Lab Director
Ashley Groh, Ph.D.
Dr. Ashley Groh is the director of the Family & Child Development Lab. She is an Associate Professor in the Developmental Division of the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri. Dr. Groh received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2012 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Developmental Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been at the University of Missouri since 2014.
Dr. Groh's research applies a biopsychosocial model to examining the legacy of children's early relationships with parents across the life course. Her research is published in the top developmental and psychological journals and she has received numerous awards for her research and mentoring, including being named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, receiving the Early Career Outstanding Paper Award from the American Psychological Association, earning the Provost Outstanding Junior Faculty Research and Creative Activity Award from the University of Missouri, and receiving the Ann K. Covington Award for Undergraduate Mentorship. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation. |
Graduate Students
Madeline Patrick, B.S.
Madeline is a graduate student in the Family & Child Development Lab. Prior to starting at the University of Missouri, she completed her B.S. in Psychology with Research Distinction at the Ohio State University studying coparenting, temperament, and externalizing behaviors. Madeline’s current research focuses on how family relationships, child individual factors, and attachment impact social and emotional development. She is passionate about mentoring undergraduates, specifically, educating them about the research process and preparing them for graduate studies. Outside of the lab, she enjoys traveling, cooking, hiking, and watching reality shows with her friends.
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Gloria Chang, B.S.
Gloria is a first-year graduate student in the Family and Child Development Lab. Gloria received her B.S. in Psychology at the University of Iowa. Her current research interests are how parent-child relationships and parental input relate to the neurocognitive basis of children’s social and emotional skills, and how these interpersonal correlates, in turn, relate to children’s self-regulation and academic success.
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Former Graduate Students
Sarah Borowski, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor Lehigh University
Allison Halt, M.S. - pursing Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at Mizzou
Christopher Odudu, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor at Missouri Southern State University
Christina Squires, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor at Nevada State College
Milla Titova, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor at Elon University
Nanxi Xu, Ph.D. - Senior Policy Research Associate, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, Vanderbilt University
Sarah Borowski, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor Lehigh University
Allison Halt, M.S. - pursing Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at Mizzou
Christopher Odudu, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor at Missouri Southern State University
Christina Squires, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor at Nevada State College
Milla Titova, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor at Elon University
Nanxi Xu, Ph.D. - Senior Policy Research Associate, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, Vanderbilt University
Lab Manager
Tingyan Liu, B.S.
Tingyan is the Lab Manager of the Family & Child Development Lab. She received a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and focused on researching maternal emotion regulation and infant temperament. Tingyan is passionate about researching how parental traits and parent-child relationships exert positive and negative impacts on children’s social and emotional development with the goal of providing the best support for caregivers and creating environments that foster healthy child development. She is excited to gain more hands-on research experience with infants and knowledge about EEG under Dr. Groh’s mentorship to become trained as a well-rounded researcher and further pursue a Ph.D. program in developmental psychology. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, camping, playing music, and ice skating.
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Project Coordinator
Ava Overman, B.S.
Ava is the Family & Child Development Lab Project Coordinator. She received her B.S. in Psychology in August 2023, with a minor in Human Development and Family Science along with certificates in Multicultural Studies and Addiction Science. She plans to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology following her post-bac position.
Ava was Historian of the MU Honors Psychology Club, Psi Chi, and has been a member since August 2020; she served as an intern at Rainbow House’ Children’s shelter, volunteering her time assisting children with families in crisis; she has tutored for MU, aiding students in psychology statistics courses, Research Methods I and II. Finally, she served as a research assistant in Dr. Yuyan Luo’s Infant Cognition Lab, helping conduct experiments, observe infants, and assist with lab operations, in addition to her experience in Dr. Ashley Groh’s lab on the meta-analysis coding team. In her free time, Ava enjoys reading, hiking, and taking local dance classes. |
Undergraduate Honor's Capstone Students
Enora Cattanach
Enora is an undergraduate research assistant in the Family and Child Development Lab. She will be working on her Honors Capstone during the 2023-2024 school year. Enora is expecting to graduate in the spring of 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology and Statistics, a minor in Anthropology, and a Multicultural Studies certificate. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in psychology with an emphasis in statistical methods. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, baking, and fostering dogs to the annoyance of her cat.
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Ellen Davis
Ellen is a senior undergraduate research assistant in the Family and Child Development Lab. She will be working on her Honors Capstone during the 2023-2024 academic year. Ellen is expecting to graduate in the spring of 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology, a minor in Criminology, an Addiction Studies Certificate and a Multicultural Studies certificate. She plans to attend graduate school and obtain a master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In her free time, Ellen enjoys reading, baking, going on walks, and hanging out with her friends.
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Jocelyn Lamore
Jocelyn Lamore is an undergraduate research assistant in the Family & Child Development Lab. She will be working on a research project under the mentorship of Dr. Groh for the McNair Scholars Program during the 2022-2023 academic year. She has also had the opportunity to be involved in the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program through the MU Department of Psychological Sciences and the MU Discovery Scholars Program. She will graduate from Mizzou in May 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Criminal and Juvenile Justice. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and later work with children and adolescents involved in or affected by the criminal justice system. In her free time, Jocelyn enjoys running trails, reading, baking, and watching X-Files reruns.
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Natalia Ferreira
Natalia is a senior undergraduate research assistant in the Family & Child Development Lab. This year she will be working on her Honors Capstone. She will graduate in May of 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology. Natalia plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and continue to do research as her future career. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her cat Honey, playing games with her friends, reading, and watching a good show.
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Ryann Harold
Ryann is currently a senior at University of Missouri double majoring in psychology and political science with a minor in criminology. She is super interested in childhood development and forensic psychology and hope to further my education in one of those fields after she graduate in May 2024. In her free time, Ryann love to go on walks with friends and listen to music.
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Former Undergraduate Students in Psychology
Elissa Arnold - Completed her M.D. at St. Louis University; resident in the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis.
Amanda Bennett - pursuing Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Joy Gabrielli at the University of Florida.
Channing Bullock - pursuing M.A. in Forensic Psychology at the University of Denver.
Cate Buescher - Clinical Research Assistant in the Computational Psychiatry & Genomics Lab directed by Dr. Jacob Michaelson at the University of Iowa.
Paul Caldo - pursuing Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Glenn Roisman at the Institute for Child Development, University of Minnesota.
Melanie Gravlin - pursuing her J.D. at the University of South Caroline School of Law.
Tara Lottes - purusing her Master's degree in counseling psychology at the University of Missouri.
Nataleigh Messimore - pursuing her M.D. at UMKC School of Medicine in St. Joe.
Chase O'Neal - pursuing his Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Texas Woman's University.
Makayla Pollock - project coordinator in Dr. Donte Bernard's clinical lab, University of Missouri
Danielle Rock - pursuing Ed.S. in School Psychology at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
Evan Reichard - pursuing his Master's degree in clinical psychology at Missouri State University.
Madelyn Trost - Pursing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Purdue University.
Anna Wright - Research Assistant in the Stress, Neurobiology, & Prevention Lab directed by Dr. Phil Fisher at the University of Oregon.
Brooke Hoeferle - pursuing her M.A. in Counseling Psychology at Arizona State University.