SES Lab Team
Feel free to get to know our team members!
Principal Investigator
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Camelia Hostinar
Dr. Hostinar is the lab director and an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at UC Davis. She completed her doctoral training in Developmental Psychology at the University of Minnesota (Institute of Child Development) and her postdoctoral training at Northwestern University. Dr. Hostinar investigates the ways in which childhood poverty and other forms of early-life adversity influence later development and health. She has particular interest in protective factors that may buffer children and adolescents from chronic stress and subsequent physical or mental health problems. Her work examines developmental processes at multiple levels of analysis, incorporating endocrine and immune biomarkers, electrophysiological data, genetic assays, and behavioral measures. She seeks to improve understanding of the role of early-life stress in shaping self-regulatory skills, and to illuminate how stress-buffering processes such as supportive social relationships exert their effects. Contact: cehostinar@ucdavis.edu |
Graduate Students
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LillyBelle Deer
LillyBelle is a PhD student in the developmental psychology program at UC Davis. She grew up in Honolulu, HI and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Claremont McKenna College in 2015. Her research interests include the role of early life stress and adversity in mental and physical health, as well as in academic outcomes. She also has a strong interest in protective factors that may play a role in buffering against stress and adversity, such as cultural or familial factors. Outside of the lab, she enjoys engaging in aquatic sports, trying new recipes, and playing with her herd of dogs. Contact: lkdeer@ucdavis.edu |
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Nick Alen
Nick is a PhD student in the developmental psychology program at UC Davis. He is a Bay Area local who completed his Bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Nick’s research interests include parenting, poverty and autonomic nervous system stress physiology, and their relation to social behavior and health outcomes. In his free time Nick enjoys playing guitar and spending time with his family. Contact: nvalen@ucdavis.edu |
Postdoctoral Researchers
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Grant Shields
Grant is a PhD student in psychology at UC Davis interested in determining the effects of stress on memory and executive function as well as the biological mechanisms behind those effects. His role in this lab is a typical graduate student, someone who is always busy coding studies, analyzing data, and writing papers. He is interested in working with Dr. Hostinar because she is someone with a lot of great experience in research areas that align with his interests. In particular, her work examining associations of different life stressors such early adversity in orphanages, with executive function closely parallels his interests, and her work examining the conditions that mitigate or exacerbate stress-related biological dysregulation can certainly inform his research. In addition to working with Dr. Hostinar, Grant works under both Dr. Andrew P. Yonelinas and Dr. Brian C. Trainor at UC Davis and collaborates with Dr. George M. Slavich at UCLA. When he's not working, he enjoys playing with his dogs, running, hiking, and snowboarding when weather permits. Contact: gsshields@ucdavis.edu |
Lab Manager
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Adam Nissen
Adam is a recent graduate from UC Davis with degrees in Biological Psychology and Animal Science. He is interested in how an individual's personality can impact their overall health and health behaviors. As well as working in the SES Lab, Adam also works at Personality Change Lab run by Drs. Wiebke Bleidorn and Chris Hopwood. Adam hopes to teach college level psychology classes in the future to help facilitate interest in the field. In his free-time, Adam enjoys spending time with his friends and attending music festivals/concerts. Contact: atnissen@ucdavis.edu |
Research Assistants
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Ann Cheng
Ann is a third year undergraduate student at UC Davis majoring in Psychology and minoring in Human Development and Education. She is interested in researching how stress affects social, cognitive, and emotional development of young children. By gaining research experience from Dr. Hostinar’s lab, she hopes to pursue a career as a child psychologist specifically dealing with children suffering from PTSD. In her free time, Ann likes to explore new coffee shops, bookstores, vinyl record stores, and playing the piano. Contact: anncheng@ucdavis.edu |
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Jing Li
Jing is currently a fourth year undergraduate student at UC Davis majoring in Psychology A.B degree. She is interested in research related to social and cognitive development of young children, and she is particularly interested in how situations affect childhood development. Jing hopes to utilize her knowledge to help children with social and emotional problems. Before transferring to UCD, she volunteered as a preschool teacher for two years. In her free time, Jing enjoys spending time with her families, biking, having milk tea with friends, and reading magazines. Contact: jngli@ucdavis.edu |
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Tina Le
