Welcome to the Infant Studies of Language and
Neurocognitive Development Lab
Our Research
We are a developmental psychology lab interested in the impact of the social and language environment on early neurocognitive development. Our ultimate goal is to understand how to best support caregivers and create environments that foster optimal child development.
Current Studies
Stress, Home Environment, Language & Learning (SHELL) Study
Understanding how the early home environment impacts trajectories of language and cognitive development is crucial for identifying early risk and resilience factors associated with later school readiness. This study examines how caregiver stress and the home language environment influence early language and memory skills during the first two years of life. We are currently recruiting infants 0-3 months - families will receive $30-$60 for participating and reimbursement for transportation costs.
Háblame Bebé
Háblame Bebé is an educational phone application that aims to empower Hispanic parents and caregivers to engage with their cultural identities, to feel pride in being Hispanic and in speaking Spanish, and to promote bilingualism. This app seeks to change conceptions of bilingualism and promote ‘Language Nutrition’ in the home language. Fundamental to Háblame Bébe is the message that parents are their baby’s first and best teachers – regardless of what language they speak. Watch to learn more, and like us on Facebook and Instagram!
Family Interactions and Neural Synchrony (FINS) Study
Early learning is a social process. The ability to initiate interactions, respond appropriately, and take turns during bouts of communication are important aspects of growing up in a social world. This study uses EEG hyperscanning to simultaneously record neural responses of the dyad (caregiver and child) while interacting in a series of semi-naturalistic tasks. We are currently recruiting caregivers and their children (4-10 years old).
COVID-19 & Perinatal Experiences (COPE) Study
The COPE Study aims to better understand the impact of the pandemic on parents and their young children, in order to identify the needs of families, inform our communities, and contribute to better outcomes in the future. As the public health crisis is disproportionately affecting communities of color, we are particularly interested in experiences of Black and Latino families. We are currently recruiting pregnant women in their 1st or 2nd trimesters.
Meet Our Team
Dr. Brito is an Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Department of Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt. Prior to joining the NYU faculty, Dr. Brito spent two years as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar and two years as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia University Medical Center. She earned her PhD in Human Development and Public Policy from Georgetown University in 2013. Dr. Brito focuses on how early social and cultural contexts (e.g., poverty, multilingualism) shape the trajectory of neurocognitive development using a variety of methodologies including behavioral paradigms, electrophysiology, and secondary data sets.
Maggie graduated in 2020 with a BS in Applied Psychology from New York University. She has been a research assistant at ISLAND since 2018 and is looking forward to continuing her time with the lab as lab manager! She is excited to explore her research interests on how environmental factors, such as stress, impacts parent child interactions and child development.
Dr. Denise Werchan is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the New York University School of Medicine. Prior to coming to NYU, Denise received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Brown University. Her research broadly focuses on how human brain and cognitive development is shaped by experience in the presence of risk and opportunity in infancy and early childhood. In her postdoctoral research, Denise is particularly interested in examining how early environmental factors, including variations in caregiving behaviors, stress/adversity, and socioeconomic variability, can act as risk and protective factors for healthy neurocognitive development and adaptive functioning. She examines these questions using behavioral paradigms, eye tracking, secondary data sets, and neuroimaging methods, including functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Stephen is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program at NYU Steinhardt. Broadly, he is interested in how stress, particularly in contexts of socioeconomic disadvantage, affects brain and cognitive development. At the ISLAND lab, Stephen uses electrophysiological and behavioral measures to investigate how stress can be transmitted between a caregiver and child during dynamic social interactions. He further intends to use this research to better inform parenting and education interventions and programs to improve outcomes, especially for underprivileged and disadvantaged groups.
Ashley is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology department. She received a B.A. from Swarthmore College in Neuroscience and Educational Studies. Broadly, she is interested in how adversity, particularly poverty, affects brain and cognitive development. With help from Swarthmore research advisers and Dr. Kimberly Noble at the Neurocogniton, Early Experience, and Development Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University, she wrote her senior thesis on socioeconomic disparities in infant recognition and recall memory development. In the ISLAND lab, she plans on continuing her research in infant executive functioning, language, and memory development across socioeconomic differences in order to ultimately inform intervention methods for infants before they begin formal schooling.
