Graduate Students and Research Assistants

MARY BRATSCH

My name is Mary Bratsch and I am a doctoral graduate student in the School of Education's Early Childhood, Intervention, and Literacy program.  I attended UNC-Chapel Hill both as an undergraduate and master's student.  My current research interests include child care quality, access to child care for lower-income families, teacher-student relationships, and children's socioemotional outcomes.  I work on two projects--DCHD and The Family Life Project, which is looking at child development for impoverished families living in rural areas.

CORY CLARK

My name is Cory Clark and I am senior Psychology major at UNC-Chapel Hill. I have been
working with the Center for Developmental Science (CDS) for a little over two years and I
have been involved with various projects throughout my time here. Currently I am in
training to be an RA this coming Summer and Fall of 2008 and will be doing kindergarten
and first grade lab visits along with a few others from CDS. In the Fall of 2008 I will
also be conducting my Honors Thesis through CDS with Martha Cox and Roger Mills-Koonce as
my advisors. Broadly defined, the topic of my project is father involvement in child
development. Further down the road, I hope to go on to graduate school for clinical
psychology and obtain a Ph.D. Ideally I would like to work in either a hospital or mental
health clinic setting in my future profession.

JESSE EISENBERG

My name is Jesse Eisenberg and I recently graduated from Colgate University. This is my second summer working at CDS in data collection and management. This summer I will be part of a team that will conduct both first grade and kindergarten lab visits for the DCHD study. My interests include the cognitive psychology of sports and skilled movements.

HILLARY LANGLEY

My name is Hillary Langley, and I grew up in Matthews, NC (a suburb of Charlotte). I
graduated from David W. Butler High School in 2002, and attended UNC-Chapel Hill as an
undergraduate. At UNC, I became involved in the DCHD study at the end of my sophomore
year, and I continued my work on the study until I graduated from UNC in the spring of
2006. I am now a doctoral graduate student at UNC working with Peter Ornstein, studying
memory and cognitive development in young children, and still work as a part of the DCHD team. I love being able to see the kids at the assessments, and watch how they have grown over the years. I hope to be able to use the DCHD data as part of my dissertation, and ultimately one day become a college professor involved in research at a major university.

TRICIA McGOVERN

My name is Tricia McGovern, and I too received my undergraduate degree
in Psychology from UNC-CH. I became affiliated with the Center for
Developmental Science through the Family Life Project as an
undergraduate. After graduating from UNC in 2007, and through my
continued work at CDS, I was recruited to become a research assistant on
the DCHD study.  My research interests are violence prevention and child
trauma therapy.

ALLISON MUGNO

My name is Allison Mugno, and I graduated from Wake Forest University in 2004 with a degree in psychology. Since then, I have primarily been working at UNC-Chapel Hill in Peter Ornstein's lab as a research assistant and lab manager. Specifically, I have been involved in the Classroom Memory Study, a longitudinal project examining children's memory development from the first through fifth grades and classroom factors that may be affecting the development of these skills. This year, I will continue to work part-time in the lab, while also helping with the first grade and kindergarten DCHD visits. I'm looking forward to being a part of the DCHD team and hope that these different research opportunities will assist in my decision about future graduate school plans.

MEREDITH NORMAN

I recently graduated with a BA in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I worked with the Center for Developmental Science as an undergrad for about a year before becoming a full time employee shortly after graduation.  This fall I'll spend my time as a research assistant at the Kindergarten and First Grade lab visits in addition to any office work required to keep things running smoothly. I'm taking this year off from school to decide what path in psychology to follow and to explore my research interests. I truly enjoy lab visits and am excited to see all of the families again this fall!

SPENCER NORTHEY

My name is Sarah Spencer Northey, but I go by Spencer.  I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I attended Northwest School of the Arts for High School.  I graduated from UNC in '07 and I started working at the Center for Developmental Science in my junior year.   In addition to working as a research assistant, I am a counselor in a group home for emotionally disturbed teenagers.  I hope to go to grad school for counseling next fall.  My particular interests are in family counseling and family dynamics.  

NICK WAGNER

My name is Nick Wagner and I am a senior here at UNC Chapel Hill. I am originally from
the Midwest but I completed both middle school and high school here in North Carolina. I
began working for the Center for Developmental Science on the Family Life Project when I
was a Sophomore. Last year I began training to become a Research Assistant for DCHD and
will be assisting with data collection for the Kindergarten and first grade lab visits. I
am also currently working on an honors thesis under the direction of Roger Mills-Koonce
and Martha Cox. I am interested in the effects of social support and family structure on
development. I plan on attending a graduate program for clinical, developmental, or
industrial organizational psychology. My time at the CDS has solidified my interest in
research and I hope to make beneficial advancements in the field in which I decide to
study.