Below are the Department of Psychology's current doctoral students in our Cognition & Perception and Social & Personality PhD Programs for the 2021-22 school year. They join the program with diverse research interests, backgrounds, and knowledge.
Doctoral Students
Panos Alefantis
Website: www.linkedin.com/in/panos-alefantis-0ba574214/
Email: pa77@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Medical School of Athens, Greece
Research Lab: Angelaki Lab
Research interests: Cognitive Neuroscience, Neurophysiology, Decision Making, Navigation
Nastaran Arfaei
Website: linkedin.com/in/narfaei
Email: na2481@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Havard University
Research Lab: Prof. Dora Angelaki
Research interests: I study Navigation and Spatial Representation in the brain with the use of Virtual Reality and Computational Modeling
Marianne Azar
Email: ma6449@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Psychology of Language, University of Edinburgh
Research Lab: Prof. Alec Marantz (Neuroscience of Language Lab)
Research interests: Arabic Morphology; Bilingualism, Bilingual Language Interaction and Differentiation, Semantics-Morphology Interface, Clinical Applications.
Josie Benitez
Email: josiebenitez@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Marjorie Rhodes (Conceptual Development and Social Cognition Lab)
Research interests: Broadly, I am interested in the mechanisms underlying Stereotype Development and Transmission in young Children. My current work explores how both Children and Adults’ beliefs about Social Categories may be influenced by features of Parental Language and the use of varying explanatory frameworks, and how these processes may shift across development.
Charlie Burlingham
Website: csb0.github.io
Email: charlie.burlingham@nyu.edu
2016 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. David J. Heeger
Research interests: Visual Perception, Psychophysiology, fMRI, Computer Vision
Brandon Carone
Website: linkedin.com/in/brandonjcarone
Email: bc3189@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Pablo Ripollés
Research interests: Cognitive Neuroscience of Music, Memory and Learning, Creativity, Neuroplasticity, Neurodegeneration, fMRI
Phoebe Chen
Email: hc2896@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. David Poeppel
Research interests: Semantic Representation, Interbrain Synchrony, Oscillations
Mrugank Dake
Website: mindemory.github.io
Email: mrugank.dake@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
M.S. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati
Research Lab: Prof. Clayton E Curtis (Clay Space Lab)
Research interests: Cognitive Neuroscience of learning and memory, Data analysis, Machine Learning
Julien Dirani
Website: sites.google.com/view/juliendirani
Email: julien.dirani@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.Sc. Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London
Research Lab: Prof. Liina Pylkkänen (Neuroscience of Language Lab)
Research interests: Neuroscience of Language, Concepts, Categories, Neuroimaging
Zoe Duan
Website: ziyiduan.github.io/
Email: ziyi.duan@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
Sun Yat-sen University
Research Lab: Prof. Clayton E Curtis (Clay Space Lab)
Research interests: Visual working memory, visual perception, goal-directed behavior. I am interested in how brains form neural representations and use them to guide our adaptive behaviors.
Aysun Duyar
Website: linkedin.com/in/aysun-duyar
Email: aysun@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carrasco
Research interests: Attention, Visual perception, Multisensory integration, Perception in extended reality (XR)
Marissa Evans
Website: linkedin.com/in/marissa-evans-6655b18b
Email: marissa.evans@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
M.A. New York University
Research Lab: Prof. Michael Landy (The Landy Lab for Vision and Action)
Research interests: Visual Motor Confidence, Multisensory Integration
Rania Ezzo
Website: linkedin.com/in/rania-ezzo-9146766a
Email: rania.ezzo@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Bas Rokers, Prof. Marisa Carrasco, Prof. Jon Winawer
Research interests: Visual perception, especially how humans encode and interpret motion signals -- techniques involve psychophysics, neuroimaging, and computational modeling.
