CoPE Lab

Olivia is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis in Spring 2022 with a double major in psychology and marketing. During her time in St. Louis, she primarily researched how infants and young children develop early social-cognitive capacities, in relation to race and ethnic categories. She is passionate about developmental psychology, and how youth populations regulate their emotions and develop coping mechanisms in response to traumatic environmental events. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, getting outdoors, and writing. She is thrilled to be working in the CoPE lab as a research assistant and hopes to eventually pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.

Before joining the CoPE lab, Yana received a BA in psychology, a minor in Russian and Eastern European studies, and a certificate in Civic Engagement & Service Learning from the University of Massachusetts — Amherst. She continues to volunteer with Safe Passage, an organization that supports survivors of domestic violence, and has decided to pursue a Clinical MSW at Boston College. 

Grace DiDomenico graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in psychology. In the lab, Grace used structural equation modeling to address high comorbidity within psychological disorders and clarify how specific risk factors are associated with latent dimensions in psychopathology.

Before coming to Brandeis, Morgan received her BS in biopsychology from Tufts University, where she conducted research on cognition and multitasking. Her research in the CoPE Lab examined cognitive control and repetitive negative thinking as risk factors for internalizing disorders. Outside of the lab, Morgan's favorite hobbies include baking, tandem cycling and thrifting.

Jenny conducted her doctoral research on the adaptive and maladaptive effects of social support on depression.

Xinran Niu is currently completing a PhD in Jessica Payne’s lab at the University of Notre Dame. In her masters thesis project, Xinran examined maladaptive emotion regulation as a mediator for the bidirectional link between sleep disturbance and depression among emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andre is currently a staff research assistant in Susan Rivera’s lab at UC Davis. Before attending Brandeis, Andre graduated from UC Davis in 2018 with a BS in genetics and a BA in psychology. He also previously worked in the Neurocognitive Development lab at UC Davis before moving to the East Coast. His research interests included queer emerging adulthood, social support network salience, mental health and suicidality. Outside of research, he enjoys playing card games, cooking for friends, singing and being a mental health advocate for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Aly completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado Boulder in Roselinde Kaiser’s lab and is currently a research analyst at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in  Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Caroline is currently a primary therapist at Blue Hills Recovery in Worcester, Massachusetts. Caroline completed her master's thesis in the CoPE Lab on relations between stress, anxiety and attentional control.

Hannah completed her MSW at Boston College, and is currently co-founder/therapist at Ehrhart Singer Therapy Group in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Hannah completed her MA thesis on how anxiety and depression affect food behavior.

After graduation, Ben is working as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Rasouli Lab, to investigate novel therapeutic interventions in the management of diabetes, with Dr. Neda Rasouli at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. His thesis explored how threat and reward stimuli affect autonomic nervous system activity.

Upon graduating, Mae is working as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Purdon Lab, a neuroengineering lab focused on brain health and the neural mechanisms of anesthesia, with Dr. Patrick Purdon at Stanford University. Her thesis explored how a sense of belonging and academic engagement moderates the relationship between underrepresented students in the STEM field and negative mental health outcomes.

Jasmine is pursuing a Masters of Mental Health Counseling at Columbia University Graduate School of Education. Her thesis investigated the links between individual risk perception, activity engagement, and affect during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jenna is currently a staff research assistant in Meghan Miller’s lab at the MIND Institute, UC Davis. Jenna's senior thesis investigated two possible mechanisms in the relations between positive and negative urgency (emotion-related impulsivity) and internalizing symptoms: stress generation and shared variance.

Chengrui is currently completing a master's degree in human >development at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Chengrui's senior thesis investigated the moderating role of trait affective empathy in the relation between state co-brooding and listeners’ negative affective change as well as its role in the relation between trait co-brooding and internalizing symptoms.

Sarah is currently a neuropsychometrist at the NeuroCognitive and Behavioral Institute in New York City. She completed her thesis on virtual social interaction and mental health during COVID-19.

Shumin completed a Master of Education at Harvard University Graduate School of Education and is currently working as a user experience (UX) researcher in China. She completed her thesis in the CoPE Lab. 

Maya is currently completing a PhD at Northeastern University in Karen Quigley and Lisa Feldman Barrett's labs. She completed her thesis investigating the bidirectional relationship between executive function and autonomic stress reactivity.

Rachel is currently completing a joint MSW/MPH program at Columbia University. Her thesis looked at how depression relates to the interaction between the usage of various coping strategies and perceived stress controllability.

Rachel is currently completing a PhD at Brandeis in Anne Berry's lab. Her thesis investigated sleep disturbance as a possible mediator between stress frequency and internalizing psychopathology using data from the Brandeis Counseling Center.

Nina is currently the Know Yyour Rights coordinator at Tenants Together in San Francisco. Her thesis investigated the relationship between stress, depression and coping strategies.

Tali is currently completing a joint MSW/MPH program at the University of Pennsylvania. Tali's senior thesis examined dependent stress as a mediator in the relation between ADHD symptoms and depression.

Sivan completed a Masters of Healthcare Administration at Icahn School of Medicine and is currently a project manager in ambulatory administration at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York City. Sivan's senior thesis looked at alexathymia, the inability to identify and describe emotions in the self.

Emma completed a master's degree in school psychology at the University of Hartford. She is currently a school psychologist with the Vernon, Connecticut, school district. Emma's senior thesis looked at the relationship between academic self efficacy, stress, and executive functioning of college age students.