Meet the Team
Director
Rina Das Eiden
Director
Current projects include a randomized clinical trial to promote co-parenting and reduce father/non-pregnant partner hazardous drinking in expectant parents; a translational (human-animal) study of prenatal tobacco and cannabis exposure effects on middle childhood outcomes in a sample recruited in pregnancy; developmental pathways to violence, victimization, and substance use in a sample exposed to cocaine and other substances in utero; and a collaboration with Dr. Mary Dozier on a clinical trial for opioid-dependent mothers living in poverty. Finally, in collaboration with Drs. Jenae Neiderhiser and Danielle Downs, we are examining risk and protective processes among rural families with the larger goal of understanding rural health disparities.
Lab Manager
Rebecca Lim
Lab Manager
Becca is the lab manager for the Development, Risk, & Resilience Lab at Penn State. She holds her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Education from UC San Diego, where she assisted with research studying child and community wellbeing, child development, and social emotional learning (SEL) in diverse school and community contexts. Becca has worked with children and adolescents in a number of K-12 settings, and she is interested in community-engaged approaches to researching mental health and educational equity. She hopes to eventually attend graduate school to study how school, family, and community-based programs can advance equitable developmental outcomes for children and empower under-resourced communities.
Graduate Students
Miglena Ivanova
Doctoral Student
Miglena Ivanova, M.S., is a fourth-year doctoral student in Developmental Psychology, working with Dr. Rina Eiden and Dr. Jenae Neiderhiser. Miglena is also a Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) pre-doctoral fellow, working with Dr. Ashley Linden-Carmichael, and secondary advisor Dr. Qiushi Chen. Her research interests center on the understanding of differential pathways via which early risk and protective factors predict childhood codeveloping internalizing and externalizing behavior problem trajectories and subsequent unique patterns of adolescent substance use and psychological disorders. Miglena is interested in integrating advanced quantitative methodologies, including longitudinal growth modeling and machine learning, to explore her research interests. Her long-term goal is to translate her research into developing individualized evidence-based prevention techniques and early interventions. When not working on her research, Miglena dedicates her time to mentoring students, advocating for more representation of and equity for neurodiverse individuals in academia, and exploring new ideas and novel analytical methods.
Originally from Bulgaria, she received her B.S. degrees in Psychology and in Psychiatric Rehabilitation from Montana State University Billings in 2019, graduating as an Honors Scholar and the 2019 University Golden Merit Award Recipient.
Madison Kelm
Doctoral Student
Rachel Marcus
Doctoral Student
Rachel Level
Doctoral Student
Post-Doctoral Scholars
Danielle Seay
Postdoctoral Scholar
Kristin Perry
Postdoctoral Scholar
Research Coordinators
Makenna Luzenski
Research Study Coordinator
Research Assistants
Hannah Brownstein
Undergraduate Researcher
Hannah Brownstein is a Senior at Penn State majoring in Psychology with a minor in Human Development & Family Studies. Hannah has always had a passion for working with children containing developmental and learning disabilities. After graduation, she aspires to attend graduate school in hopes to become a School Psychologist. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, traveling, and skiing!
Keelia Chilberg
Undergraduate Researcher
Nina Dillon
Undergraduate Researcher
Nina Dillon is a fourth-year student majoring in psychology and minoring in human development and family studies and global and international studies. Nina loves to work with children and is interested in a variety of career outcomes including child counseling and school psychology. After graduation, she plans on continuing her education to receive her master’s degree. Nina has been involved in the lab for 2 semesters and is a member of the systematic review team and participant recruitment team. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, traveling, and experiencing new things.
Judson Dommer
Undergraduate Researcher
Judson Dommer is a fourth-year student at Penn State pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Post-graduation, he hopes to attend a MD/PhD medical school program for pursuing a career in Psychiatry, in which he hopes to work with children, adolescents, and young adults in mental health treatment. Additionally, Judson hopes to be involved in psychopharmacological research and stay a part of the pursuit of new knowledge. Judson is President of the Blooms and Shrooms club, is an active member of the Nittany Grotto Caving and Competitive Ballroom Dance clubs, and is passionate about rock climbing, theater, and his cat, Riley.
Alison Harvey
Undergraduate Researcher
Alison Harvey is a first-year student in the Schreyer Honors College majoring in biobehavioral health. After graduating from Penn State, she plans to attend medical school and eventually specialize in pediatrics. Alison is interested in how physical health and well-being are directly related to the environment a child lives in and the social experiences they have. In her free time, Alison enjoys hiking, snowboarding, working out, and traveling.
Kavya Iyer
Undergraduate Researcher
Kavya is a third-year student double majoring in Psychology as well as Human Development and Family Studies. She hopes to work with adolescents and young adults after graduating. She is specifically interested in pursuing a career that combines both of these majors, such as clinical psychology or behavioral health therapy. Her specific interests include anxiety, PTSD, and LGBTQIA+ topics. In her free time, she loves reading, playing tennis, traveling, and being with friends and family.
