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DOCTORAL STUDENTS
Jennifer (Fall 2021-Present)
Jennifer is currently the Cognitive and Language Development Lab manager. She is a 2nd-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. 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. Her research interests include the interplay between parent stress, parent-child interactions, and infant/child development. Her clinical interests include dyadic therapy and parent-infant/child attachment. For her master’s thesis, Jennifer is studying 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.
MASTERS STUDENTS
Julia (Summer 2019-Present)
Julia is a research assistant who began working in the lab in the summer of 2019. She is on track for the five-year BA/MA program and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Psychology. Julia is interested in the development of infants and children, and how the environment around them impacts their development. Additionally, she is interested in the biological side of cognition in young children and how this impacts daily functioning. In the future, she hopes to attain a doctoral degree in neurodevelopmental psychology or child clinical psychology.
Stephanie (Spring 2021-Present)
Stephanie is a third year Master’s student in Clinical Psychology, doing a research internship with Dr. Laura Lakusta. She also received her BS in Biology and BA in Philosophy Montclair State University in 2020. After graduation her plans are to continue working in research and eventually pursue a PhD, combining knowledge and methodology from philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. Her research interests include ontology, psychedelic research, the self, the phenomena and experience of time, ethics, nature, and cognitive development.
Karima (Fall 2019-Present)
Karima is an undergraduate majoring in Psychology with a minor in cognitive science at Montclair State University. Enrolled in the 5 year accelerated Ba/Ma program, this is her first semester in the graduate program. After her Master’s she hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis on cognition. Karima hopes to continue research and eventually become involved in the clinical work with young children, combining the acquired knowledge between her educational background and research of psychology and cognitive science to better understand the mental health of children, their conscious and unconscious experiences and overall psyche.
Collin (Summer 2021-Present)
Collin is enrolled part-time in the Child/Adolescent Clinical Psychology Master’s program at Montclair State University. He completed his B.A. in 2019 at MSU with a degree in Psychology. Collin joined this lab to study children’s cognitive abilities and acquisition of concepts. He is gaining research experience while conducting a study within the Cognitive and Language Development lab. Collin enjoys being a student and is considering doctoral programs after he completes his current program.
Brian (Summer 2021-Present)
Paola (Summer 2021-Present)
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Emily (Summer 2020-Present)
Emily is a fourth year undergraduate with a double major in Psychology and Justice Studies. Emily joined the lab in the summer of 2020 because of her passion for research and child development. She is also hopeful of using the experience she gains in this lab to assist her in her future graduate school and career endeavors. Emily’s hopes to enter into a Clinical Psychology Ph.D program after she graduates with her B.A. at Montclair State to become a psychologist specializing in adolescents and eating disorders. Emily also aspires to become a professor at a university to study eating disorders and eating pathology.
Jizette (Summer 2022-Present)
Jizette is a second-year undergraduate student at Montclair and is currently on track for the BA/MA Psychological Research program. She joined the lab in Summer 2022 due to her interests in early childhood development and cognitive science. Jizette plans on pursuing her PhD or PsyD in Clinical Psychology after her Master’s. She aims to get more involved with psychological research throughout her time at the lab.
Angelina (Summer 2022-Present)
Angelina is a third year undergraduate student at Montclair State University. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Spanish and Criminal Justice. She is interested in pursuing clinical forensic psychology, focusing on diagnosis, assessment, and how the environment effects cognition. In the future, she hopes to pursue a PhD program in clinical forensic psychology, focusing on children.
Faith (Spring 2023- Present)
Faith is a second year undergraduate student at Montclair State University. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Business. She is interested in working with children and hopes to get her Master and Doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology. She also hopes to open up her own practice one day.
Cognitive and Language Development Lab 