Meet us
HELENA RUTHERFORD, PH.D
Lab Director
I am interested in the perinatal origins of parenting and the neurobiological and psychological changes that occur during the transition to parenthood.
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CLÍONA KELLY, PH.D
Postdoctoral Associate
I am a current Postdoctoral Associate under the R01 grant that investigates the neural mechanisms of psychological risk on mother and infant adjustment. In 2023, I completed my PhD in neuroscience and computer science, which was jointly funded by Aston University and the EPSRC. Here, I combined virtual reality and EEG to study social interaction between real and virtual humans.
KATHRYN WALL, M.S, M.A
PhD Candidate
I am a PhD student in Yale University’s Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (INP). I am interested in the implications of substance use and mental health on maternal neural processing and infant development.
KATHY AYALA, B.S
PhD Candidate
I am interested in how mental health conditions of parents can impact their own parental development and their child's development. I am especially interested in the neurobiological associations between the parent and child during and after pregnancy.
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DANIEL MCGLADE, M.Res
PhD Student
I joined the BABL as a PhD candidate on the Developmental Neuroscience and Mental Health programme run across UCL, the Anna Freud Centre and Yale. For my PhD I am studying the neural and cognitive impact of early life experiences and their effects on later social functioning and mental health. Whilst at the BABL I will be investigating the neurocognitive mechanisms of parenting and examining how such systems are impacted by psychopathology or early life experiences such as maltreatment. Currently, my interests relate to child maltreatment and the neurocognitive mechanisms underpinning learning and social cognition across development and psychiatric disorders, and the mechanism underpinning the intergenerational transmission of trauma and psychopathology.​
KEZHU NIU, H.B.Sc.
M.Res Student
I graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours B.Sc. in Psychology and a minor in Physiology. I am interested in exploring how physiological changes during and after pregnancy contribute to postpartum mental health problems and influence child development. I am particularly passionate about exploring the connections between hormones and the brain, especially how such intricate connections may underpin bonding formation and postpartum psychopathologies.
KIMBERLY STREATER
Research Coordinator
I work on recruiting, engaging, and screening pregnant and postpartum mothers in the New Haven community.
AMORINE ADODO, B.A
Postgraduate Research Associate
I graduated from Bowdoin College with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in Africana Studies in May 2023. I am a part of the BABL’s R01 study that investigates neural mechanisms of psychological risk on motherhood and infant development among Black and white families. I am passionate about translational and clinical research related to psychopathology with a focus on marginalized communities.
MICHÈLE DAY, B.A
Postgraduate Research Associate
I graduated from the University of New Haven with a B.A. in Forensic Psychology. I am currently a post-baccalaureate researcher involved with the BABL’s R01 study investigating impacts of substance use, stress, and addiction on the transition to motherhood. I’m interested in neuroimaging related to predictive neuromarkers of opioid use and using fMRI analysis to target intervention techniques in addiction treatment.
MAISHA HOSSAIN, M.Res
Postgraduate Research Associate
My interests broadly revolve around understanding the impact of the parent-child relationship on children's socio-emotional development, in particular bridging mentalising, neuroscientific and systemic perspectives. I'm also passionate about culturally-informed preventative and early interventions that support children who may present with latent vulnerability or otherwise 'fall through the cracks'.
ZOE HOWELL, M.Res
Postgraduate Research Associate
I am broadly interested in matrescence, maternal substance use, and the brain-to-behaviour translation of substance use in caregiving. I champion the idea that researching to better understand and support parents with substance use disorders, can prevent suffering and development of psychopathology, for both parent and baby.
JOCELYN LAMORE, B.S
Postgraduate Research Associate
I graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Juvenile Criminal Justice. I am currently a postgraduate associate in the BABL and play a role in the R01 study that investigates neural mechanisms of psychological risk on motherhood and infant development among Black and White families. I am broadly interested in developmental psychopathology using physiological and behavioral measures to understand how best to support children’s and families’ flourishment.