Tina is a fourth year undergraduate student double majoring in Biological Psychology and Communication. She is interested in exploring and learning about the different affects and impacts on childhood development. She hopes that by gaining experience and more knowledge in Dr. Hostinar's lab, she is able to decide on a specific focus and interest. In her free time, she enjoys going out to eat and exploring different food places around the area, binge watching TV shows, and spending time with her family and friends. Contact: taile@ucdavis.edu |
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Shoshannah Bobritsky
Shoshannah is a third year undergraduate student at UC Davis majoring in Psychology and minoring in Human Development and Education . She is interested in research regarding children under stressful circumstances and how that may affect their cognition . Shoshannah hopes to garner the research experience in Dr. Hostinar’s lab to pursue a career as a Child Psychologist. Shoshannah likes to travel and explore in her free time. Contact: shbobritsky@ucdavis.edu |
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Mona Karimi
Mona is a third year undergraduate student majoring in both Psychology and English. They are interested in the neurological and physiological impact of chronic stress and trauma on individuals throughout their lifespan, more specifically the treatment and prevention of these conditions. Through their experience working in Dr. Hostinar’s lab, Mona is interested in ultimately pursuing both research and clinical work in the field of psychology. Their hobbies include journalling, playing guitar, and browsing bookstores in their free time- particularly for different kinds of 1800s literature and poetry. Contact: mkarimi@ucdavis.edu |
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Elis Feyzieva
Elis is a third year undergraduate student at UC Davis pursuing a Biological Psychology degree. She is originally from Bulgaria but has lived in California for most of her educational career. By gaining research experience from Dr. Hostinar’s Lab, she hopes to more clearly understand how stress affects patients' physical and emotional functioning, as well as how stress affects adherence to treatments and course of illness. In her free time, Elis enjoys spending time with her family and friends and being outside! Contact: epfeyiezva@ucdavis.edu |
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Julianna Kirkpatrick
Julianna is a third-year transfer student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Human Development. She is passionate about mental health and hopes to pursue either an M.A. or Ph.D. in Psychology and work as a Clinical Psychologist for children and adolescents suffering from mental illness. In particular, she is interested in the impact that early life stressors have on the development of adverse coping mechanisms and how early interventions can promote psychological wellness. Contact: jckirkpatrick@ucdavis.edu |
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Austin Dalmasso
Austin is a third year undergraduate at UC Davis majoring in Global Disease Biology with a minor in Public Health Sciences. He is passionate about public health, especially with regards to the intersection of health disparities and the social determinants of health. He has worked closely with children in roles as a camp counselor, soccer coach, and tutor and is interested in studying the effect that chronic stress has on their individual health outcomes. In addition to working in the SES lab Austin is also on the board of the Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic, a peer advisor and mentor, and a member of the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Advisory Board. His aspirations are to pursue higher education relating to public health and public health law in order to affect real, sustainable health policy change. In his free time Austin likes to rock climb, watch documentaries, and try to cook new food. Contact: amdalmasso@ucdavis.edu |
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Hollie Crandell
Hollie is a third-year undergraduate student at UC Davis, pursuing a Psychology A.B. degree with a minor in Human Development. She is interested in the environmental, psychological, and physiological aspects of stress and mood regulation. She has experience with children on the autism spectrum and has worked with these individuals one-on-one. She plans to go to graduate school and pursue a Ph.D in a clinical psychology to work with mentally ill individuals and to continue to do research. Personally, Hollie is passionate about the Earth and humanity; she is an advocate for fair and humane treatment of animals. In her free time, she likes to spend time with family and friends. Contact: hkcrandell@ucdavis.edu |
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Alison Luck
Alison is a second year undergraduate student visiting UC Davis from Whitman College. She is majoring in Sociology and Religion, with a minor in Mathematics and Statistics. Alison is interested in child socialization, particularly within family structures. She is spending this summer in the lab, coding parent-child interactions and gaining research experience. Alison hopes to pursue a career in research and data analysis, particularly around family structure, religion, politics, and socioeconomic status. In her free time, Alison plays guitar and ukulele and enjoys watching crime TV shows. Contact: luckat@whitman.edu |
Lab Alumni
Jocelynn Morales-Martinez
Gurleen Lamba
Amanda Rosenberg
Jennifer La
Alexsis Andrade
Marisa Galvez
Rana McBee
Tina Shafa
Erin Morrison
Rachel Petrie
Anthony Riddle
Willa Kurland
Shannon Trinh
Zev Minow
Antonia Cartwright
Jenna DeKeater
Aleasha Jhanjar
Rebecca Cho
Temitope Awosika
Yuvraj Khanna
Gurleen Lamba
Amanda Rosenberg
Jennifer La
Alexsis Andrade
Marisa Galvez
Rana McBee
Tina Shafa
Erin Morrison
Rachel Petrie
Anthony Riddle
Willa Kurland
Shannon Trinh
Zev Minow
Antonia Cartwright
Jenna DeKeater
Aleasha Jhanjar
Rebecca Cho
Temitope Awosika
Yuvraj Khanna