Lindsey Powell 

Principal Investigator  |  ljpowell@ucsd.edu

I study the early development of social cognition and motivation.  How do infants and young children understand others' minds, interactions, and relationships? What motivates them to attend to and engage with social partners? How do we develop the abilities to cooperate, communicate, and learn from each other in just the first few years of life? 

Bill Pepe 

Graduate Student  |  wpepe@ucsd.edu

My research examines how children identify people as being affiliated and/or belonging to a group, as well as the resultant attitudes and beliefs they express regarding affiliated dyads, and in/out-group members. 

Kexin (Coxi) Jiang

Graduate Student  |  k3jiang@ucsd.edu

My research examines infants’ ability to track social interactions. I am currently focusing on how past interactions shape their expectations about whether a partner is likely to reciprocate in the future.

Rodney Tompkins

Graduate Student Affiliate  |  rtompkins@ucsd.edu

Website

I am broadly interested in social cognitive development, or how young humans learn to navigate the social world. My current research in the lab focuses on children's reasoning about social partners and behaviors that keep people safe from harm.

Tori Hennessy

Graduate Student Affiliate  |  vhennessy@ucsd.edu

My research examines how children actively shape their own learning in social and non-social contexts during early cognitive development. Currently, I’m exploring the influence of children’s individual interests on language production and knowledge.

Katherine Liang

I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. I am interested in studying how cognitive and social development in children are affected by their upbringing and environment. In my free time, I love walking along the beach and hiking nature trails, followed by cafe hopping in La Jolla and exploring the city!

Brenda Simon

I am an undergraduate student majoring in neurobiology. I am interested in learning about brain development during childhood, specifically their responses in stressful environments as well as the effect of maternal mental health on their development. In my free time I enjoy reading thrillers and crochet!

Cara Smith

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Developmental Psychology. I hope to learn more about children and their mental capabilities and processes. My future goals are to become a child and teen therapist. I have a deep love for children and aspire to help them develop emotional coping skills that will support them through life's challenges. I also have a strong interest in autism advocacy and supporting neurodiverse communities. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my friends, reading, and scrapbooking.

Annalyn Nguyen

I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Clinical Psychology and minoring in General Biology. I am interested in undertstanding children’s minds, specifically how their early experiences and social interactions affect their mental development. Additionally, I want to understand mental disorders including PTSD, depression, and anxiety to ultimately help children who may experience these and improve their mental well-being as a child psychologist. Some of my hobbies include dancing, going to the beach, and spending time with friends and family!

Jialu Zou

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Neuroscience. Currently, my goal is to pursue a career in pediatric medicine. I find working with children incredibly exciting and rewarding. I enjoy observing how they interact with their environment and how their curiosity promotes learning. Outside of school and research, I enjoy dancing and spending time with friends.

Estelle Handa

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Developmental Psychology. I'm particularly interested in studying how early social environments shape both typical and atypical development in children. I also adore working with children and hope to continue with this line of work in the future. In my free time, I love dancing, playing tennis, and exploring new places with friends and family!

Ryan Le

I’m a Social Psychology + Cognitive Science major here at UCSD. I’m interested in exploring the social and cognitive foundations of learning as well as how those foundations inform understanding of social relationships. In my free time I like swimming, tennis, going to the gym, playing video games, and playing the piano!

Madison Wolfe

I’m a Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience major interested in how brain systems support social thinking and decision-making, especially in childhood. My research focuses on how goals and social environments shape perception and choice. Outside of academics, I enjoy the beach, Disneyland, and spending time with friends and family.

Ava Hooshmand

I’m an undergraduate majoring in Developmental Psychology. I’m interested in learning more about how children understand their social world and build relationships, including how they interpret others’ emotions and goals. In my free time, I enjoy playing the guitar, watercoloring, and going to the beach.

Anna Fazioli

I am an undergraduate student studying Cognitive Science with interests in child development and social cognition. I am particularly interested in understanding how social and emotional development begins in infancy and evolves with time. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, spending time at the beach, and playing water polo.

Rojina Torabi

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. I am interested in developmental psychology, specifically how children’s social relationships influence how they process and regulate their emotions. Outside of school, I love to travel, explore new coffee shops in San Diego, and spend time with my friends and family.

Esmeralda Ruiz Ramirez

I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Clinical Psychology. I am interested in understanding how our minds develop, particularly how children's experiences and interactions with others shape the way they perceive and understand the world around them. In my free time, I enjoy reading, watching the sunset, and spending time with friends and family!

Princess Sanchez

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Developmental Psychology. Child development is fascinating to me and I am especially interested in children's identity development (particularly through a multicultural lens) and their rising autonomy.  I aspire to practice pediatric occupational therapy because I am passionate about helping children feel independent and confident in their abilities. In my free time, I love crossword puzzles, spending time with my feline daughters, and listening to music. 

Sanvi Nadgir

I am an undergraduate majoring in Clinical Psychology. I am interested in studying how early development can affect the ways in which mental disorders present themselves later in life and how symptoms may differ based on different early environments. I hope to become a clinical psychologist in the future. Outside of school, I enjoy going on day trips to explore San Diego, baking, and spending time with my friends and family. 

Dex

More of a beach dog than an office dog, but here he is doing his best to provide cognitive science with an ambiguous dog-rabbit stimulus.

Sulli

Sulli is a spoiled cat studying how to mess up Coxi’s laptop. She’s always asserting her dominance over Coxi’s lap while she’s working. In exchange, during Zoom studies, Sulli sometimes serves as a cute distraction to capture baby participants’ attention just before they’re about to get upset.

Bella Bean

Bella Bean waking up from her 10th nap of the day!

Crouton

Crouton is a corgi puppy who loves to bury treats, smell flowers, and slide across hardwood floors. When he grows up, he hopes to be a pilot, or whatever gets him closer to birds (paws crossed!). Until then, Crouton plans to tank comparative tasks, much to his dad's dismay.