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.
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.
AMINA HARRATH, B.Sc
MRes Student
I am currently studying an MRes in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology, run across UCL, the Anna Freud Centre, and Yale. My research uses ERP measures to investigate brain-based mechanisms that mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and maternal mentalising. I am interested in the neurobiological and social consequences of childhood trauma in mothers.
KIMBERLY STREATER
Research Coordinator
I work on recruiting, engaging, and screening pregnant and postpartum mothers in the New Haven community.
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.
LIAM TROSCH, B.S
Postgraduate Research Associate
I graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South with a degree in Neuroscience. I am involved with BABL as a postgraduate associate for the POD study, which is looking to evaluate how factors such as stress and substance abuse impact the transition to motherhood. I am passionate about translational research and medicine. More specifically the evolution of research, starting at the formulation of a question to the successful application in a clinical setting.
KEZHU NIU, M.Res
Postgraduate Research Associate
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.
KAITLYN STERNHARDT
Undergraduate Student
I am currently a senior at Quinnipiac University majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Applied Clinical Science and a minor in Child and Adolescent Studies. My research interests include developmental psychopathology, parenting science, and family systems approaches. I’m especially passionate about culturally and developmentally informed care and intervention. I’m currently involved in studies examining fetal monitoring and the neurobiological impacts on pregnant people’s attachment to their child throughout the perinatal period.
FEV BARINOVA
Undergraduate Student
I am an undergraduate student at Yale College interested in studying psychology. I am particularly interested in research on the psychology of sleep as well as suicide prevention and intervention strategies. At BABL I work as one of the research coordinators of the PEAR Study, which follows birthing parents and their parents before birth and 4 months after, and looks at the transition to parenthood.
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!
ALUMNI
Dr. Huili Sun - PhD Student in Yale Department of Biomedical Engineering
Maisha Hossain - Masters Student and Postgraduate Research Associate
Michèle Day - Postgraduate Research Associate
Zoe Howell - Masters Student and Postgraduate Research Associate
Daniel McGlade - PhD Student
Maya Ennis - Yale Undergraduate Student '25
Destiny Ojukwu - Yale Undergraduate Student '25
Dr. Clíona Kelly - Postdoctoral Associate
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