Trainee Committee

Suzanne van de Groep, is a PhD student at Erasmus University Rotterdam at the SYNC lab, directed by Eveline Crone. Suzanne studies the neural basis of prosocial development in adolescence, specifically focusing on giving, trust, and reciprocity. She is also passionate about outreach and citizen science. Fun fact: Her twin sister also pursues a PhD, but with a focus on antisocial development.

Dana Glenn, PhD student University of California, Riverside at the Kids Interaction and NeuroDevelopment Lab, directed by Kalina Michalska. Dana uses fMRI to study how disruptions in emotion perception relate to the development of psychopathology in childhood and adolescence. Fun fact: she can moonwalk.

Marjolein Barendse Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oregon, in the Developmental Social Neuroscience lab. She studies how pubertal processes and brain function and connectivity contribute to mental health in adolescence. Fun fact: She once rode an ostrich.

Na Yeon Kim, PhD student at Princeton University at the Neuroscience of Attention & Perception Lab, directed by Sabine Kastner. Na Yeon studies how visuo-spatial attention develops in school children using fMRI. Fun fact: she has an English name, which she uses only at Starbucks.

Zeena Ammar, PhD student at Emory University at the Marcus Autism Center in the lab of Dr. Sarah Shultz. Zeena studies the development of social visual engagement and associated neural mechanisms in infants from birth to 6 months of age. Fun Fact: She plays the charango.

Leehyun Yoon is a postdoctoral scholar at UC Davis at the labs of Drs. Amanda Guyer and Johnna Swartz. Leehyun studies the neurodevelopmental mechanism of integrating social/nonsocial success and failure and how social experiences during adolescence affect brain development and mental health outcomes. Fun fact: She was a member of a rock band.

Jessica Flannery is a postdoctoral fellow at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the Developmental Social Neuroscience and Peer Relations Labs, directed by Eva Telzer and Mitch Prinstein. Jessica studies how functional brain developmental interacts with hormonal, microbial, and psychosocial developmental indices to influence social-affective development during adolescence. Fun fact: Her first science project as a kid was on which type of dog food dogs prefer, all as a ploy to hang out with the neighborhood dogs.

Maximilian Scheuplein, is a PhD student at Leiden University at the Risk and Resilience Group, directed by Anne-Laura van Harmelen. Maxi studies the interplay between social and neurobiological mechanisms that aid resilience in young people with a history of childhood adverse  experiences. Fun fact: In 2020, he moved to 3 different cities (all in different countries).

Sofi Cárdenas, is a PhD student at the University of Southern California at the Neuroendocrinology of Social Ties (NEST) Lab and Family Studies Project (FSP), directed by Darby Saxbe and Gayla Margolin, respectively. Sofi studies the neurobiological and environmental mechanisms supporting human parenting behavior and the parent-child relationship. Her current methods include functional neuroimaging, hormones, and sleep actigraphy. Fun fact: She has two sisters, and both are pursuing careers as psychologists.

Paola Odriozola is a PhD student at Yale University in the Clinical Affective Neuroscience and Development Lab, directed by Dr. Dylan Gee. Paola investigates how safety signals– stimuli in the environment that represent a lack of threat– can boost fear reduction and optimize current treatments for youth with anxiety. Paola uses fMRI to delineate the neural mechanisms and development of safety signal learning in healthy adults and typically-developing individuals. Fun fact: She crossed the USA-Mexico land border every day for 12 years to go to school in San Diego.