PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR

KORALY PÉREZ-EDGAR

Dr. Pérez-Edgar is the McCourtney Professor of Child Studies and a Professor of Psychology at Penn State. She received her A.B. in psychology from Dartmouth College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University. Dr. Pérez-Edgar’s training was under the mentorship of Dr. Jerome Kagan at Harvard University, Dr. Nathan A. Fox at the University of Maryland, and Dr. Daniel S. Pine at the NIMH.

Dr. Pérez-Edgar’s research focuses on the relations between temperament and psychopathology. In particular, she examines how individual differences in attention can work to ameliorate or exacerbate early temperament traits. In conducting her work, Dr. Pérez-Edgar has taken a multi-method approach involving direct observation of behavior, cognitive functioning, psychophysiology, and neuroimaging.

Dr. Pérez-Edgar is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and a James McKeen Cattell Fund Fellow. She is also the recipient of numerous awards including an NIMH R01 BRAINS Award, an NIMH K01 Career Development Award, a NARSAD Young Investigator Award, a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. She received Penn State’s Graduate Faculty Teaching Award in 2021 and the APA Division 7 Mentor Award for 2024. Dr. Pérez-Edgar is the Editor-in-Chief of Developmental Psychology.

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ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSORS

BRENDAN OSTLUND

Brendan received a B.S. (2013) and a M.S. (2015) in Psychology from University of Oregon. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from University of Utah in 2019, working under the supervision of Dr. Elisabeth Conradt. He then worked as a post-doctoral scholar in the CAT Lab, until becoming an assistant research professor in 2022.

His research aims to elucidate the developmental origins of infant temperament, with a special emphasis on the neural mechanisms that may underlie the intergenerational transmission of childhood psychopathology risk. His current research examines how individual differences in infant neural noise contribute to attentional and behavioral risk for internalizing disorders in early childhood.

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EUNKYUNG LUCY SHIN

Eunkyung (Lucy) worked for national education curriculum and policy at the Korean Institute of Child Care and Education in South Korea after receiving an MA in Child and Family Studies from Yonsei University. Working under the supervision of Dr. Cindy Smith, Eunkyung moved to the United States and received a PhD in Human Development from Virginia Tech in 2020. She studied maternal influences on infant neurobehavioral development during her postdoctoral training in Dr. Brittany Howell’s laboratory at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion.

Her research focuses on individual and environmental factors that contribute to the socio-emotional development of children, particularly bi-directional relation between child temperament and parenting in early childhood, and their impacts on children’s optimal development and adjustment. Her research incorporates behavioral and biological markers, including behavioral observation, interviews, survey-based assessments, and neuroimaging. Eunkyung’s ultimate goal is to translate her research into practical strategies and policies for children’s healthy development and families’ well-being.

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POST-DOCTORAL Scientist

JOSCELIN ROCHA-HIDALGO

Joscelin received her Ph.D. at Georgetown University in 2022. Her specialization is in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience. Working with Dr. Rachel Barr, she focused on studying children's cognitive development from infancy to early childhood and how factors such as bilingualism play a role in its development.

Her current research is focused on parent-child neurobehavioral synchrony and factors that may predict their cognitive and socioemotional development. Her research incorporates multiple techniques such as fNIRS, eye-tracking, behavioral observation, structural interviews, and survey-based assessments.

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