Graham Flick
Website: wp.nyu.edu/neurolinglab/people/lab-members/graham-flick
Email: graham.flick@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Liina Pylkkänen (Neurolinguistics Lab)
Research interests: Cognitive Neuroscience, Language, Memory, Neuroimaging
Jiyeong Ha
Email: jiyeong.ha@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Yonsei University
Research Lab: Prof. Jonathan Winawer
Research interests: Neural Pathways underlying Human Visual Perception
Danyang Han
Email: danyang.han@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
M.A. New York University
Research Lab: Prof. Karen Adolph (Infant Action Lab)
Research interests: Error and learning, Motor development, Naturalistic learning input
Fangfang Hong
Website: nyuactionlab.com/people
Email: fh862@nyu.edu
2017 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Michael Landy
Research interests: Multisensory Perception, Neural Computation
Christina Hospodar
Email: christina.hospodar@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Kinesiology, Oregon State University
Research Lab: Prof. Karen Adolph (Infant Action Lab)
Research interests: Infant Motor Development, specifically how infants adapt walking patterns to variations in their body and environment
Luke Huszar
Email: lukehuszar@gmail.com
2018 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carrasco
Research interests: The subjective aspects of Perception, with a focus on Visual Appearance, Visual Attention, Psychophysics, Computational Modeling
Brianna Kaplan
Email: brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Karen Adolph (Infant Action Lab)
Research interests: Motor and Social Development, learning to use everyday objects
Mert Kobas
Website: researchgate.net/profile/Mert-Kobas
Email: mk7922@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Koç University
Research Lab: Prof. Karen Adolph (Infant Action Lab)
Research interests: Motor Development, Language Development, Developmental Cascades
Yuna Kwak
Email: yuna.kwak@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Korea University
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carracso
Research interests: Visual attention, Visual working memory, Eye movements
Marco Lai
Email: cl5564@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
M.A. National Taiwan University
Research Lab: Prof. Liina Pylkkänen
Research interests: Neurolinguistics, Language Development
Hsing-Hao Lee
Email: hsinghaolee@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
M.A. National Taiwan University
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carrasco
Research interests: Visual Attention, Consciousness, Cognitive Control
Luhe Li
Email: luhe.li@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
M.A. The University of Tokyo
Research Lab: Prof. Michael Landy
Research interests: Multisensory integration, Time perception, Perceptual inference
Xiang Li
Email: thirdfloorshadow@gmail.com
2018 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Wei Ji Ma
Research interests: Collaborative Planning, Approximate Inference
Pat Little
Email: pat.little@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Todd Gureckis
Research interests: Perception, Physical Reasoning
Francesco Mantegna
Email: fm1672@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.Sc. University of Trento
Research Lab: Prof. David Poeppel
Research interests: Sensorimotor Coordination, Efference Copies, Audiomotor Transformations, Speech Imagery
Sarah Master
Email: sm4937@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Clayton E Curtis
Research interests: Working Memory, Cognitive Control, Meta-Cognition. I'm interested in how people choose to use their cognitive resources.
Suhail Matar
Website: suhailmatar.com
Email: matar@nyu.edu
2016 Ph.D Admit
M.Sc. Technion
Research Lab: Prof. Alec Marantz (Neuroscience of Language Lab)
Research interests: Neural basis of Language Comprehension, predictive processing in language, processing non-sequential information in language
Aline-Priscillia Messi
Email: alinepriscillia.messi@gmail.com
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Liina Pylkkänen (Neurolinguistics Lab)
Research interests: Concepts and Conceptualization, Dynamic Network Approaches to Cognition, Cognitive Neuroscience of Language, Semantics
Mohit Mukherji
Email: mohit.mukherji@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Lab for the Developing Mind
Research interests: Development of logical thinking, concepts, language and thought, cognitive architecture
Kate Nussenbaum
Website: katenuss.com
Email: katenuss@nyu.edu
2017 Ph.D Admit
M.A. University of Oxford
Research Lab: Prof. Catherine Alexandra Hartley
Research interests: Development of Learning, Memory, and Decision-Making
Helena Palmieri
Email: hp808@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.A. New York University
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carrasco
Research interests: Vision Science with a focus on Attention and the Oculomotor System.
