Welcome! We are Dr. Wang’s Research Lab Assistants. Consisting of undergraduate research assistants and post-baccalaureate (previous undergraduate RAs), our team is diverse and passionate about research. We prioritize rigorous scholarship and collaborative teamwork to explore and pursue our interests in psychological research. We capitalize on the unique strengths of each lab member to further our work, and our lab strives to adopt an environment that values personal growth, mutual support, quality research, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ideal members of our lab share similar interests in exploring processes, supportive collaboration, and active research dissemination. We are thrilled that you are interested in our lab, and hope to work with you soon!
Current Undergraduate RAs
Shreya Gadikota
Shreya is a third-year student at the University of Florida majoring in Public Health. She joined Dr. Wang’s Lab in Fall 2022 due to her interest in pediatric psychology, specifically in how a child’s nurturing process impacts their future behavior. She will be assisting in the coding of the COVID-19 data for future research projects and developing a presentation on the transition challenges for the Fall 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium. After graduation, Shreya plans to attend a MPH program to further explore her interests in Public Health.
Shreya can be reached via email at: gadikota.s@ufl.edu
Melisa Sumer
Melisa is a third-year student at the University of Florida majoring in Biology (pre-medical track) and minoring in Food Science. She took General Psychology with Dr. Wang in the Fall 2022 where she discovered a deeper interest in psychology and wanted to find how she could connect it with the medical field. She joined Dr. Wang’s lab in the Spring of 2023. She will be helping in the coding process of the COVID-19 project. After graduation, Melisa plans to attend medical school; her current career interests are becoming a dermatologist or a geneticist.
Melisa can be reached via email at: melisasumer@ufl.edu
Emily Scoufis
Emily is a second-year student at the University of Florida majoring in Health Science on the Pre-Med track. After taking Dr. Wang’s Abnormal Psychology course, she grew an interest in psychology and found her passion in the neurological aspect. She joined Dr. Wang’s lab in the Fall of 2023. Gaining an understanding about how COVID-19 has affected students’ lives in numerous ways was especially intriguing since she had first-hand experience with learning during the pandemic. After graduation, she plans on attending medical school, pursuing psychiatry as her career.
Emily can be reached via email at: emily.scoufis@ufl.edu
Adrian Herrera
Adrian is a third-year general psychology student, minoring in education studies. Adrian took abnormal psychology with Dr. Wang in Spring 2023, where it only deepened his interest in psychology, and fostered his desire to use psychology to aid school aged children. His current goals for after graduation is grad school, specifically going into school psychology.
Adrian can be reached via email at: adrianherrera@ufl.edu
Matthew Finkelstein
Matthew is a second-year general psychology student at the University of Florida. He always loved working with kids and adolescents, and after taking developmental psychology he knew that this was the field he wanted to study moving forward. Matthew joined Dr. Wang’s lab in the Spring 2024. Researching the factors that impact student behavior is fascinating for him, as he has worked extensively with children in and out of school settings. Therefore after graduation, Matthew plans on attending graduate school, pursuing child therapy as a career.
Matthew can be reached via email at: m.finkelstein@ufl.edu
Kaden Seeks
Kaden is a third-year Psychology major currently on the pre-med track with the ultimate goal of practicing psychiatry. He joined Dr. Wang’s Lab in Spring 2024 after taking her Abnormal Psychology class and developing an interest in pedagogical research. Kaden has always been curious about the psychology of the developing mind and the impact of psychological disorders on learning and cognition. He is also interested in the lab’s ongoing COVID-19 research and the impact it has on the education of students at all levels. After graduating, Kaden plans to apply to medical school and hopes to use his talents to help improve the lives of his patients.
Kaden can be reached via email at: kadenseeks@ufl.edu.
Current Lab Volunteers
Elizabeth D’Amico
Elizabeth graduated from the University of Florida in April 2022 with her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology, as well as minors in both Teaching English as a Second Language and Education Studies. She has been in Dr. Wang’s lab since Spring 2021 and has been part of multiple projects including the PGSO Undergraduate Research Forum, CUR Undergraduate Research Symposium, and manuscript development for an undergraduate research journal. She also designed and developed this lab website with Dr. Wang. After graduation, Elizabeth will work as a Research Analyst for Milliman. She hopes to eventually attend graduate school to earn her Ph.D. in the field of psychology so that she may one day serve as a child psychologist.
Elizabeth can be reached via email at: elizabethadamico@gmail.com\
Jacqueline Sterghos
Jackie graduated from the University of Florida in 2021 with her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology. Jackie joined the lab in Spring 2020, and served as Lab Manager from Fall 2020-Spring 2021. During her time in Dr. Wang’s lab, Jackie worked on the Society for Prevention Research Poster Presentation, and led a team of lab members in a poster presentation for the Psychology Graduate Student Organization Undergraduate Research Forum at UF. She attended the University of North Florida to earn her Master’s degree in Psychological Science.