MAYA ENNIS
Undergraduate Student
I am an undergraduate student studying Cognitive Science with a concentration in divergent cognition. I am particularly interested in sociological and neuroscientific approaches to understanding human differences and how these variations shape individuals' daily experiences and interactions. At the BABL, I am currently working on the Becoming a Parent study, which investigates whether anxious mothers exhibit a negativity bias and analyzes its correlation with qualitative and quantitative measures of early caregiving practices.
DESTINY OJUKWU
Undergraduate Student
I am an undergraduate student at Yale College interested in studying cognitive science and data science. Currently, I am part of the R01 study that investigates neural mechanisms of psychological risk on motherhood and infant development among Black and White families. My academic interests include neuroimaging related to developmental psychobiology and psychopathology as well as Black maternal mental health.
LEA PAPA
Undergraduate Student
I am currently an undergraduate student at Yale College majoring in Neuroscience. My academic interests broadly include neuroimaging related to developmental psychopathology and psychobiology, neurobiological changes during the transition to parenthood, and neural mechanisms of psychological risk on motherhood and infant development, as well as parent-child and parent-parent relationships and social development in the context of substance use and addiction. I am passionate about culturally-competent care and maternal mental health, as well as disparities in maternal mental health care, specifically for racial and ethnic minorities and low-income communities.
Beans
BABL Dog + Mascot
My name is Beans and I am the BABL dog! You might meet me running around the lab, playing with my friends, and eating lots of treats!
VISITING MEMBERS
Huili Sun - PhD Candidate in Yale Department of Biomedical Engineering
ALUMNI
Claudia Gaebler - Postgraduate Research Associate
Victoria Hart-Derrick - Postgraduate Research Associate
Julia Sulkowski - Yale Undergraduate Student '24
Michelle Torres Almache - Yale Undergraduate Student '24
Josephine Levy, M.Res '23 - Postgraduate Research Associate
Rachel Shin, M.Res '23 - Postgraduate Research Associate
Dr. Winnie Orchard - Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Amanda Lowell - Associate Research Scientist
Isabel Rodden - Summer Intern
Dr. Francesca Penner - Postdoctoral Fellow
Fisayo Adeyina - Postgraduate Research Associate
Dr. Tal Yatziv - Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Yi Lan McCurdy - Postdoctoral Fellow
Juliana Brenner - Research Assistant
Spencer Birney - Postgraduate Research Associate
Brooke Casey - Yale Undergraduate Student '23
Dèbora Becker - Visiting PhD Student
Justine Murphy - Medical Student Research Associate
Kathleen Guan, M.Res '22 - Masters Student
Lili Massac - NIDA Summer Research Intern
Virginia Osueke- NIDA Summer Research Intern
Saskia Malcorps- PhD Candidate and Fulbright Scholar
Hana Haitsuka, Yale '20 - Postgraduate Research Associate
Lucy Gao - Medical Student Research Associate
Eloise Sutton, M.Res '21 - Masters Student
Sarah Peoples, M.Res '20 - Postgraduate Research Associate
Nick Manco - Postgraduate Research Associate
Dr. Karen Milligan
Madison Bunderson - Postgraduate Research Associate
Cody Bartz - Postgraduate Research Associate
Katherine Hofman, Yale '20 - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Corine Lu, Yale '20 - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Dr. Emily Vancor, Yale School of Medicine '20 - Medical Student
Laura Kolijn - Visiting Member
Dr. Michele Giannotti - Visiting Member
Dr. Karina Sandoval - Postdoctoral Fellow
Amanda Simard - Visiting Member
Lauren (Da Mi) Kim, UCL/Yale '19 - Masters Student
Gwendolyn Ngoh, UCL/Yale '19 - Masters Student
Sarah Pak, Yale '19 - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Dr. Aline Jimi Myung Cho - Visiting Member
Dr. Antonin Sebela - Visiting Member