Aashna Poddar
Email: aashna.poddar@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Harvard University Graduate School of Education
Research Lab: Dr. Andrei Cimpian (Cognitive Development Lab)
Research interests: Child development, stereotypes, status differences, cross-cultural comparison
Maria Pombo
Website: mariapombo.netlify.app
Email: mp5561@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Denis Pelli
Research interests: Beauty Perception, Aesthetic Value, Applied Aesthetics
Simran Purokayastha
Website: linkedin.com/in/simranpurokayastha
Email: simranpurokayastha@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
M.A. University of Edinburgh
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carrasco
Research interests: Attention, Visual Asymmetries, Performance Fields, Alzheimer's Disease, Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration
Omri Raccah
Website: twitter.com/omriraccah
Email: or409@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
B.Sc. The University of California, Los Angeles
Research Lab: Prof. David Poeppel
Research interests: Memory and Learning, Auditory Sequence Processing, Philosophy of Mind, Human Intracranial Electrophysiology
Ajay Subramanian
Website: ajaysubramanian.com
Email: ajay.subramanian@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Denis Pelli
Research interests: Visual perception, Object recognition, Machine learning, Psychophysics
Ekin Tünçok
Website: linkedin.com/in/ekin-tünçok-628529110
Email: ekin.tuncok@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Maastricht University
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carrasco, Prof. Jonathan Winawer
Research interests: Visual Perception, Spatial Attention, Computational Modeling of Visual Encoding using Functional Neuroimaging
Michelle Wang
Email: michelle.wang@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Marjorie Rhodes (Conceptual Development and Social Cognition Lab)
Research interests: Broadly, I am interested in understanding the Conceptual Representations and Sociopsychological Processes that underlie the development of Gender Disparities, as well as other group differences. I am also interested in how individual experiences shape these Representations and Processes.
Puti Wen
Email: pw1246@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Michael Landy, Prof. Bas Rokers
Research interests: 3D Motion Perception
Shutian Xue
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutian-xue-4174091b2/
Email: shutian.xue@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
M.A. New York University
Research Lab: Prof. Marisa Carrasco
Research interests: I am studying the underlying mechanism of visual performance field and the internal noise in the visual system using psychophysics and computational modeling.
Zih-Yun Yan
Email: zyy219@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.A. University of Pennsylvania
Research Lab: Prof. Paul Glimcher
Research interests: Decision Making under risk and uncertainty
Brian Yin
Website: brianyin.me
Email: bny212@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Bob Rehder (Concepts and Causality Lab)
Research interests: Concepts, Knowledge Representation, Causal Modeling
Ying Zhou
Email: yz5725@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Zhejiang University
Research Lab: Prof. Clayton E Curtis, Prof. Daryl Fougnie
Research interests: Human Cognition and Neuroscience, with a focus on Working Memory and Attention
Evelina Bao
Email: evelina.bao@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
BA in Psychology/BS in Computer Science from University of Southern California
Research Lab: The Motivation Lab
Research interests: Motivation psychology in human physical and mental health. My research currently focuses on emotion regulation using motivation theories..
