CHILD DEVELOPMENT LAB
The Child Development Lab
Dr. Sarah Berger
Dr. Berger investigates the cognitive development of young children in the context of locomotion. She studies how infants acquire the problem-solving skills they need to navigate the world, particularly when there is an obstacle in their way. She also examines the relationship between sleep and motor problem solving.
Graduate Students
Michele Goncalves Maia
Michele is a graduate student in the Developmental Psychology program at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She is a pediatric physical therapist who received her Master's from the Federal University of São Carlos. She joined the lab in the fall of 2020. Michele's research interests include motor and cognitive development, development delays, neuromotor disorders, early intervention, and new skill acquisition. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and cooking.
Mali Waugh
Mali Waugh is a graduate student in the Development Psychology Ph.D program at the graduate center. Mali’s current research investigates parent-infant communication, infant motor development, and the impact of sleep on motor development. Outside of the lab, Mali enjoys playing guitar and bass, exploring the outdoors, and taking care of her plants.
Undergraduates
Lizbet Rodriguez
Lizbet is an undergraduate student in the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island. She is a psychology major with double minors in speech language pathology and linguistics. She has been a member of the lab since the Summer of 2022 and is currently studying the effects of sleep on infant motor and cognitive development. In her free time Lizbet enjoys writing, kayaking, and traveling.
Shakira Baksh
Shakira is a junior at the College of Staten Island pursuing a degree in Psychology. She joined the lab in the Spring of 2023 and is studying infant motor development. After graduating, Shakira hopes to pursue a masters degree in school psychology. Shakira aims to educate and support youth for awareness and prevention of mental illness.
Aleena Arif
Aleena is an undergraduate student at CSI majoring in Psychology. She joined the lab in the summer 2023 and is currently working on studying the effects of sleep and motor development. In her free time, Aleena enjoys playing with her two cats, watching basketball games & rooting for her favorite team - the Brooklyn Nets!
Joy Lee
Joy is an undergraduate junior at Boston University majoring in Psychology with minors in Anthropology and Public Health. She joined the lab in the Summer 2023 and is excited to learn more about infant motor development. In her free time, she enjoys going on runs, baking, and spending time with friends.
Tenzing Mathok
Tenzing is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in psychology at the College of Staten Island. She joined the research laboratory during the summer of 2023 and is currently working on enhancing her understanding of infant motor development. In her free time, Tenzing enjoys being a foodie, taking care of her cats, and enjoying nature.
Collaborators
Dr. Melissa Noel Horger
Dr. Melissa N. Horger is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Temple University. She works in the Developmental Science Lab under the advisement of Dr. Peter Marshall. Presently, she is researching neural plasticity in the somatosensory cortex and its relation to motor expertise. Melissa completed her doctoral degree at the Graduate Center, City University of New York in September 2021. Her dissertation was an interdisciplinary investigation of infant sleep, discussing the methodologies of the field and linking sleep to motor development. Before graduate school, Dr. Horger attended Millersville University and then spent several years working at the Vista School in Hershey, PA. Her research interests include sensory, motor, and cognitive development and the role of sleep in these domains.
Dr. Aaron DeMasi
Aaron is a City Research Scientist, NYC Department of Health. He joined the lab in the fall of 2018 and studies the reciprocal relationship between motor development and sleep during the first year of infancy. His other research interests include the development of problem-solving, inhibitory control, learning, and memory. Aaron completed his doctoral degree at the Graduate Center, City University of New York in 2023.Outside the lab, he enjoys playing guitar and bass, creating art, and tending the plants in his garden.
Summer Interns 2024
Alumni
Alexus Ramirez
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Alexus graduated with her degree in psychology from the University of California, Merced in 2018. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. In the Child's Play Lab, Alexus studies how caretakers talk with their children to support their language learning and school readiness.
Brian Chin
Brian Chin was an intern with the CDL from 2013 - 2014. During his internship, Brian collaborated with Dr. Berger to publish a manuscript in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology. Recently he completed his Ph.D. in Social, Personality, and Health Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow in cardiovascular behavioral medicine on a T32 training grant at the University of Pittsburgh.
Sandeep Basra
Since her internship at the Child Development Laboratory, Sandeep Basra completed a MSc in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology at UCL/The Anna Freud Centre. She is currently working at Barnardos in London providing therapy to young people who have been involved in youth violence. In addition, she is building her experience in order to apply for the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Doctorate.
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A u t u m n Z i l l i g
Upon graduation from college, Autumn worked at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the inpatient neurobehavioral unit providing care to patients with severe disabilities, Fragile X syndrome, and aggression. Now, Autumn is about to graduate from the Clinical Mental Health program at Xavier University. She has had multiple job offers for therapist positions upon graduation and will let us know where she ends up.
Sara Liu
Sara is currently a senior at Carleton college studying psychology. She was an intern during the summer of 2021, where she focused on the relation between cognitive attention and the motor acquisition of sitting. She is also passionate one day to sing professionally.
Matthew is an undergraduate student at Colgate University double majoring in Psychology and Computer Science. He joined the lab in the summer of 2021 as a research assistant looking at the relation between motor milestones and sleep quality. Matthew is interested in child development and plans to pursue a clinical degree specializing in helping children upon graduation.
Matthew Pugliese
Rebecca D'Aloia
Rebecca joined the lab in Spring 2020 and studied how sleep is an essential component for physical and cognitive functioning. She left in Spring 2021 to pursue her masters in Speech Pathology at LIU.
Salwa Raheel
Salwa Raheel is currently completing her bachelor's in biology with a minor in Health, Medicine, and Society at Stony Brook University. After graduating, she hopes to pursue her master's in public health and give back to the local communities that provided her with the resources she needed to succeed.
