Principal Investigator

Lauren is the Lab Manager in Dr. Shuffrey's RESILIENT Lab. After graduating from the University of Richmond in 2019 with a double major in Psychology and Classics, Lauren completed postgraduate appointments as a Postgraduate Research Associate at the Yale Child Study Center and a Research Coordinator in Stanford University's Department of Psychology. Lauren’s current research interests broadly include biological and behavioral impacts of early childhood adverse events and intergenerational markers of stress and trauma. 

Julianna is a Research Associate in Dr. Shuffrey’s RESILIENT Lab. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a B.S. in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. During undergrad, she worked in Dr. Zoe Smith’s ACCTION Lab as a research assistant, where she focused on community-based assessments and intervention development for youth with ADHD and cognitive disengagement syndrome. Julianna is excited to research and learn more about the neurodevelopmental trajectories of infants who’ve experienced early childhood adverse events along with the influence of maternal’s health during pregnancy.

Anahid is a Research Associate in Dr. Shuffrey’s RESILIENT Lab. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. During her time in undergrad, she developed an interest in utilizing EEG to mark cognitive control and the neurdevelopmental trajectory of children that had experienced early-life adversity.  Anahid is eager to further research the impacts of early-age trauma on the developing brain and psyche.

Erika graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from New York University in May 2024. She is currently pursuing a M.A. in Psychology with a focus in Clinical Psychology at NYU. As an undergrad student, she worked in a stem cell research lab, where she developed a passion for cutting-edge scientific research. Erika is excited to learn more about the interaction between maternal mental health and the development of infants.

Emily graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and Minors in Chemistry and Public Health from New York University in May 2025. Her interest in women’s health was cemented by her time volunteering with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Maimonides Medical Center. She also loves working with children as she was both a youth swimming and running coach in high school. She is very excited to join the RESILIENT team as the lab combines her interests in obstetric and pediatric medicine perfectly!

Aoife is a senior at NYU pursuing a major in psychology and a minor in child and adolescent mental health studies. Her interest in developmental psychology and neuroscience was sparked by volunteering in a cognitive development lab and through the child and adolescent mental health classes she has taken. She is excited to join this RESILIENT lab to learn more about maternal mental health and its influence on early childhood psychological outcomes. Above all, Aoife is  passionate about being part of a research team dedicated to identifying methods for cultivating resilience within families!

 Rosemary is a senior at NYU majoring in Psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent

Mental Health. Her interest in developmental psychology and neuroscience was sparked by her

time volunteering at an early childhood intervention center and the child and adolescent mental

health classes she has taken at NYU. Rosemary is excited to join the RESILIENT team and

hopes to learn a lot more about maternal mental health and infant brain development.

Krisha is a junior at NYU studying psychology on the premed track. Her interest in developmental psychology and pediatrics was sparked by working with children in previous jobs and from college courses. She is excited to join the RESILIENT lab to learn more about maternal health and to contribute to important fetal brain development research!

Jessica received her B.A. in Neuroscience and Sociology from Barnard College in 2022, where she was part of the COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcome (COMBO) study with Dr. Dani Dumitriu and developed adaptations of infant developmental assessments to be conducted remotely. Now, she is a coordinator for the Autism Center of Excellence at Columbia university, where she coordinates and conducts studies of early neurobehavioral trajectories that predict subsequent autism diagnosis. She is a Masters student in Sociology at Columbia University, where she carries out research pertaining to the role of rare disease organizations in scientific knowledge production. Additionally, she is working with Dr. Shuffrey on an analysis of the effects of neighborhood deprivation on child behavior, to better understand the interplay between social factors and child development.

 Jennifer graduated from Seton Hall University in 2017 with her B.S. in Psychology and from Montclair State University in 2019 with her M.A. in Clinical Psychology. Currently, she is a 3rd-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Montclair State University and the lab manager for Dr. Laura Lakusta's Cognitive and Language Development Lab. For her master’s thesis, Jennifer explored the effect of exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on child language development and how other factors like maternal mental health and socioeconomic status may be implicated. Furthermore, Jennifer is working with Dr. Shuffrey exploring the effects of perinatal complications on child development, including psychopathology and language development.

Yael Rayport is a researcher in Dr. Shuffrey’s RESILIENT Lab and a second-year medical student at SUNY Downstate. Yael graduated from Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she earned B.A.s in Psychology and Biblical Interpretation. Following graduation, Yael was a research assistant in the Fifer Laboratory at Columbia University, where she collaborated with Dr. Shuffrey on projects exploring impacts of gestational diabetes mellitus and maternal perinatal depression on child neurodevelopment. Through her research, Yael aims to uncover therapeutic interventions enabling children to reach their full potential.