People

Principal Investigator

Dr. Laura Quiñones Camacho is an Assistant Professor in the Human Development, Culture, and Learning Sciences program in Educational Psychology. Her research explores how contextual and family factors influence neurobiological mechanisms for self-regulation and psychopathology throughout the childhood years.

She uses techniques ranging from psychophysiology (e.g., RSA, PEP) to neuroimaging (e.g., EEG, fNIRS), as well as experimental and longitudinal approaches. Her most recent work has focused on identifying dyadic neurobiological mechanisms for the intergenerational transmission of mental health problems.

Staff Team

Dr. Yelim Hong is a post-doctoral fellow in the Educational Psychology Program. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2023. She has a Bachelor of Science with honors in psychology from the University of Iowa in 2017.

Her research broadly focuses on how family context influences child socio-emotional and cognitive development. Specifically, her studies center on how child self-regulation (i.e., effortful control, executive function, respiratory sinus arrhythmia) and household regulation (i.e., household chaos) affect the bidirectional relationship between parenting behaviors and child behavior problems. In a separate line of research, she examines the mother-child behavioral and physiological similarity. Outside of her research work, she loves working out, watching musicals, going to jazz bars, and watching Korean TV shows.

Curriculum Vitae | Contact: yelimhong@utexas.edu

Megan Klinginsmith is a doctoral student in the University of Texas’s School/Clinical Child Psychology program. She has a Bachelor of Science from Creighton University and a Master of Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. Her graduate research included the study of protective factors for children who experience ACEs or adverse childhood experiences.

She is interested in exploring the complex interplay of caregiver transmission, child self-regulation, and environmental context that contribute to the developmental psychopathology of early childhood disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD). Her hobbies include drawing, playing pickleball, and going to parks with her dogs.

Curriculum Vitae

Nicole Jackson is currently a graduate student in the Educational Psychology Program earning her M.A within HDCLS. Her academic journey began with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Texas A&M University. As a pre-doc, she worked in Dr. Chen Yu’s Developmental Intelligence Lab where they utilized eye-tracking technology to explore the dynamics between parents and children, focusing on child development in naturalistic settings.

Her research interests lie at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience, specifically the biological underpinnings of behavior, emotional regulation, as well as risk factors and preventive measures related to mental health. She is thrilled to be a part of The Kids Lab, where she can contribute to research in this field.

Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys activities such as snowboarding, running, Zumba, and pickle ball.

Curriculum Vitae

Abby Droeger is a doctoral student in the University of Texas’s School/Clinical Child Psychology program. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and a Master of Arts in Psychology from the New School for Social Research. She has previously worked as a lab coordinator at UCLA, in Dr. Tiffany Ho’s lab, researching inflammation and biomarkers for depression in adolescents.

She is currently interested in how parent-child relationships, caregiving practices, and physiological mechanisms influence the development of psychopathology during early childhood and adolescence.

Her hobbies include reading, hiking, and spending time with her friends!

Curriculum Vitae

Subhiksha (Suba) Kanchadapu is the lab manager of the Kids’ lab. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science with honors in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Arts with high honors in Psychology from the University of California, Davis.

She worked as a research assistant at the Infant Cognition lab directed by Dr. Lisa Oakes. She pursued an honors thesis that examined parental language in joint and non-joint attention episodes with their infants. She also worked as a research assistant at the Attitudes and Group Identity Lab directed by Dr. Alison Ledgerwood. She worked on a poster project exploring people’s perceptions about Research Findings.

Her research interests include how parent-child interactions, language, and cultural influences impact the development of psychopathology in children. Her hobbies are watching TV shows, exploring food, and spending time with her cats.

Liani Guzman is a full-time research assistant at the KIDS Lab. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychological and Brain Sciences from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She has previously worked as a research coordinator in a lab at GW called Pathways to Health, researching how neighborhoods, schools, policy contexts, and families shape the health and development of U.S. Latino/a adolescents.

Her research interests include how cultural values like familialism and collectivism serve as protective factors in social inequalities and adversities faced by Latinos during early childhood and adolescence.

Her hobbies include exercising, going on walks, and reading!