Dr. Sunny Bai is an assistant professor for the Ballmer Institute and Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon. She received her MPH degree from UC Berkeley in 2010, specializing in Maternal and Child Health, and received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 2017, where she also completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship. Her research broadly focuses on adolescent development in the context of daily family and school life. This work integrates human development, family studies and clinical and health research, and relies heavily on naturalistic measures of youth and family functioning including daily diaries and passive recordings.

In her free time, Dr. Bai enjoys going on mini-adventures with her husband and two young children, looking for non-dairy ice cream shops, and exploring the Oregon coast.  

Dr. Bai's Faculty Web Page

Dr. Froidevaux recieved her PhD in Social Psychology from UC Irvine in 2023. She is now working with Dr. Bai as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Oregon. Her work broadly focuses on examining psychological processes associated with romantic relationships thriving in the context of adversity. Her work thus far has focused on couples in intercultural relationships, military families, and couples transitioning into parenthood. 

Daphne Ayton is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Oregon. She received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from Rice University in 2021. She coordinated research related to parent-based interventions, anxiety, and OCD at the OCD and Related Disorders Program at Baylor College of Medicine from 2021 to 2024. Her current interests include exploring the relationships between parent factors, emotion regulation, and child internalizing psychopathological risk using a developmental lens. ​

Gauri Bharadwaj is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Oregon. Previously, she undertook graduate studies in the School Psychology at the University of Oregon. During her training, she worked as a research assistant on projects examining supportive family communication, school-based mental health curriculum development, and equitable access to early intervention systems across the United States. Moving into her doctoral studies, she is most eager to continue exploring facets of family structures (such as parent-child relationships) and its influence on youth emotion regulation and internalizing disorders. Beyond the lab, she enjoys cooking, building Lego sets, and learning Chopin nocturnes on the piano.

Mengyun Chen is a doctoral student in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and minor in Life Science from Ewha Womans University in 2021 and her Master's degree in Counselor Education from Pennsylvania State University in 2023, with a special focus on providing mental health services to youth and families. Mengyun is interested in exploring and understanding what factors would impact youth positive development and what stress coping looks like from childhood to adolescence. In addition, she is interested in how families could function as a whole system to connect and support different family members, especially parent-child communication and support behavior. Mengyun is passionate about connecting research and clinical practice to build socio-emotional development and mental health focused on prevention and intervention.  She enjoys gardening, birdwatching, outdoor activities, and cooking.

Shixing (Angeline) Yuan is a second-year master’s student in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Her research interests focus on family dynamics, parenting, and adolescents’ socioemotional development across diverse cultural contexts. Before coming to Penn, she earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Human Development and Family Studies and Secondary Education from The Pennsylvania State University. Outside of the lab, Angeline enjoys spending time with her cat, Milli, and exploring new places together.

Cassidy is the Research Coordinator for the SAFE Lab at UO. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Miami, with minors in Biology, Public Administration, and LGBTQ+ Studies, where she also worked as a research assistant. Her research interests include exploring the social and psychological factors that impact LGBTQ+ mental health and is particularly interested in emotion regulation and support networks. Cassidy plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Outside of the lab, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, strength training, and spending time with her cat.

Isaiah is a research assistant for the SAFE Lab at the University of Oregon. Isaiah is from ‘Ewa Beach, Hawai’i and is passionate about returning home to his community to give back. He is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Political Science. His interests include veteran wellbeing, adolescent and parental emotional development, and forensic psychology.

Soli is a research assistant for the SAFE Lab at the University of Oregon. Soli is from Bend, Oregon, and is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Environmental Science and Global Health. His current research interests include the psychological aspects of Sex Education (self-esteem, self-efficacy, communication skills, and the development of healthy relationships), as well as emotional regulation. Outside the lab, Soli enjoys aerial silks, the outdoors, and reading.  

Thu is an second-year undergraduate student from Vietnam, majoring in psychology with computer science and global health minors. She is interested in clinical psychology and mental health disorders, using technology and data-driven methods to understand them. 

Lola is a research assistant for the SAFE Lab at the University of Oregon. She is from Bainbridge Island, Washington. She is also a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Art. Her broad interest is in developmental psychology, but she is primarily interested in understanding how childhood experience impacts personality and mental health into adulthood. Outside of academics, she enjoys music, poetry, and spending time with her friends. 

Jillian is a second-year psychology major at the University of Oregon. She is also minoring in writing, public speaking, and critical reasoning. In the long-term, Jillian is interested in pursuing a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in developmental psychology. She is originally from Chicago, Illinois, and she loves any time she gets to spend there. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and trying new things.

Nathanael is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Oregon, majoring in psychology and computer science. He is interested in both philosophy and social psychology to better understand how human existence, essence, and being influence the minds of others. He loves backpacking and the great outdoors when he has the time, as well as using his pursuit of a CS degree to bring his imagination into the world.