Leyi Liu
Undergraduate Researcher
Leyi Liu is a senior majoring Psychology with a minor in Korean language. Leyi is interested in social psychology and development psychology. As a career goal, she wishes to work with teenagers and use her knowledge to help them. After graduation, she plans to continue her study on social psychology in graduate school. In her free time, she usually spends time on watching movies, cooking, and traveling with friends. She also loves cats!
Peri Manoff
Undergraduate Researcher
Peri Manoff is a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology with a minor in Sports Studies. After graduating from Penn State, Peri hopes to go to graduate school with a focus on clinical/counseling psychology. She wants to work with children and specialize in anxiety, phobias, and other mental health disorders with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as the primary treatment style. Outside of school, Peri loves to read, play and watch sports, be outside, and spend time with her family and friends!
Ella McCoy
Undergraduate Researcher
Ella is a Junior majoring in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies, as well as a Business Fundamentals Certificate. She intends to go to graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in counseling and work with children and families in the future. Ella spends her free time reading, working out, being outdoors, and getting involved in her THON organization as much as she can.
Christopher Miscannon
Undergraduate Researcher
Chris is a fourth year student at Penn State majoring in psychology and minoring in early education and development. Chris is interested in educational psychology and after graduation plans to pursue a masters in school psychology. During the summers, Chris works as a camp counselor at an overnight camp in Maine for two months and loves that he is able to fulfill his passion of working with children. Chris is also a member of Psi Chi and Penn State CrossFit where he currently serves as their Family Relations THON Chair.
Yejin Park
Undergraduate Researcher
Yejin is a third-year student majoring in human development and family studies in the Life span Human service option. She is interested in children’s development and mental health issues in relation to the impacts of parenting and family relationships. As a long-term career goal, she pursues to be a counselor to help children and families. with this interest, she currently plans to go to graduate school to study developmental/clinical psychology. In her free time, she loves listening to music, practicing yoga, and traveling.
Nicole Siciliano
Undergraduate Researcher
Nicole Siciliano is currently in her senior year of her undergraduate career at Penn State. She is on track to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a minor in human development and family studies. Nicole is passionate about developmental psychology and would like to enter a profession that allows her to better the lives of children. Although Nicole is still discovering her interests within the field of psychology, she plans to attend graduate school after graduation and is considering a career as school psychologist. Nicole is excited to be a part of the lab and gain valuable knowledge and skills as a result of this experience.
Ashley Tarud
Undergraduate Researcher
Ashley Tarud is currently a senior majoring in Psychology (B.S). and double minoring in Rehabilitation and Human Services along with Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies. Ashley is still exploring psychology, however she has a desire to work with children or young adults in the future and is excited to gain more knowledge through this lab. Her plan is to attend graduate school for clinical psychology after graduation. Ashley enjoys reading, listening to music, walking, and spending time with friends and family in her free time.
Macy Watkins
Undergraduate Researcher
Macy is a junior in the Schreyer Honors College pursuing a double major in Psychology and Spanish with a minor in Political Science. Macy is fascinated by many fields of psychology but finds developmental psychology particularly interesting as she holds a strong desire to help children. After graduation, Macy plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. Outside of psychology and the lab, Macy works as a mentor at Penn State’s Public Speaking Center where she enjoys helping her peers feel more comfortable with public speaking. Macy also volunteers with THON and is very passionate about the work THON does to improve the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer. Macy is looking forward to Spring 2024 where she will be spending the semester in Granada, Spain immersing herself in Spanish language and culture.
Rachel Weis
Undergraduate Researcher
Collaborating Staff
Meghan Casey Leising
Lab Manager
Elizabeth Young
Coding Supervisor
Elizabeth has worked in the lab at SUNY at Buffalo for 20 years in the area of child development and on several addiction studies. She started as a research tech after college, conducting assessments with parent-child dyads. With an interest in the education system, she then moved on to become a school coordinator, scheduling and conducting observations in schools across western New York. Elizabeth currently holds a coding supervisor position in the lab. She trains students and staff on various observational coding paradigms from infancy to adolescence.
Shannon Shisler
Data Manager and Analyst
Dr. Shisler has worked in Dr. Eiden’s lab for over 17 years on multiple studies of child development in substance-exposed children. Her research interests include the impact of cumulative risk on child development, which may be particularly salient for prenatally substance-exposed children as they may be exposed to larger constellations of risk factors. Shannon serves as a data manager and analyst for several of Dr. Eiden’s projects. She also works for the Department of Pediatrics (SUNY at Buffalo) and is a Senior Research Fellow for the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie, London, UK).
Junru Zhao
Data Analyst
Dr. Zhao is working as a data analyst in the lab and is interested in the role of community violence in predicting child outcomes. She is a developmental scientist by training.