DR. MOIRA DILLON

I study infants’ and children’s precocious knowledge about the world, from the objects and places in it to the people and animals that act on those objects and move through those places. I ask how that knowledge derives from our evolutionary inheritance and how it forms the basis of uniquely human cultural and intellectual achievements. In doing so, I use my expertise in human commonsense to improve machine commonsense, creating AI that will better understand us and that we can better understand.

moira.dillon@nyu.edu

Kate Fourie

I graduated from Minerva University in 2024 where I majored in Neuroscience. At Minerva, I worked as the Lab Manager of the Psychology and Music Lab, where I studied how different environments can affect how people learn and behave. I also lead a personal research project looking at how different types of teaching can influence how kids explore new objects. I hope to continue researching the mechanisms of learning, and hope to use this to help improve early childhood education in the future. I would like to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology, focused on development and education. I’m new to New York, so outside of the lab I love exploring, trying new restaurants and traveling!

kf2633@nyu.edu

Dr. YI LIN

How do young children learn to use language productively while observing the many constraints imposed by their native languages? How do infants represent the physical world, including the physical properties of objects, the number of objects, and the spatial relations and interactions between objects? How does language affect other domains of knowledge and vice versa? These are some of the questions that I am interested in. I earned a MSc in psycholinguistics from The University of Edinburgh and a PhD in psychology from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Outside of the lab, I enjoy morning walks, yoga and lots of cooking, baking and eating.

yl8476@nyu.edu

MOHIT MUKHERJI

I graduated from Temple University in May 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. As an undergraduate, I worked in the Research In Spatial Cognition (RISC) lab, where I studied how people think about feedback loops. My research interests lie in the development of logical thinking. I’m also interested in learning more broadly about cognitive architecture, modularity, and the relationship between language and thought. Outside school, I enjoy running, watching soccer, and (sometimes) making music.

mohit.mukherji@nyu.edu

Shannon Yasuda

I graduated from Yale University in 2020 where I studied Computer Science and Psychology. While at Yale, I was a research assistant in the Yale Social Robotics Lab where I conducted research on perceptions of agency in social norm-violating robots. After graduating, I worked in the Yale Cognitive and Neural Computation Lab where I studied physical event perception before working in the Lab for the Developing Mind as a Lab Manager, studying agency perception in infants and machines. Now as a PhD student in the same lab, I am interested in studying infants, children, adults, and machines to better understand the “software” in the human mind that dictates our perceptions of and behaviors within the physical and social worlds. I am especially interested in how our perceptions of agency develop, and how we can use multidisciplinary approaches to study cognition and perception.

shannon.yasuda@nyu.edu

Anabel Almonte

I am a rising senior majoring in Psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. I have always loved working with children and I am interested in working in the clinical or developmental psychology field in the future. Particularly, I am interested in learning more about how children perceive and conceptualize the world around them and how it varies based on their language skills. I hope to gain more research experience with LDM so I can carry out my own research in the future. In my free time, I love to read, journal, and explore new restaurants and cafes around the city. 

aa8864@nyu.edu

Charlotte Chanezon

I am a junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Public Health. I love being around children; even though, as adults, we feel like we are in a position to teach them everything about the world, I think they can teach us a lot more. At LDM, I am eager to learn more about child development and learning mechanisms in a hands on manner and explore the research world as it is a career path that interests me. In my spare time, I enjoy playing music, drawing, walking around the city and spending time with my friends. 

cac10108@nyu.edu

Suqi Chen

As a rising senior majoring in Biology and Psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies, I am deeply passionate about working with children, which brings me great joy. My primary interest is understanding how children form their self-perception in relation to their environment from a developmental perspective. My research interests lie in developmental psychology, specifically examining how the external environment and social interactions shape children's cognition. Through my work with the LDM, I aim to gain practical experience and lay the groundwork for future research pursuits. In my spare time, I enjoy exploring various restaurants in the city, reading, doing pilates, and binge-watching Friends.

sc7921@nyu.edu

Raina Cheng

I am a junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Child Adolescent Mental Health Studies at NYU. I have always been interested in learning about child development and studying how adolescents think, perceive, and react to the world around them. I hope to learn about new findings that can create implications for bettering the development of adolescents and further support their growth. I am excited to learn from the Lab for the Developing Mind and explore their unique research on children’s cognition related to topics such as geometry, artificial intelligence, and more. In my free time, I love baking, making my own jewelry, and spending time with my friends!

