Rebecca Mirhashem joined the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program in Fall 2020. Rebecca received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Vermont’s Honors College in 2018. Before joining DSPL, Rebecca worked as a clinical research assistant at Bradley Hospital’s Pediatric Anxiety Research Center in Providence, R.I. Rebecca is interested in research involving children and parents in the foster care system and how child welfare may incorporate developmental science findings to improve program outcomes. She is passionate about the dissemination of research findings for broader audiences (e.g., parents, teachers, community members, policy makers) in an effort to have research inform access to evidence-based treatments for all families.

Lauren joined the Clinical Psychology Program in Fall 2021, and transferred to the Social & Health Psychology Program in Summer 2023. She obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University in 2021. Broadly, Lauren is interested in how Black families are affected by the structural and sociocultural environment of the United States and inform policies to improve their well-being. She has examined this topic in projects focused on neighborhood conditions and parenting behaviors, and prenatal care experiences for Black birthing people. Lauren was awarded a competitive Dr. W. Burghardt Turner Fellowship, supporting her from 2021 through 2025. Lauren is also very engaged in efforts to diversify the field of psychology through mentorship and conducting research with underrepresented populations.

Jill joined the lab as a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student in 2023, after serving as a project coordinator since 2019. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from Seattle University in 2012 and her M.A. in Applied Child and Adolescent Psychology from University of Washington in 2019. She is certified as both a parent coach and clinical supervisor of the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) intervention. She is interested in studying the ways in which caregivers’ own trauma, particularly racial trauma, influences their parenting beliefs and  behaviors. She aims to use this research to inform delivery of ABC and other evidence-based interventions, particularly for Black families. 

Grace joined the Clinical Psychology Program in Fall 2024. With a BA in Finance and an MA in Mental Health Counseling, she has worked at NYU Langone since 2019, supporting immigrant families through community-based interventions. Broadly, Grace is interested in the formation and transformation of habitual coping mechanisms in children's development, particularly how these mechanisms may be shaped by intergenerational dynamics and influence long-term outcomes. Currently, she is exploring the longitudinal relationship between parent sensitivity and children's health outcomes, specifically through BMI trajectories, and how habitual coping mechanisms might influence this relationship.​​​​​