Fiona Adjei Boateng
Website: linkedin.com/feed
Email: fab311@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Madeline Heilman, Prof. Eric Knowles
Research interests: Gender Differences in perceived leadership effectiveness in the workplace
Jeffrey Berg
Website: jeffberg.github.io
Email: bergj@nyu.edu
2016 Ph.D Admit
M.A. New York University
Research Lab: Prof. David Amodio (Social Neuroscience Lab)
Research interests: Impression Formation through reinforcement learning, Social Bias Reproduction and Transmission through artificial intelligence systems, Machine Learning approaches to social psychological questions
Michael Berkebile-Weinberg
Website: linkedin.com/in/mike-berk-wein
Email: mberk@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
M.A. San Diego State University
Research Lab: Prof. David Amodio; Collective Cognition Lab
Research interests: Individual and systemic factors in social cognition; propagation of collective representations in AI; natural language processing approaches to social issues
Jeannine Alana Bertin
Email: jab9641@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. John Jost (Social Justice Lab)
Research interests: Systems of oppression (with focus on racial, class, colonial systems), system attitudes, social/political behaviors, with focus on system justification and stereotypes
Riana Brown
Website: wp.nyu.edu/rianabrown
Email: riana.brown@nyu.edu
2017 Ph.D Admit
M.A. VU University Amsterdam
Research Lab: Prof. Maureen Craig (DaSP Lab)
Research interests: Intergroup Relations, Inequality, Intersectionality, Societal Privilege, Stigma, Prejudice and Stereotyping, Political Psychology
Oana Dumitru
Website: linkedin.com/in/oanaddumitru
Email: oana.dumitru@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Tessa West (West Interpersonal Perception Lab)
Research interests: Role of Social Hierarchies in dyadic and group interactions, with a focus on how newcomers become integrated into existing teams
Hannah Eareckson
Website: linkedin.com/in/heareckson
Email: hbe217@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Madeline Heilman
Research interests: Broadly - Gender Stereotypes, Intersectional Stereotypes, Cross-Cultural Gender Norms. Specifically - Reactions to individuals who violate gender norms in organizations.
Nick Fendinger
Email: nfendinger@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Eric Knowles (Politics and Intergroup Relations Lab)
Research interests: I am primarily interested in understanding how Social Class influences our motivation and ability to infer the internal states of others (e.g., Theory of Mind) and how Social Group identities impact perceptions of and attitudes toward Societal Inequality.
Danielle Goldwert
Website: daniellegoldwert.com/research
Email: dag591@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Collective Cognition Lab
Research interests: Grounded in a social influence approach, I use social psychology to understand and promote belief/behavior change in environmental domains, with the aim of crafting interventions promoting pro-environmental behaviors and policy support.
Ali Javeed
Website: alijaveed.com
Email: amj7869@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Jay Van Bavel (Social Identity and Morality Lab)
Research interests: Moral Psychology and Affective Science in the context of collective action examining topics such as Emotion Regulation, Moralization, Intergroup Conflict, Extremism, and Polarization
SunYoung Kim
Email: kimsunyoung@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
M.A. SungKyunKwan University
Research Lab: Prof. Peter M Gollwitzer, Prof. Gabriele Oettingen (Motivation Lab)
Research interests: Self-Regulation and Motivation, Behavioral Changes, and Group Dynamics
Michelle M. Lee
Website: wp.nyu.edu/michellemlee
Email: Michelle.MLee@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Maureen Craig (Diversity and Social Processes Lab)
Research interests: Intergroup relations, political psychology, diversity, inequality. I specifically research perceptions of allies and activists for causes across the political spectrum, how racial stereotypes impact identity management and coalition-building, and how frames of racial/economic inequality impact people's attitudes and beliefs.
Rachel Leshin
Email: rachel.leshin@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Marjorie Rhodes (Conceptual Development and Social Cognition Lab)
Research interests: Development of Social Categories (e.g. Gender, Race, Status) across Childhood, Socio-Cultural and Ecological influences on Social-Cognitive Development
Usman Liaquat
Email: UL243@nyu.edu
2017 Ph.D Admit
M.A. New York University
Research Lab: Prof. John Jost (Social Justice Lab)
Research interests: I'm generally interested in how Stereotypes about various Social Groups influence perceivers' thoughts and behavior in a wide array of domains.
Xiao Ma
Email: xm2104@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Yaakov Trope (Trope Lab)
Research interests: My research interests focus on how construal levels affect perceived control and self-control processes, and how this research can be applied to interpersonal settings to facilitate growth and bridge performance gaps in minority students.
Katherine Mason
Website: linkedin.com/in/katherine-mason-4b1a95202/
Email: kam9836@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Political Science from Purdue University
Research Lab: The Social Justice Lab with Dr. John Jost
Research interests: Attitudes and belief systems that perpetuate injustice, racial and gender inequality, backlash to social change, climate change, ideology
Maryam Bin Meshar
Website: sites.google.com/nyu.edu/tropelab
Email: mbm511@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Yaacov Trope
Research interests: My research explores the Psychological Mechanisms that shape Social Projection, Social Learning, and Mental States Inferences. I’m interested in how people perceive similarities with others across distances. I'm also interested in understanding the cognitive underpinnings of Mental States Inferences.
Mao Mogami
Website: linkedin.com/in/maomogami118
Email: mao.mogami@nyu.edu
2017 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Eric Knowles (Politics and Intergroup Relations Lab)
Research interests: Interested in Intergroup Relations and Political Psychology. I am particularly interested in the extent to which people consider a history of oppression and power dynamics between Social Groups when they make current-day social judgments.
Kayley Okst
Website: linkedin.com/in/kayley-okst
Email: okst@nyu.edu
2022 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Gabriele Oettingen (Motivation Lab)
Research interests: Political Polarization, Dehumanization, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Misplaced Certainty
Ilayda Orhan
Email: io2051@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Maureen Craig (Diversity and Social Processes Lab)
Research interests: Intergroup Relations, Understanding different Social Groups' motivations in upholding current Power Structures, Progress towards a more just Society, Conflict Resolution, How to expand the ‘Us’
Jennie Qu-Lee
Website: www.linkedin.com/in/jenniequlee
Email: jennie.qulee@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
M.A. The University of Chicago
Research Lab: Prof. Emily Balcetis
Research interests: Eye-tracking, Intergroup dynamics, Decision-making
Eduardo Javier Rivera Pichardo
Email: erp295@nyu.edu
2018 Ph.D Admit
M.A. Political Philosophy, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Research Lab: Prof. John Jost, Prof. Eric Knowles (Social Justice Lab; Politics & Intergroup Relations Lab)
Research interests: Social-psychological consequences of Colonialism/Coloniality including its effects on Intergroup Relations, Ideological Formation, Acculturation, and Collective Memories
Claire Robertson
Website: jayvanbavel.com/people
Email: c.robertson@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Jay Van Bavel (Social Identity and Morality Lab)
Research interests: Moral Reasoning, Political Polarization, Online Communication
Melissa Vega
Website: researchgate.net/profile/Melissa-Vega-6
Email: mv1691@nyu.edu
2020 Ph.D Admit
M.A. General Psychology, New York University
Research Lab: Prof. Eric Knowles, Prof. Jamie Napier (Politics and Intergroup Relation Lab; Gender and Intergroup Relations Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi)
Research interests: Broadly interested in the interplay between Social Identities, Environmental Cues, and Ideology, as well as the effects of said interplay on attitudes towards diversity and group-based Social Inequality. Particularly interested in how these relationships play out among Middle Eastern populations and the U.S. Hispanic/Latino population.
Kalman Victor
Email: ksv2012@nyu.edu
2021 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Yaacov Trope
Research interests: Construal of Knowledge, Psycholinguistics, Social Cognition, Interpersonal Perception, Goal Pursuit
Ashley Berkebile-Weinberg
Website: linkedin.com/in/ashley-berkebile-weinberg-20084733
Email: alw571@nyu.edu
2019 Ph.D Admit
Research Lab: Prof. Maureen Craig, Prof. Tessa West (Diversity and Social Processes Lab; Interpersonal Perception Lab)
Research interests: Intergroup Interactions and Relations, including interracial and intraminority friendships and race-related discussions, along with relevant perceptual, categorical, and group processes