rjc8272@nyu.edu

Jocelyn Chow

I am a senior at NYU majoring in Psychology and minoring in Child & Adolescent Mental Health Studies and French. I love learning about why children do the things they do, but interacting with them brings me the most joy. I’m excited to study infants' and children's reactions to certain situations, their use of language and other means to express themselves, and how they connect with others. I plan to be a clinical psychologist in the future. In my free time, I like to babysit, make hojicha drinks, and go to karaoke with friends!

jnc6392@nyu.edu

Joyce HADDAD

I am a senior studying Psychology and minoring in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies at NYU. I’ve always been fascinated by studying children’s psychology and how their little minds work. My personal research interests lie in developmental psychology, focusing on children's emotional skills and the interplay between innate and learned abilities. I hope to pursue higher education in developmental research, aiming to contribute to our understanding of how children grow and develop in various contexts. By working at LDM, I hope to gain hands-on research experience and prepare for pursuing future personal research endeavors. Outside of the lab, I enjoy photography, traveling, reading, dancing, and spending time with my friends and family.

jmh10049@nyu.edu

Shubhdip Kundlas

I am a current senior at NYU, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. An aspiring Psychologist, I love helping people and working with people, especially children. My passion for Psychology and helping people is what motivates me to explore the intricate subject of the developing mind. The Lab for the Developing Mind provides me with eclectic opportunities to research the cognition of infants and how their mind perceives the world around them, as well as more complex research areas like how the infant mind develops transitioning to adolescence and how factors like the environment or family life influence the development. I also hope to gain the necessary research skills and experience to work in a professional setting, learning procedural methods, and building connections with my fellow colleagues. Outside the lab, I like to work, meet new people, watch shows, volunteer as a camp counselor, and enjoy time with friends and family!

ssk9829@nyu.edu

Heloise Robertson

I am a sophomore majoring in Psychology and minoring in Child Adolescent Mental Health Studies. I enjoy working with children as an educator, and specifically love teaching young kids how to read, or how to write their own stories. I aim to develop a deeper understanding of cognitive and social development, as well as how an environment can influence how infants learn, and I hope to apply my knowledge when I tutor students in the future. In my free time, you will find me wandering the city, hanging out with my chinchilla, and drawing. 

hsr3636@nyu.edu

Riya Sapkal

I am a current senior at NYU, majoring in Psychology on the pre-medicine path. My love for kids stems from babysitting, volunteering in pediatrics, and my pageant community service projects centered around children’s health and education. Studying psychology gives me a foundation in understanding the relationships of people with each other, the environment, technology, and society, and how the mind develops and adapts to certain phenomena. My interest lies in the impact of children’s development on learning pathways, and also how socioeconomic and cultural factors play a role in how they adapt to their worlds and lifestyles. I hope to utilize my experiences with LDM to expand my community service projects so that funds and resources can be allocated to assets that are most compatible with how a child’s mind develops based on their circumstances. I also hope to acquire unique research skills and professional experiences to better understand my future patients and be a more accommodating and attentive doctor. Outside of the lab, you can find me competing in a pageant, at practice with my competitive dance team, tutoring, painting, or most likely strolling through a Target!

rss9273@nyu.edu

NAlinda wanikpun

I am a senior at NYU studying psychology and child and adolescent mental health studies. I have ambitions of becoming a clinical psychologist working with young children and adolescents in the future. My research interests are in attachment theory and parenting styles and how they are related to the development of prosocial behavior, dependence and independence, emotional intelligence, and predictions of psychological symptoms. I am interested in learning to conduct research with young children, especially on projects that investigate the development of infants' perception of the world, so that I may one day pursue conducting my own studies. Outside of the lab, you can find me competing for NYU's golf team, rock climbing, or hosting dinner parties with my close friends! 

nw2176@nyu.edu

SEÁN REILLY

I’m Dr. Dillon’s son, and I’m interested in language, people, objects, and books. When I’m not participating in developmental research studies, you can find me developing! I spend my free time at the playground, making art, kicking the soccer ball, and singing. I speak English and French!