Jessica S. Flannery, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She received her Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience at Florida International University before coming to UNC. Dr. Flannery is interested in studying individual differences in social and affective neurocognitive mechanisms during the critical developmental period of adolescence. She leverages longitudinal neuroimaging data, behavioral data, and physiological data to identify antecedents and consequences of substance use and reward-related social behaviors. Dr. Flannery is supported by a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA).

Dr. Angelica Carranza, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development at UC Davis before coming to UNC. Dr. Carranza is interested in studying individual differences in the social and affective neural mechanisms of mental health and wellness during adolescence. 

Adrienne Bonar, M.A., is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She studies how variation in body states and neural networks underlying emotion shape emotional experiences across the lifespan (i.e., adolescence to late adulthood). She is also interested in how sociocultural beliefs and structural inequities influence the experience of emotion. To explore these questions, Adrienne uses methods from affective neuroscience, psychophysiology, psychoneuroimmunology, and social psychology. Adrienne’s graduate training was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and a UNC Royster Society Fellowship.

Yuritza Escalante, B.S., is a first year Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She is interested in how the brain constructs emotional experiences. Yuritza’s graduate training is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Yuritza is the lab Science Outreach Coordinator.

Mallory Feldman, M.A., is a sixth year Ph.D candidate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She is interested in how social others scaffold basic psychophysiological processes underlying emotional experience and embodied aspects of mind. Mallory’s graduate training is supported by a National Institutes of Health Pre-doctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA).

Natalie Frye, M.A., is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She is interested in the network neuroscience of emotion, the change in neural networks across development, and implications for mental health.

Jingyi Luo, M.A., is a first year Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She is interested in the role of interoception and body states in emotion across the lifespan.

Ruofan Ma, M.A., is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She is interested in taking a lifespan approach to understand how interoception contributes to individuals' perception of the self and others, and in turn, influences social decision-making processes. As a clinical psychology student, she is also interested in how these processes contribute to mental health outcomes involved in complex psychopathology, and she always aims to promote mental health equity with her research. Ruofan’s graduate training has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Foreign Study Award (DFSA).

Michelle Shipkova, M.A., is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She is interested in how individual differences in representations of body states and concept knowledge contribute to the development of emotion and are impacted by early life experiences. Michelle’s graduate training is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Gretchen Wulfekuhle, B.A., is a first year Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. She is interested in how neural networks supporting emotions and social behavior change across the adult lifespan with increasing age.

Juan Bellassai (he/him), M.A., is a Project Coordinator working on our NIDA-supported study of social affective processing, social context, and health risk behaviors in childhood and adolescence. He is from Asuncion, Paraguay and graduated from Brown University with a B.A in Biology in 2019 and a Masters in Psychology from the The New School for Social Research in 2022. Juan is interested in studying how social media plays a role in the development of psychopathology in teens and young adults with the goal of developing preventative and intervention methods. He plans on pursuing these interests through a PhD in Clinical Psychology. In his free time he enjoys reading, running, and exploring the local concert scene.

Lexi Bendl (she/her), B.A., is a Project Coordinator working on our NIDA-supported study of social affective processing, social context, and health risk behavior in childhood and adolescence. She is a 2024 graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. Lexi is interested in the effects of social media and other advancing technologies on how adolescents communicate with others and plans on pursuing this through a PhD in Psychology. In her free time, Lexi enjoys reading, listening to music, and hanging out with her cat, Suki.

Ashley Slocum (she/her), B.S., is a Project Coordinator working on our NIDA-supported study of social affective processing, social context, and health risk behaviors in childhood and adolescence. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in English. She previously worked as a research intern for the Triangle Center for Behavioral Health investigating neurodevelopmental disorders in adolescents. She is interested in emotional socialization and neurodevelopment. She plans on pursuing a Clinical Psychology PhD focusing on developmental psychopathology. In her free time, she is illustrating a children’s book and enjoys reading, cooking, and running with her dog, Amber.

Anna Beddingfield

Dujana Buheis

Dianne Celemen

Shiwon Chang

Grace Chow

Melissa Craig

Shreya Donthireddi

Elizabeth Esterov

Jennifer Fan

Mia Foglesong

Nikia Friday

Samantha Goode

Tianyu Gu

Emma Kitchens

Casey Lin

Dhruvi Patel

Keyan Lin

Hayden Rutkowski

Grace Solie

Nina Song

Cecelia Tucker

Mariam Wabha

Gabriella Alvarez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh

Junqiang (Jacob) Dai, PhD., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University

Cameron Doyle, Ph.D., Quantitative UX Researcher, Meta Platforms Inc.

Kent Lee, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Northeastern University

Joseph Leshin, PhD., Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Northeastern University

Jennifer MacCormack, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia

Joshua Jackson, PhD., Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Elise Rice, Ph.D., Program Officer, Division of Behavioral and Social Research, National Institute on Aging