Annie a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology department. Annie is broadly interested in coupling biological and behavioral assessment methods to explore the impact of early childhood experiences on executive functioning and academic achievement. As an NSF Fellow, Annie aims to incorporate EEG methods in her research to better understand the relationship between SES and academic achievement and to ultimately inform intervention methods. Prior to attending NYU, Annie worked in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience research at UC San Francisco. Annie graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Sarah is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program at NYU Steinhardt. She received a B.A. in Psychology and French from the University of Rochester in 2016. She is interested in how early life adversity, specifically economic and social adversities, influence the development of executive functions, and mechanisms that may shape those relationships. In the ISLAND lab, Sarah studies relations between early life experiences, the gut microbiome, and cognitive development. Prior to attending NYU, Sarah worked as a lab manager for two years with Dr. Laura Germine at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Alejandra graduated from Florida International University (FIU) with B.A. in Psychology and then went back to her country (Colombia) to obtain a Master’s degree in Clinical Neuropsychology. She practiced neuropsychology and clinical psychology at different institutions in Bogotá, Colombia, and her interest on research brought her back to the United States. She is currently working as a research assistant at the Island Lab and is very excited to learn research skills and understand how social environment, bilingualism, and socioeconomic status are correlated with cognitive skills during childhood. Alejandra hopes to further pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology in order to apply her clinical knowledge.
Maya is a junior at NYU pursuing a B.S. in Applied Psychology. Prior to joining the ISLAND Lab, she worked as an advocate at ROSES, an intervention program for justice system-involved youth, and as a research assistant at the SCAN Lab studying fetal neuroscience. She is excited to continue investigating how various early environments affect language, cognitive, and socio-emotional development at the ISLAND Lab. She also hopes to explore how these findings can inform education policy and intervention models.
Gianina is a first year graduate student pursing her Master's in Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College at Columbia University. During her undergraduate studies at Fordham University, Gianina worked as a research assistant in a Developmental Psychology lab studying the implementation of new therapy techniques for children with autism spectrum disorders. Gianina is excited to join ISLAND Lab to further learn about the impacts of bilingualism on neurocognitive development and learning during childhood. She hopes to use research to implement new interventions for multilingual children with developmental and learning disorders in the future.
Erin graduated in 2018 from Tulane University, where she majored in Psychology and Early Childhood Education and minored in French. She is interested in clinical child psychology with a focus on the development of mental illness. In her undergraduate career, she worked in Columbia University’s GPEG group at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she contributed to a longitudinal epidemiological study using quantitative methods to look at the health effects of the September 11th attacks on individuals who were children in the New York area at the time. Erin is excited to gain more research experience and learn more about parent-infant interaction while working in the ISLAND lab.
Audrey is currently a second year student pursuing her B.S. Degree in Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt. She is very passionate about children and hopes to pursue a career in clinical psychology where she can help destigmatize mental health issues. She is also very interested in science, where she published her own paper on the topic of tea and NMR. She is very excited to be a part of ISLAND lab to gain more hands on research skills and learn more about children and language development.
Julia is currently a Junior pursuing her B.S. in Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt. She is passionate about working with children and adolescents, and hopes to have a career as a clinical social worker working in therapeutic settings. She is excited to be a research assistant at the ISLAND Lab where she can learn more about research skills and the intersection between child development, language, and home environment.
Zoe is a recent graduate from The Bronx High School of Science, and is taking a gap year before starting at Harvard University next fall. She has previously conducted research about flooding and urban microbiomes with the Silverman lab. This year she is excited to work at the ISLAND Lab, where she can gain further research experience and learn about how early childhood experiences impact brain development.
Epifania is a second year graduate student pursuing a MSED in Mental Health Counseling at Hunter College. She is interested in the effects of early childhood interactions between caregivers and children especially the neuro psychobiological effects of attachment parenting. Epifania is excited about learning more in the ISLAND lab especially regarding the effects of COVID-19 on parents and children. In the future she hopes to become a developmental psychologist, therapist, parent educator, in addition to becoming a certified cognitive-behavioral and play-based therapist.
