjoys listening to music from around the world, drawing, and watching movies.