Eleanor graduated in 2024 from Loyola University Chicago with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in French. At Loyola, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Catherine Haden’s Children’s Memory and Learning Lab and Dr. Jeffrey Huntsinger’s Emotional and Social Cognition Lab. She plans to pursue a Master's degree exploring child development and family systems. 

Jennica is a doctoral candidate advised by Dr. Kirkorian. She received her B.S. in Developmental Psychology with a minor in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego, and her M.S. in Human Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before graduate school, she spent several years as a clinical research coordinator at the UC Davis MIND Institute. She is interested in how the design of children-directed media and emergent technologies impacts learning and social-emotional development. Her dissertation examines the utility and design of pseudo-interactions (i.e., fourth-wall breaking) in educational children's media. As part of her graduate appointment, Jennica also serves as PBS Wisconsin Education's project assistant. 

Anna is a fourth-year majoring in Neurobiology and Psychology. As an RA, she is excited to learn the ins and outs of the research world. She hopes this opportunity will also help her prepare for future academic opportunities. Outside of school, Anna likes cooking and making art- specifically painting and ceramics. Anna currently plans to go to graduate school and aims to pursue a PhD in Psychology.

Caroline is a fourth-year majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. She has a passion for working with children, and is specifically interested in how trauma impacts children and family dynamics. Working at the CDM Lab is her first research assistant role, but she has had prior experiences working as a summer camp counselor! Outside of school, Caroline loves to bake and go on walks. After graduation, Caroline hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology and become a child psychologist. 

Allison is a third-year double majoring in Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies and minoring in Political Science. She is interested in how social media affects children's mental health, and hopes to learn more about the ins and outs of research as an RA. Outside of academics, Allison has experience working as a camp counselor and loves working with kids! She also loves to golf and play ultimate frisbee. 

Raina is a second-year double-majoring in Neurobiology and Psychology, and double-minoring in Health Policy and Criminal Justice. She is interested in researching the impacts of early stress and cognitive development on children's behavior and health. As an RA, Raina hopes to gain hands-on experience with research and hopes to contribute to studies focused on neurobiology and psychology. Previously, Raina has helped out with EEG-focused research and has assisted with pediatric clinical work, at the cancer clinic, and as a patient care assistant! Outside of school, she enjoys playing pickleball, spending time with friends, and traveling. After her undergraduate studies, she hopes to become a pediatric physician assistant and continue contributing to research and clinical work.  

Elizabeth completed her MS in 2015. Her thesis was based on the extent to which preschool-age children learn from educational and interactive media. 

Elizabeth is now a Health Education Services Grant Consultant at the Colorado Department of Education.

Koeun completed her PhD in 2016. Her dissertation research examined the role of working memory in toddlers' transfer from interactive and non-interactive video. 

Koeun is now an assistant professor in Virginia Tech's Department of Human Development and Family Science, and leads the CoDeS Lab. 

Seung completed his PhD in 2021. His dissertation research examined the extent to which preschool-age children learn from animated vs. live action video. 

Seung is now a postdoctoral associate working with Dr. Karl Rosengren in the Cognitive Development Lab at Rochester University.

Mengguo completed her PhD in 2021. Her dissertation research examined the information processing of digital media content and the impact of child and media characteristics. 

Meng is now an assistant professor in the University of Calgary's Werklund School of Education. 

Roxy completed her PhD in 2022. Her dissertation research investigated children's word learning from e-books compared to print books. 

Roxy is now the Child Development and Parenting State Specialist at the University of Wisconsin - Madison Extension's Human Development and Relationships Institute. She also runs Those Media Moms, an online business that provides parents with evidence-based resources on how to approach early childhood media use, with fellow graduate alumni, Dr. Liz Horgan! 

Bolim completed her PhD in 2025. Her dissertation research examined associations between parental motivations for allowing screentime at home and the quantity and quality (i.e., type of content, context of use) of reported child media use. 

Bolim is currently a part-time lecturer at Dong-a University and a full-time (and first-time) mom to her newborn son! 👶