People
Associate Professor
Role: Director
Research Interests: Gene-environment interplay, prenatal experiences, physiological responses to stress, pubertal development, parenting and parent-child relationships, development of behavior problems and substance use.
Current Graduate Students
Role: Olivia is a fifth-year graduate research assistant
Research Interests: Olivia is interested in stress response system programming, prenatal experiences and pubertal development. She is also interested in incorporating biomarker data and utilizing genetically informed designs in her work.
Current Projects in the BDL: Olivia is leading data management, cleaning, and preparation for EGDS and MCPP.
Advisor: Dr. Kristine Marceau
Funding: Olivia is currently (Fall 2022) the instructor of record for Biosocial Foundations of the Family (HDFS 305). She has been funded by the Early Growth and Development Study, and was previously the instructor of record for Diversity in Individual and Family Life (HDFS 280) teaching assistant for Multilevel Modeling (HDFS 627, Fall 2021).
Role : Amy is a third-year graduate research assistant
Research Interests: Amy is interested in the biological (i.e., hormones and genetics) and social (i.e., family and friendships) factors that influence adolescent alcohol initiation and subsequent use. They are particularly interested in researching how biological and social factors interact with gender and racial minority experiences in the development of adolescent alcohol use behaviors.
Current Projects in the BDL: Amy is examining the longitudinal effects of other-sex friendships on alcohol use in early adolescence (6th through 8th grade).
Advisor: Drs. Kristine Marceau and Valerie Knopik
Funding: Amy has funded by Dr. Marceau’s K01 award, and Drs. Marceau’s and Knopik’s start up accounts, and has served as the teaching assistant for Helping Professionals in Individual, Family, and Group Settings (HDFS 331, Spring 2022).
Role : Nikolina is a third-year graduate research assistant
Research Interests: Nikolina is interested in the prenatal development and how it is affected by maternal behavior, environment, and genetics. She is also interested in placental phenotypic and genotypic characteristics and their possible relationship with infant health outcomes.
Current Projects in the BDL: Nikolina is exploring how placental morphology is linked to placental methylation.
Advisor: Drs. Kristine Marceau and Valerie Knopik
Funding: Nikolina has been funded by Dr. Marceau’s K01 grant, and Dr. Marceau’s and Knopik’s start-up accounts.
Role : Hazel is a third-year graduate research assistant
Research Interests: Hazel is interested in the interactive roles of early adversities and biological factors in developmental problems (e.g., substance use) among adolescents. She is also interested in online (SNS use) and offline peer interactions in shaping adolescents’ development.
Current Projects in the BDL: Hazel is conducting behavioral genetic analyses to understand genetic and environmental influences on different forms of bullying and how they relate to substance use in adolescence.
Advisor: Drs. Kristine Marceau and Valerie Knopik
Funding: Hazel has been funded by Dr. Knopik’s and Marceau’s start-up accounts and the Early Growth and Development Study, as well as served as teaching assistant for Adolescent Development (HDFS 313, Fall 2022) and Child Development (HDFS 311, Spring 2022).
Role : Sohee is a second-year graduate research assistant
Research Interests: Sohee is interested in the joint effects of genetic factors and early life (from the prenatal period to the first few months of life) stress on children and adolescent’s development (physical and mental health). She is also interested in how possible hardships may be regulated with familial factors like parenting.
Advisor: Drs. Kristine Marceau and Valerie Knopik
Funding: Sohee has funded by Dr. Knopik’s start-up account and the Early Growth and Development Study, and as a teaching assistant for Introduction to Family Processes (HDFS 201, Spring 2022) and Diversity in Individual and Family Life (HDFS 280, Fall 2021).
Graduate Student Alumni
Emily Rolan
Emily graduated with her PhD in May, 2020. She is currently a Post-doc at Michigan State University with Drs. Kelly Klump and Kristin Culbert.
Gregor Horvath
Gregor graduated with his MS in May, 2020. He is currently a Research Associate at Rogers Behavioral Health in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
Aura Mishra
Aura graduated with her PhD in August, 2020. She is currently a Post-doc at the University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill with Drs. Kathleen Mullan Harris, Carolyn Halpern, and Allison Aiell.
Nayantara Nair
Tara graduated with her PhD in October, 2021. She is currently a Post-doc at Purdue University with Dr. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth.
Undergraduate Students
*Poster or Talk Presenter; +Paper coauthor; SSSummer Stay Scholarship awardee; RUndergrad Research Enhancement Grant awardee; OOffice of Undergraduate Research Scholarship awardee; LLSAMP awardee
Current Students
Abby RegachoSS, L
Kimiko Slazas
Gina Canino QuinonesL
Adira CriderL
Lauren Rutherford
Lily Che
Tulsi Desai
Hannah Murawski
Jillian Szweda
Alumni
Kaetlyn Dressendorfer, Biology, 2 semesters: Fall 2021 – Spring 2022
Julia Kramper*, Biology and Spanish, 3 semesters: Fall 2020 – Spring 2022
Ava Vande Corput, Biology and Chinese, 2 semesters: Fall 2021-Spring 2022
Elena Stanczykiewicz*, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 3 semesters: Fall 2020-Fall 2021
Kali Negussie, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 2 semesters: Spring 2021-Fall 2021
Katherine Price, Biology, 2 semesters: Spring 2021-Fall 2021
Brooke Lipscomb, Neurobiology and Physiology, 1 semester: Fall 2021
Madi Gritton, Psychological Sciences and Human Services, 2 semesters: Fall 2020-Spring 2021
Sarah Arnold*+, Development and Family Studies, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 3 semesters: Spring 2020-Spring 2021
Sarah JacksonSS, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Summer Stay Scholar, 3 semesters: Summer 2020-Spring 2021
Elsa Johnson, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 2 semesters: Spring 2020-Fall 2020
Savannah Hottle*+R, Biology, 9 semesters: Summer 2017-Spring 2020
Katarina Wujek, Biology, 5 semesters: Spring 2018-Spring 2020
Alishia Elliot*+R, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 3 semesters: Spring 2018-Spring 2020
Radhika Sahai*SS, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Summer Stay Scholar, 3 semesters: Summer 2019-Spring 2020
Annie Thompson, HDFS data mine, 2 semesters: Fall 2019-Fall 2020
Maya Kumar*, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 3 semesters: Fall 2018-Fall 2019
Kayla Stradford*ss, Biology- Genetics, Summer Stay Scholar, 4 semesters: Summer 2018-Spring 2019
Shuyu Gao*, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 3 semesters: Summer 2018-Spring 2019
Brittany Gelhausen, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 3 semesters: Summer 2018-Spring 2019
Laura Galles*, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 3 semesters: Spring 2018-Fall 2019, HHS outstanding Senior
Alyssa Gorzelnik, HDFS data mine, 1 semester: Fall 2019
Claire Demerly, HDFS data mine, 1 semester: Fall 2019
Rosie Mannin+, HDFS, 3 semesters: Spring 2017-Spring 2018
Olivia Clem*O, Psychological Sciences, OUR Scholar, 4 semesters: Fall 2017-Spring 2018.
Harlie Lane*O, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, OUR Scholar, 3 semesters: Summer 2017-Spring 2018
Shreya Swaminathan, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 2 semesters: Spring 2018-Fall 2018
Emily Field, Nursing, 2 semesters: Spring 2017-Fall 2017
Heather LangeSS, Psychological Sciences, 2 semesters: Summer 2017-Fall 2017