Meet our team!

In high school, I discovered the film RESILIENCE: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope. The film discussed the detrimental effects of childhood adversity and how to prevent them. I developed an interest in the topic and my coursework in college only furthered that. When I discovered Kristin's work on early life stress and child development, I knew I wanted to be involved. I ended up reaching out and here I am! After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.

My research interests involve the physiological consequences of children exposed to early adversity and trauma during development. I find it very fascinating that a child’s early environment can have such a strong, long lasting impact on their overall health later in life. I am also interested in the experiences that shape the development of attachment style, especially individuals classified as being disorganized in their attachment. After graduation, I hope to attend medical school and pursue a career as a pediatric physician.

Kaylyn Sarmiento is currently in her third year at Stony Brook University and is planning on graduating in Spring 2023. As a Psychology major, she has taken several courses related to childhood adversity where she was first introduced to DSPL by Professor Bernard. By understanding the importance of timing during development and learning about the intervention programs that aim to improve the family dynamic, she realized that she was interested in pursuing a career in Child Psychology. She then realized that her research interests aligned with the objectives of DSPL and was excited to obtain hands-on experience with them.

I choose to work with DSPL because it has the same interest as me. In DSPL we study child development, which is something I’m very interested in. I have babysat for a long time and DSPL is given better techniques in how to respond to baby needs in ways that it will help for their future development. I plan to continue my education, not sure yet what I’m going to do for my masters, but I’m really interested in clinical psychology. 

I chose to work in the DSPL laboratory because of how interesting and valuable this research truly is! Every child's experiences a different and unique childhood, and it is so important to understand one’s adolescence in order to make sense of their adult life. My current research interests include understanding attachment theory in foster parents through TIMB. My plans and goals post-graduation include attending graduate school to obtain my Psy.D. and become a licensed therapist for children of all ages! I have truly seen through my years of therapy the beauty and influence of it and believe wholeheartedly that it does make a difference!

I wanted to spend my last year at Stony Brook working in a lab that I knew could be passionate about. I saw working in DSPL as a natural progression of my lifetime of working with children. Hoping to learn as much as I can about all that goes into enriching our most formative years. I plan on going to medical school, after a gap year where I plan to work in a clinical setting.

Cindy Baez joined DSPL because they appreciate the lab's research, which empowers parents with knowledge and skills that help foster healthy relationships with their children. Cindy is an ITM Supervisor at the University of Delaware and currently manages ITM fidelity data for Power of Two. Cindy’s senior thesis will explore mediators of attachment style. Cindy’s research interests include barriers to reporting sexual assault, PTSD in survivors of sexual assault, and predictors of retraumatization. Cindy looks forward to becoming a full-time research coordinator after graduation and plans on pursuing graduate  school in the next couple of years.

I was particularly interested in the focus of this lab, as developmental stress can have profound impacts on people far into adulthood. One of my own interests is how parenting relates to mental disorders having earlier onset in children, and any questions pertaining to parenting hold a lot of interest for me. I am attending optometry school next year, with some interest in pediatrics.

I chose to work in DSPL because I really was intrigued by and felt connected to the work that is done in this lab.  I took Dr. Bernard's class on Child Maltreatment and found myself very engaged with the material taught in this class.  Additionally, I am someone that has personally experienced adverse childhood experiences.  As a result, I felt the desire to get involved in the DSPL and contribute to the development of this field of psychology.  After I graduate, I plan on going to graduate school and earning my doctorate in clinical psychology. 

Raquel is a Senior at Stony Brook University pursuing a B.S. in Psychology, graduating in May 2022. Raquel joined DSPL as a URA because she is a passionate advocate for children and their families and wants to contribute to improving familial relationships. Her research interests include understanding the significance of parent-child attachment, it’s role in child development, and the future implications. After graduation, Raquel plans to attend dental school.

I have always loved working with children and families and I dedicate a large portion of my life to doing what I can to help out others. I am interested in finding preventional methods and increasing resilience in children exposed to adversity and the ABC intervention provides caregivers the knowledge and supplementary resources to better nurture their infants. I am interested in examining the links between parenting techniques and presentation of mental illness later on in adulthood because with more knowledge there are greater chances of improvement and preventive measures. After graduation, I hope to pursue a career in healthcare where I can help children and families.

Aatif Khan (he/him/his) is doing a combined program with an Undergraduate Bachelors in Psychology and a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management.  Aatif’s research interest include the intervention and prevention of anxiety and mood disorders within child and adolescent populations. Aatif joined DSPL because he feels that the lab’s mission and dedication towards the prevention and intervention of child neglect/abuse as well as their strong commitment to diversity aligned with the environment he wants to see himself in as he plans to apply to Clinical Psychology PhD programs with similar ideals.

I chose to work in DSPL because I loved the idea of being able to work as part of a multidisciplinary and diverse team to conduct important research that had tangible effects on the community that we as a lab serve. The DSPL’s work with Power of Two really intrigued me and I have a growing interest in learning more about the foster care system and its impact on children’s mental health and development. After graduation, I plan on attending medical school! I intend to become a practicing physician in my future and hopefully will be granted the opportunity to work with children and address issues of importance to them. 

I wanted to work in DSPL after working with Dr. Bernard in her psychology statistics course. I loved the implication and heavy emphasis on diversity and community engagement Dr. Bernard really tries to execute in her lab and classes. I gained a lot of great insight in cognitive psychology and research development, and I also wanted to explore other domains of psychology and research to really hone in on my interests. And of course being able to study children was a definite bonus! Post-Graduation I would like to continue my research in this lab along with gaining some clinical patient experience during my gap years before heading off to medical school!

I have worked with children for the majority of my life and I enjoy doing so. When I was given the opportunity to learn more about the psychology and science behind their development I took it. I firmly believe that if we invest time in learning more about children's development and how to provide the best resources that can nurture them, then we have the means to help them be their healthiest selves. I chose to work in DSPL because I am passionate to learn more about how children develop, specifically how they go about forming attachments to their parents/guardians. DSPL is one of the best places to learn more regarding these interests that I have.

I chose the DSPL lab because it aligns with a strong interest of mine to participate in research that’s interactive and community centered. I took Dr. Bernard’s classes and became very interested in becoming a part of her goal to promote diversity in a research environment. I really enjoy my time collaborating in my lab group and sharing our findings. It is strengthening my ability to work in a team. In the future, I hope to pursue my PhD in psychology, pursue research, and teach!

Antara is deeply interested in working with and helping children. The DSPL's commitment to working with historically marginalized societies is also very important to me and my values. She wants to contribute my time and effort to the betterment of tomorrow's youths while also being a part of Dr. Bernard's amazing initiative to become a better-trained research assistant in the field. After graduation she plans on attending graduate school and continuing research, working with children and families. Her long-term ambition is to achieve a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and teach in the latter years of her career.