Lab Director
Charisse Pickron, PhD
Dr. Pickron earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in 2018 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in Amherst Ma., after having earned her M.S. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015 and her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Ma., in 2008. Her research program examines the ways in which social experiences shape how infants perceive and represent people in their environment. During her graduate training under the advisement of Dr. Lisa Scott, she used electrophysiological and eye-tracking measures to explore infants’ face perception. During her dissertation research with Dr. Erik Cheries, she trained in several behavioral measures including infant looking, reaching, and crawling to examine socio-moral judgements and conceptual representations that infants have about people in their environment. In particular her work examines the way early experiences shape the perceptions and representations of people that vary along race and gender. Her work as a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow examined attentional processes sensitive to facial expressions using electrophysiological measures (EEG/ERPs) as well as eye tracking. Her goal is to actively work with families of diverse backgrounds to build a collaborative bridge between communities in the Minneapolis area and her work in child development. She also has a 15lb cat named Jackie Chan and one of her favorite books is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault.
Lab Manager
Emmy Higgs Matzner
Emmy has a background in youth development, community engagement, and program management. She holds a B.A. from Macalester College in Psychology and Spanish and supports the research of the CBP Lab in a myriad of ways. In addition to supervising undergraduate research assistants, Emmy manages the organizational aspects of the lab, oversees participant visits and data collection, and assists in the approval-process for new research projects. Emmy’s previous roles include Career Pathways Coordinator with Step Up of Achieve Twin Cities, a work-readiness and paid internship program for high school students; Program Coordinator with ACES, an out-of-school-time tutoring/mentoring program for elementary and middle school students; Customer Service Representative with UCare, a non-profit health plan company; and English Language Learner Assistant Teacher at Cedar Manor Intermediate School. Emmy loves gardening, biking, and watching movies. Two of her favorite books to read with her kids are Julián is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love, and Mae Among the Stars, by Roda Ahmed.
Graduate Students
Erika DeAngelis
Erika is a fifth-year doctoral student at the Institute of Child Development. She is broadly interested in social cognitive development. More specifically, she studies how children understand and use testimony to learn from others. She is also interested in the development of children’s social biases and prejudice. She grew up in upstate New York and graduated from Amherst College in May 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys exploring local parks and kayaking in the summer.
Norwood Glaspie
Norwood is a third-year doctoral student at the Institute of Child Development. His interest encompasses topics such as Cognitive Development, Social Cognition, and Early Learning in children. Specifically, the role language and perception plays in children’s understanding of bias and social categories. Norwood is from North Carolina, where he received his Bachelors in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2018. In his free time he likes to watch sports games (i.e. basketball, football, and boxing) and going to the gym. His favorite children’s book growing up was Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne.
Yeonju Suh
Yeonju is a second-year doctoral student on the developmental science track at ICD. She graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Psychology in 2020 and worked as a lab manager for Dr. Tamar Kushnir at Cornell University and Duke University before coming to ICD. As a first-year student, Yeonju is actively exploring her academic interests, but she is broadly interested in children’s intergroup social cognition. Specifically, she wants to know how children perceive social groups, how group membership relates to self-identity, and how children learn of stereotypes. In the CBP Lab, Yeonju is working on a project that involves eye tracking for infants and their helping behavior.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Irene Bensus
Irene is a senior studying Developmental Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience and Social Justice. She is interested in research about biracial and multicultural children and their upbringings. Irene wants to change the field and open it up for more people like her. In her free time she likes to make bracelets, play video games, and be with friends. Irene’s favorite book when she was little was Where the Wild Things Are.
Haley Bromenschenkel
Haley is a senior from Saint Cloud, MN, majoring in developmental psychology and minoring in psychology. Upon graduation, she will be staying in the area to work and explore different career paths of developmental psychology before pursuing graduate school to ultimately earn licensure in the realm of therapy. Haley enjoys spending most of her freetime time with her dog, Ernie, finding various creative projects to become engulfed in, and being active outdoors by running or hiking. Her favorite childhood book was “Corduroy” by Don Freeman.
Anuk Dias
Anuk is a sophomore earning a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Minnesota and minoring in neuroscience and math. After graduating, he plans to enter medical school in hopes of becoming a psychiatrist. Anuk is very interested in racial biases and how they form, and what can be done to prevent prejudices from forming. Outside of school, he enjoys rock climbing, reading, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. His favorite children’s book is Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Vandita Gupta
Vandita is a sophomore majoring in Developmental Psychology. She is an international student from Lucknow, India. In the future, she plans on attending graduate school and continuing in research. In her free time, Vandita likes to read and spend time with family and friends. Her favorite childhood book is The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton.
Evelyn Stephens
Evelyn is a freshman from Madison, Wisconsin and is majoring in Psychology. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans on attending graduate school for Psychology, and hopes to become a Social or Developmental Psychology researcher. In her free time, Evelyn enjoys reading, running, and playing the piano. Her favorite childhood book was “Fancy Nancy” by Jane O’Connor.
Ricardo Vazquez Montero
Ricardo is a sophomore studying Developmental Psychology and minoring in Family Social Science. He is originally from Central Florida and is interested in the social and emotional aspects of developmental psychology. After graduating, he plans to attend graduate school to become a clinical psychologist and work in a children’s hospital. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games, pool, watching movies, and listening to music. His favorite book as a child was James and the Giant Peach.
Abby West
Abby is from Phoenix, Arizona and is a senior studying psychology at the University of Minnesota (with a minor in genetics). After graduating with her undergraduate degree, she plans to attend graduate school for behavioral biology or biological anthropology (specifically with a focus on primatology). When not in school, she likes to spend her free time watching movies, drawing, and playing instruments. Her favorite book as a child was Goodnight Moon.