Lab Alumni

Doctoral Alumni

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Meridith Grant, PhD

Spring 2007 — Spring 2011. Meridith earned a bachelor of arts in international relations from Tufts University and a masters of science in counseling psychology from the University of North Texas. She joined the Think Lab in Spring 2007 and was a leader in the lab on many projects with both preschoolers and elementary school-aged children. She defended her dissertation in April of 2011 and is currently an Associate Professor of Instruction at UTD.

Asheley Landrum, PhD

Spring 2009 — Summer 2013. Asheley completed her undergraduate education at The University of Texas at Austin before beginning graduate school at The University of Texas at Dallas. Her research in the UTD Think Lab focused on the development of critical thinking skills from early preschool to adulthood. After completing postdoctoral positions at the University of Louisville and at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, she is now an Assistant Professor of strategic science communication at Texas Tech University. You can find out more about her work here: http://www.asheleylandrum.com

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Fadwa Elashi, PhD

Spring 2008 — Summer 2009 undergraduate; Fall 2009 — Summer 2013 graduate. Fadwa’s research in the UTD Think Lab centered on the overlap between social and developmental psychology. Her senior honors thesis examined stereotypes in children. In graduate school, she examined how children’s learning may be influenced by biases related to group membership as well as how children think about bias in themselves and others.

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Sydney Rowles, PhD

Fall 2013 — Spring 2018. Sydney graduated Summa Cum Laude with Psychology Honors from the University of Alabama with a major in psychology and a minor in sociology. Her research in the UTD Think Lab focused on the factors that influence how children seek information from others. Sydney now serves as a Program Evaluation Analyst for the Dallas Independent School District.

Kaitlin Sands

Kaitlin Sands, PhD

Fall 2015 — Summer 2021. Kaitlin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Elon University with a major in psychology as well as minors in neuroscience and early childhood education. Kaitlin’s research in the UTD Think Lab focused on how young children learn about science from others. She examined how 3- to 7-year-olds make sense of explanations and non-explanations about biology as well as what kinds of instructional techniques work best to teach children about scientific concepts, such as camouflage.

Master’s Degree Alumni

Erin Allison (MS: Fall 2020 – Spring 2022).

Victoria Mugambi (MS: Fall 2017 – Spring 2019). Teaching in Arkansas.

Ian Campbell (BS: Fall 2012 – Spring 2014; MS: Fall 2014 – Spring 2016). Currently a doctoral student in education psychology with Kathleen Corriveau at Boston University.

Amelia Pflaum Taran (BS: Spring 2010 – Fall 2011; MS: Fall 2012 – Spring 2014). Currently works as a Project Manager for Research Now.

Rachel Williams (BS, MS: Summer 2011 – Fall 2013). Currently works as a Workforce Intelligence Analyst for Raytheon.

Richard Heinrich (MS: Spring 2012 – Spring 2013). Earning his Ph.D. in Communications.

Other Superstar Lab Alumni (i.e., in lab > 2 years or served as team leaders)

Pranati Ahuja (BS: Spring 2014 – Spring 2017).

Shreya Balamurali (Spring 2019 – Summer 2021).

Anthuanet Espinel (Summer 2019 – Spring 2022).

Katharine Harris (BS: Summer 2018 – Spring 2019). After completing an honors thesis examining children’s understanding of camouflage, Katharine is earning her master’s degree.

Angie Johnston (BS: Spring 2010 – Spring 2012). Earned a Ph.D. in Psychology at Yale University and is now an Assistant Professor at Boston College:
https://www.angiemjohnston.com/

Renee Jonason (BA: Fall 2012 – Spring 2014). Earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Denver.

Hershey Kumar (BS: Fall 2015 – Spring 2018). Medical school.

Kayla Klein Marcotte (BA: Summer 2011 – Spring 2014). Attending medical school at the University of Michigan.

Malvi Mehta (BS: Fall 2016 – Fall 2018). Finishing up a lab requirement before getting ready to begin medical school.

Laurie Smith (BA: Fall 2015 – Spring 2017). Attending graduate school in clinical psychology at Loyola University.

Alessandra Stagni (BA: Fall 2019 – Summer 2021). Currently earning her master’s degree in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience.