Who's Who in the Lab

Lab Directors | Lab Coordinators | Graduate Students & Post Docs |  Research Assistants | Lab Alumni

Recent Accomplishments in the Lab

Laboratory Directors

Dr. Nora Newcombe (newcombe@temple.edu)

Nora is the director of research in spatial learning and memory, is a professor of cognitive and developmental psychology with a Ph. D. from Harvard University. Her areas of interest include spatial thought and memory development and their application to education and social policy. She has published 2 books, over 100 articles, has served as president of Division 7 (Developmental Psychology) of the American Psychological Association and is currently president of the Eastern Psychological Association.  She also has served as editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and has been continuously federally funded since 1984. She was recently elected to the American Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (khirshpa@temple.edu)

Kathy is the director of research in  language and play, is a professor of cognitive and developmental psychology with a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.  She has published 9 books and over 100 articles, was an associate editor of Child Development, and has been funded by NSF and NIH. 

Lab Coordinators

Katrina Ferrara (katrina.ferrara@gmail.com)

Katrina is the Laboratory Coordinator for the Temple University Infant Lab. She received a B.A. in Psychology and English from Williams College in 2008. She is interested in the relationship between parent and child speech during play and book reading activities, as well as the way in which curiosity and question-asking behavior influences the learning process both at home and in the classroom. In the future, Katrina plans to attend graduate school and receive a PhD in Developmental Psychology.

Yannos Misitzis (yannos@temple.edu)

 Yannos is the second Laboratory Coordinator for the Temple University Infant Lab. He received his B.S. in Psychology from James Madison University and his M.A. in General Psychology from Boston University. In Boston, he worked at Dr. Deborah Kelemen's Child Cognition Laboratory, primarily studying pedagogy and theory of mind.  Ultimately, Yannos would like to use his experience from Temple and BU to attain his PhD in Developmental Psychology, someday becoming a professor and having a laboratory of his own!

Graduate Students and Post Docs

Dr. Francis Balcomb (fbalcomb@temple.edu)

Frances Balcomb is a post-doctoral research fellow at Temple University with a PhD from the University of Arizona.  Her current research explores spatial navigation and memory skills in toddlers, looking at their changing behavior over time as the brain develops.  Ongoing research in collaboration with Dr. Gerken at the University of Arizona explores early meta-memory skills in preschool children, looking at whether they are able to reflect upon their own memories.

Kelly Fisher, M.S. (kelly.fisher@temple.edu)

Kelly is a fourth-year graduate student in developmental psychology. She received a B.S. in Psychology and a M.S. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Missouri State University. Her research interests include examining biological and contextual influences on learning processes as well as public policy and intervention research. Working with Drs. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Nora Newcombe, Kelly is currently examining the relation between shape learning and symbolic representations in drawing.

Tilbe Göksun, M.A. (tgoksun@temple.edu)

Tilbe is a fourth-year graduate student in developmental psychology. She received her B.A. in psychology from Bogazici University – Istanbul/Turkey in 2002, and M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Koc University - Istanbul/Turkey in 2005. Her current research includes investigating verb learning in a cross-linguistic perspective. She studies perceptual and conceptual precursors for processing events and relational terms (the case for figure/ground and for causal relations). Her research emphasizes the connection between conceptual development and language learning. She is working with Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek at Temple Infant Lab.

Justin Harris, M.S., M.A.P.P. 
Justin is a first year graduate student in developmental psychology.  He received his B.S. in computer science and psychology from University of Maryland, Baltimore County; his M.S. in Interactive and Collaborative Technology from University of California, Irvine; and his Master's in Applied Positive Psychology from University of Pennsylvania.  His research interests include the benefits of play in the context of learning and social relationships, as well as exploring developmentally appropriate computer-centric interactions.

Julia Parish-Morris (jparish@temple.edu)

Julia is a fifth-year graduate student studying language acquisition with Dr. Hirsh-Pasek. She is originally from Juneau, AK, and received her B.A. in psychology and linguistics from Smith College in 2003. Julia focuses on the acquisition of relational terms like verbs and prepositions by typically and atypically developing children. For her dissertation, Julia will study spatial cognition in children with autism, and will examine how social abilities interact with spatial cognition to predict language outcome. Other ongoing projects include a study comparing the quality of language interactions between parents and children while reading electronic and traditional books.

Sarah Roseberry (sarahr@temple.edu)

Sarah is a fourth-year graduate student in developmental psychology. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, she received a B.A. in psychology and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame in 2005. Sarah works with Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek on issues of early language acquisition. Specifically, she is currently examining precursors to verb learning, the effects of televised language learning, and the role of social interaction in the verb learning process.

Alexandra Twyman (atwyman@temple.edu)

Alexandra is a third-year graduate student in the developmental area. Originally from Alberta, Canada, she received a B.S. in Biological Sciences and Science Psychology from the University of Alberta. Alexandra works with Dr. Nora Newcombe studying the development of spatial skills. More specifically, she uses a comparative cognition approach in examining spatial reorientation.

Research Assistants

Karla Diaz is an undergraduate student from Temple University. She was awarded an SROP fellowship from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation to acquire research experience in developmental psychology. After graduating, Karla plans on pursuing a master's degree in sexual education.

Abby Grauman is from Cornell University. She is majoring in human development and will pursue job prospects that relate to her interests after graduation.

Rhea Miles is an undergraduate student from Cheyney University. After graduation, se hopes to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology, working with children and adolescents.

Bertha Nash is an undergraduate psychology student from California State University. She was also awarded an SROP fellowship from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation to gain research experience in developmental psychology. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and teach in academia.

Miriam Novack is an undergraduate student from the University of Maryland. After graduation, Miriam will pursue a Ph.D. in psychology and continue research on language with particular emphasis on the cognitive mechanisms behind second language acquisition.

Jenna Swirsky-Sacchetti is an undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She is completing a bachelor's degree in romance languages with a minor in psychology. After graduating, she will be fluent in Italian, Spanish, and French!

Lab Alumni

Dr. Stacie Kovacs Crawley received a B.A. in Psychology from the College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State College). Interests include cognitive and emotional development in children, specifically memory. Her dissertation in developmental psychology with Dr. Nora Newcombe focused on children's memory for who said what, and how that memory is affected by emotion. Stacie now lives in Florida with her husband, Perry, and her three children.

Dr. Shannon Pruden Dick received a B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science from The University of California at San Diego, her M.A. in Developmental Psychology from San Francisco State University, and her Ph.D in developmental psychology from Temple in 2006. Her research interests include cognitive and conceptual development, individuation of objects and actions, and early language acquisition. Shannon is currently pursuing a postdoctoral fellow at University of Chicago in the Psychology Department.

Dr. Elizabeth Hennon received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Temple in 2002, where she studied language development in autistic children with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek. She is now Assistant Professor of Cognitive/Developmental Psychology at the University of Evansville.

Dr. George Hollich received his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Temple in 1999. He studied the role of multiple cues in children’s language acquisition. Dr. Hollich is now Assistant Professor and Director of the Infant Language Lab at Purdue University.

Anja Hubert is an undergraduate student at the University of Potsdam in Germany. She was an intern at the Infant Lab in spring 2006.  Her studies in Patholinguistics focus on the diagnosis and therapy of language disorders in both infants and adults.

Meredith Jones was the coordinator of the Infant Lab from 2004-2006. She received a B.A. in psychology and anthropology from Brown University in 2004, and is pursuing her Ph.D. in child clinical psychology at the University of Denver.

Dr. Amy Learmonth received her Ph.D. in psychology from Temple University. She is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at Manhattanville College.

Dr. Mandy Maguire received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Temple in 2003, where she studied early verb learning at the Infant Lab. After a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Louisville, she is now an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Meredith Meyer was Lab Coordinator at the Infant Lab from 2001-2003. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. in developmental psychology at the University of Oregon.

Natalie Hansell Sheridan was Lab Coordinator at the Infant Lab from 2003-2004. She completed her M.A. in clinical psychology at West Chester University and is currently pursuing her Psy.D at Immaculata. She and her husband, Brian, were married in the summer of 2005.

Wendy Shallcross was the coordinator of the Infant Lab from 2006-2008. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Criminology from Millersville University in 2004, an M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Villanova University in 2006, and is currently pursuing her licensure in School Psychology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is now working as an Applied Behavior Analysis Therapist with the Lovaas Institute.

Carly Slutzky was Lab Coordinator at the Infant Lab from 1999-2001. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. in family science at Arizona State University.

Dr. Julia Sluzenski  received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Temple in 2004. She is now an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stockton State University.

Recent Accomplishments in the Lab

Nora Newcombe is the principal investigator of the newly formed Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, which unites researchers from Temple University, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Newcombe was named the G. Stanley Hall Lecturer of the American Psychological Association for 2006 and she also won the Paul W. Eberman Faculty Research Award from Temple University in 2004.

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek was named to the Advisory Board of the Search Institute in 2005; as Treasurer for the International Society for Infant Studies, 2004-2010; and Chair of the Language and Communication Panel for the ISIS Conference, 2004. Dr. Hirsh-Pasek was named the Debbie and Stanley Lefkowitz Professor of Psychology in 2004. She was also named an Associate Editor of Child Development from 2001 until 2007.