Lisa is a second year undergraduate student at NYU pursuing her B.S. in Neural Science with a minor in Public Health. She is interested in the intersectionality between disparities of people in different socioeconomic status and the impact it has on childhood neurocognitive development. Specifically, she wonders how we can utilize the brain’s plasticity and identify methods that can ultimately lead to a better life for minority children with low socioeconomic status. As a new research assistant at the ISLAND lab, Lisa is excited to interact with families from eclectic backgrounds, as well as to gain a better understanding of the close relationship between brain and behavior.
Amy is a third year undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Bath, completing a year-long internship at the ISLAND Lab as part of her degree. She is interested in the neurocognitive development of language and gender identity, and how these are influenced by factors like bilingualism, socioeconomic status, and attachment type. As a research assistant at the ISLAND Lab, she is excited to gain a better understanding of how to utilise these areas of research to support disadvantaged families.
Meera is a third year undergraduate student at NYU pursuing a joint B.S. in Applied Psychology and Global Public Health. Her interests combine both subjects as she seeks to research maternal health care equity—specifically how different healthcare systems can impact the children in these families—as well as how stigma affects the mental and physical health of these patients. As a new ISLAND Lab Research Assistant, Meera is excited to gain research experience as it helps her on her path to becoming a Clinical Child Psychologist.
Mahima is a graduate student at Columbia University studying Neuroscience and Education. Her undergraduate degree in Global Public Health and Sociology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies inspired her passion for sustainable, holistic, and accessible early childhood interventions. She has big dreams of creating a “Love Education” program to facilitate the development of socioemotional skills, a deep passion for learning, and self-love.
Natalia is a current Junior pursuing a B.S. in Applied Psychology. She is minoring in Chemistry and concentrating in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. Natalia hopes to continue studying the relationship between environment and psychology, particularly in children with mental illness. She hopes to enter the field of psychiatry and is excited to discover new findings as a Research Assistant at the ISLAND Lab.
Srinidhi is a freshman pursuing her B.S. in Applied Psychology/Global Public Health at Steinhardt. She is very passionate about infant studies and prematurity research. In the past, she worked with disabled children in schools, published scientific papers on prematurity complications, and fundraised money for infant mortality research. The ISLAND Lab is her first official research experience in a lab setting, and she is very excited to gain more research skills, collaborative skills, and understand the consequences of neonatal complications in everyday life.
Olivia is currently working towards her M.A. in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is interested in exploring the development of resilience in children from multicultural and under-resourced communities, especially in terms of the potential link between the development of this quality and community factors. In the ISLAND Lab, Olivia studies mother-infant dyadic interactions and the effect that acutely stressful situations can have on mother and child’s physiology and behavior. She is excited to be a member of the ISLAND Lab, and to continue studying the relationship between environmental factors and child development.
Julia is a second year undergraduate student at NYU pursuing her B.S. in Applied Psychology. She is interested in child and adolescent psychology, particularly how different forms of parenting and early relationships affect development. She is also interested in how disparities in socio-economic status and environment affect early development. As a research assistant at the ISLAND Lab, Julia primarily works on research surrounding interactions between 9 and 15 month old infants and their caregivers. She looks forward to expanding her knowledge on parent-child interactions as well as working with more families during her time at the ISLAND Lab.
Nehal is a third year undergraduate student at NYU pursuing a B.S in Biology and a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Studies. Nehal has a passion for medicine and hopes to work with children as a physician. Her goal is to help spearhead change in underprivileged/minority communities through research and advocacy. While working as a research assistant at the ISLAND Lab, she is excited to gain valuable research skills which will help her in the future as a student and physician.
Grace is a first year graduate student at NYU pursuing her M.A. in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness. She is broadly interested in the psychological aspect of human growth and development. As a research assistant at the ISLAND Lab, Grace conducts data collection, performs behavioral coding, designs infographics, and transcribes Spanish interactions then translates those interactions to English. She is excited to gain experience as a research assistant, to be able to use her Spanish and design skills, and to learn more about psychological development in children during her time at the ISLAND Lab.
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