Batian Pienaar
Batian was an intern with the CDL from June 2021-August 2021. During his internship, Batian worked on a research project that was responsible for examining the the relationship between sitting capabilities and focused attention in infants. His research interests revolve around how learning and memory evolve throughout the lifespan. He is currently a undergraduate student at Oberlin College and Conservatory majoring in Psychology and minoring in Statistical Modeling and Music.
Aliana Rodríguez
From June 2021 through August 2021, Aliana Rodríguez was intern with the Child Development Lab. While interning with the lab, she worked on researching the effect of mom's teaching on their infant's stair descent. As of right now, Aliana is a student at Worcester State University where she majoring in Psychology and also has a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. In the future she hopes to work with children and adults alike, and pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.
Sarah Abdel Fatah
Sarah joined the lab in the summer of 2018 as a high school student with a passion for research. During her time in the lab, she focused greatly on child development while maintaining her studies in pre-med. Sarah left the lab in Fall of 2020 to focus on her studies in biology and preparing for her next steps in higher education.
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Shania Patel
Shania joined the labIn June 2020 as an undergraduate student at Bowdoin College pursuing Psychology and Visual Arts. Shania studied the relationship between postural and focused attention in infants. She left the lab to spend more time working towards in degree and making big plans for her future.
Tabea Neumann
Tabea joined the lab as a graduate student in Psychological Therapy at the University of Dundee in Scotland in the summer of 2020. She studied the relationship between sleep states and motor milestone onsets. Tabea left the lab to expand her research interests on the effects of biological and environmental factors on sleep, cognitive development, and mental health.
Diana Tobon
Diana is a former intern who worked intern from from June 2021 through August 2021. In the course of internship, she worked with graduate student Sapir Soker-Elimaliah and Dr. Sarah Berger on studying the focus attention on infants through the use of ET REACHING teaching. At the present time, Diana is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology at Earlham College and has hopes of getting her PHD sometime in her future career.
Ricaute Rogers
Ricaute E. Rogers Jr joined the lab in the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021 . During his timing at the lab, he researched he development of sleep states in regards to motor milestone acquisition. Right now, he is an undergraduate student majoring in psychology at the College of Staten Island and is apart of the college’s Verazzano Honors Program
Martina Youssef
Martina is a former undergraduate majoring in Psychology with a minor in Biology in the Verazzano Honors Program at the College of Staten Island. She been apart of the lab from August 2020 to December 2021. During her tenure at the lab she studied the way parent beliefs, expectations, and schedule changes due to COVID-19 impact infant sleep patterns. Martina will be attending a physical therapy graduate program sometime in the near future.
Jalyssa Matos
Jalyssa is an undergraduate student at Drew University. She is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Public Health. Jalyssa joined the lab in June 2020 as a research fellow. During her time in the lab, she studied the effect of mom's teaching on their infant's stair descent. Since leaving the lab, Jalyssa has continued to persue her interest in psychology.
Kalindi is a former research assistant who has worked in lab from August of 2020 to May of 2021. While working at the lab, she worked on the correlation between infant sleep and motor milestone acquisition. Currently, she is an undergraduate pre-med student majoring in Biology with minors in Psychology and Biochemistry at the College of Staten Island.
Kalindi Mishra
Marina Abdalla
Marina graduated with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Biology from the Verazzano Honors Program at the College of Staten Island. During her time in the lab, she researched the ways in how a parents’ role in their infants’ learning abilities can help them navigate on the stairs and influence the acquisition of the locomotor milestone of stair climbing. Since leaving the lab, she has continued to explore ways to expand her research and career.
Angelina Marie Allia
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Michelle Saad
Michelle graduated with a degree in psychology while minoring in biology. She is a former research assistant who worked in the lab from Spring 2020 to Spring 2022. While in the lab, she studied the effects of motor development on infants' sleep and looking into the significance of time spent in various sleeping positions via heatmaps. Now, she is persuing a career in medicine and hopes to use her research skills in future endeavors.
Marina Morkos
Marina graduated with a degree in psychology and a minor in biology. She is a former research assistant who worked in the lab from Spring 2020 to Spring 2022. While in the lab, she studied the onset of motor milestones in babies in relation to their sleep patterns. She is currently on her journey to medical school where she hopes to continue persuing research.
Autumn Zillig
Daniel Palmieri
Daniel graduated with a bachelors in science psychology degree. He is a former research assistant who worked in the lab from Summer 2020 to Spring 2022. While at the lab, he researched how schedule changes due to COVID-19 impact parental and infant sleep. He is currently applying to occupational therapy programs where he hopes to apply his love for therapy to improve the lives of many.
Haley Essig
Haley is a former research assistant who worked in the lab from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022. While in the lab, she examined how postural control affects object exploration. She is currently in a social work graduate program where she hopes to continue learning and researching more on child development.
Olivia Abdelshahid
Olivia graduated with a degree in psychology while minoring in biology. She is a former research assistant who worked in the lab from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022. While in the lab, she studied the effects of motor development on infants' sleep and looking into the significance of sleep quality on infant learning Now, she is persuing a career in medicine and hopes to continue working with children.
Emiel was a visiting scholar who recently graduated from the research master program Child Development and Education at the University of Amsterdam. Emiel conducted quantitative research into the onset of motor milestones. Emiel's previous research projects focused on developmental psychology within the classroom such as the harmful consequences of inflated teacher praise. Outside the lab, Emiel teaches dance and loves to listen to science podcasts.
Emiel was a visiting scholar who recently graduated from the research master program Child Development and Education at the University of Amsterdam. Emiel conducted quantitative research into the onset of motor milestones. Emiel's previous research projects focused on developmental psychology within the classroom such as the harmful consequences of inflated teacher praise. Outside the lab, Emiel teaches dance and loves to listen to science podcasts.