Jackie can be reached via email at: jcsterghos@gmail.com
Amber Hatch
Amber graduated from the University of Florida in December 2022 with dual Bachelor ‘s of Arts degrees in Psychology and Education Sciences, as well as a minor in Sociology. She joined Dr. Wang’s lab in Fall 2022 and contributed to coding COVID-19 data and analyzing data related to transition challenges for the Fall 2022 CUR Undergraduate Research Symposium. She is also leading the Teacher Attachment research supervised by Dr. Wang. After graduation, Amber is attending the Research and Evaluation Methodology graduate program at UF, after which she will pursue a career in educational improvement research.
Amber can be reached via email at: hatcha@ufl.edu
Agustina Salomon
Agustina graduated from the the University of Florida in Spring 2023 with her Bachelor’s in General Psychology. She developed an interest in psychology after taking AP Psychology her senior year of high school, and after taking Developmental Psychology with Dr. Wang during her freshman year, Agustina developed a keen interest about the study of how humans change over the course of their lives. She joined Dr. Wang’s research lab in Spring 2022 in order to further learn how developmental psychology can be implemented in our lives by studying how the pandemic affected students and their endeavors. She has taken part in coding data for COVID-19 projects, and has co-authored an abstract submission for an undergraduate research symposium. Agustina plans to go onto graduate school to work within the psychology field in the future.
Agustina can be reached via email at: avsalomon@hotmail.com
Anna Thodhori
Anna graduated from the University of Florida in Spring 2023 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree with a major in Biology. Anna has been in Dr. Wang’s research lab since Fall 2020, and has served as Lab Manager since Fall 2021, wherein she led the lab in organization and functioning in various facets. Anna has taken part in multiple projects, including the CUR Undergraduate Research Symposium, a manuscript development for the TE project, and a manuscript submission for an undergraduate research journal. After graduating, Anna hopes to attend medical school to earn her M.D. and become either a pediatrician or a dermatologist.
Anna can be reached via email at: annathodhori2000@gmail.com
Former Members
Avah Monteith
Avah graduated from the University of Florida in Spring 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Education and a minor in Disabilities in Society. Avah was in the lab during the Spring 2020 semester; during this time, Avah played an instrumental role in searching and screening for literature related to childhood task engagement. After graduating, Avah plans to attend the University of Florida to pursue her Master’s degree in Health Education.
Avah can be reached via email at: amnichole99@gmail.com
Marina Zakhary
Marina graduated from the University of Florida in 2021 with her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology on the Pre-Professional track. After graduation, Marni attended EMT before joining medical school, and her expected graduation is in 2026. She is working closely with the Air Force to join their Health Professionals Scholarship Program with hopes of becoming a physician with the Air Force in the future.
Marina can be reached via email at: marinazakhary2000@gmail.com
Marni Shabash
Marni graduated from the University of Florida in Fall 2020 with her Bachelor’s degree. During her undergraduate studies, she majored in Psychology on the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience track and minored in Zoology. Marni began working in Dr. Wang’s lab in Summer 2020. Throughout her time in the lab, she has co-authored a poster at the Society for Prevention Research symposium and worked with Dr. Wang and lab volunteer Jacqueline Sterghos to develop a manuscript on their data. Marni also designed and created our lab’s logo! She is currently working as an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator at the University of California in San Francisco for their Dyslexia Center, and hopes to one day get a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Marni can be reached via email at: marni.shabash@ucsf.edu
Isabella Dewhurst
Isabella graduated from the University of Florida Online program in Spring 2022 with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She was in Dr. Wang’s lab during the Summer and Fall 2021 semesters, during which she co-authored a poster for the CUR Undergraduate Research Symposium, coded data related to COVID-19 coping strategies, and aided in the preliminary stages of a manuscript development. She plans to pursue either psychology or mass communications at the post-graduate level.
Isabella can be reached via email at: isabella.r.dewhurst@gmail.com
Hanxiao
Jiang
Hanxiao attended the Teacher’s College at Columbia University, where she earned her Master’s of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2020 with her Bachelor of Science with a major in Psychology and a minor in Education Studies. She joined Dr. Wang’s lab in Spring 2020 and has been deeply involved with the TE project.
Hanxiao can be reached via email at: jianghanxiaoapply@hotmail.com
Catherine Cardenas
Catherine graduated from the University of Florida in Fall 2023 with a degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Behavioral Cognitive Neuroscience and a minor in Statistics. After taking Abnormal Psychology with Dr. Wang and being a Teaching Assistant for her Intro to Psychology class, Catherine knew she wanted to pursue Psychology. She became interested in Dr. Wang’s Lab after seeing her presentation at the Spring 2022 Research Symposium. Learning about how the pandemic affects students was personal to Catherine since she was in high school when the pandemic happened. After graduation, Catherine hopes to attend graduate school and work in the psychology field in the future.
Catherine Cardenas was selected as one of the 12 SRI Scholars in the Summer Research Institute at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida in Summer 2023. The Summer Research Institute is curated for students interested in building their research skills within the areas of substance use and co-occurring disorders. It is an 11-week in-person program that consists of an independent research project conducted with guidance from a distinguished faculty mentor; research seminars; professional development seminars; and skill-building workshops. There were more than 100 undergraduate applicants from varied U.S. universities such as Tulane University, University of Florida, University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, Clemson University, University of Pittsburgh, and St. Norbert College.
Catherine can be reached via email at: cardenas.c@ufl.edu