Staff

Bonny Donzella, Senior Research Fellow

Bonny is a Senior Research Fellow in the Gunnar Laboratory. She earned her Master's degree from SUNY Albany, and was trained in psychophysiology at UW Madison. since 1995, Bonny has workded with Dr. Megan Gunar researching the physiology of stress regulation. Her expertise includes cortisol collection, database construction, and project/lab management. Email her at donzella@umn.edu. Her work can be found here: Bonny Donzella's Bibliography

Shanna Mliner, Senior Research Manager

Shanna has worked on research projects in the Gunnar Laboratory since 1998. She earned a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education/Early Childhood Special Education and a bachelor's degree in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Shanna also holds Minnesota teaching licenses in both Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education.

Bao Moua, Principal Lab Technician

Bao started in the Gunnar Lab as an undergraduate research assistant in 2005. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota. She is responsible for data collection, recruitment, scheduling, and administrative support on various research projects. She maintains the Minnesota International Adoption Project Registry and is the undergraduate student coordinator for the lab. Bao is bilingual in Hmong and English and is a proud mom of three adult-age kids.

Nikki Tsakonas, Research Associate

Nikki is a Staff Research Associate in the Gunnar Laboratory working on the online TRIER (TSST-OL) and the MISITC Social Buffering studies in collaboration with Dr. Kathleen Thomas as well as the CardioHealth Study. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in May of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, with minors in Neuroscience and Philosophy. She spend her undergraduate years working as a research assistant with Drs. Kathleen Thomas and Sylia Wilson. In the future, she hopes to further her education and enroll in a graduate program.

Zachary Miller, Research Associate

Zach is a staff researcher who began working in the Gunnar Lab in 2019. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He currently works on the Social Buffering grant studies, which are investigating how social buffers affect children's endocrine and neurological responses to stress. Zach is also a member of Dr. Kathleen Thomas's Cognitive Development and Neuroimaging Lab, where he has worked since 2017.

Annika Knutson, Research Associate

Annika is staff researcher working on the Cardiovascular Health study. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a minor in Integrative Neuroscience in May of 2023. As an undergraduate student she worked on the ARMOR Project at the Minneapolis VA under Dr. Melissa Polusny. Annika plans to pursue a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology.

Kimberly Hernandez, Research Professional

Kim is a staff research working on the Health's Early Roots and Origins (HERO) Study. She has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. Kim is bilingual in Spanish and English.

Imani Perry, Research Professional

Imani is a staff researcher working on the Health's Early Roots and Origins (HERO) Study. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology in fall 2024 from Augsburg University.