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.

AMANDA LOWELL, PH.D 

Postdoctoral Fellow

I study the impact of addiction and adversity on maternal neural and behavioral responses to infant cues, the implementation of evidence-based parenting intervention for mothers with addictions, and the neurophysiological mechanisms underscoring mothers’ response to treatment.

TAL YATZIV, PH.D

Postdoctoral Associate

​I am interested in the interplay between cognitive and affective processes in shaping early parenting and infants’ socioemotional development, with special focus on parental mentalizing and sensitive responsiveness. I employ reaction-time and accuracy-based cognitive measures, imaging approaches, and observation-based ecological methods (e.g., videotaped parent-infant interactions), to gain insights into how adaptive parenting unfolds in time, and how psychopathology may modulate this transition.

KIMBERLY STREATER

Research Coordinator

I work on recruiting, engaging, and screening pregnant and postpartum mothers in the New Haven community.

LUCY GAO, B.S

Medical Student Research Associate

I am interested in investigating the effects of various prenatal predictors, such as maternal-fetal attachment and prior parental relationships, on postpartum maternal-infant interactions using questionnaire measures and EEG.  Most recently, I am working on a project that examines the effects of infant cries on maternal heart rate in pregnancy.

SARAH PEOPLES, B.A, MSc.

Postgraduate Research Associate

I am interested in the neural and behavioral differences between mothers and non-mothers in processing and responding to infant affective cues. I am also interested in associated psychophysiological differences that may further delineate the effect of motherhood on neurobiological functioning. 

Nick Manco, B.S

Postgraduate Research Associate

I am working on a clinical study that uses the hormone oxytocin to examine maternal brain changes through fMRI. I am also working on a study  exploring the relationship between maternal mind-mindedness and parental reflective functioning through Adult Attachment Interviews.

Hana Haitsuka, B.S

Postgraduate Research Associate

I am working on a longitudinal study looking at the transition to motherhood during pregnancy and postpartum, and its associations to parenting and addiction using fMRI. 

ELOISE SUTTON, B.S

Masters Student

I am interested in the effect of maternal anxiety on psychological and behavioral aspects of parenting. Currently, I am studying the relationship between prenatal maternal mind-mindedness and anxiety.

Dana Kim

Undergraduate Student

I am an undergraduate student in my sophomore year studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Psychology on the neuroscience track. I am interested in the neurobiological changes that occur as a result of early childhood experiences and how these changes may affect adult behavior, including parenting.