Sandra Manfreda

Hello, I'm Sandra (she/her) and I am a third-year Social Psychology Ph.D. student at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. 

Across two lines of work, my research explores factors that promote or dissuade intergroup contact. My first line of research focuses on creating more inclusive STEM environments for women, with the aim of addressing their underrepresentation in the field. In my second line of research, I investigate behavioral and interpersonal processes in interracial interactions including relational safety cues, disclosure-responsiveness processes, and nonverbal manifestations of discrimination. 

My work is supervised by Dr. Valerie Jones Taylor in the Stereotyping and Social Interactions - Virtual Reality (SSI-VR) Lab. I also collaborate with Dr. Diana Sanchez in the Close Relationships, Identity, and Stigma Lab. 

In 2025, I received my Master's degree in Social Psychology from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. In 2021, I received my Bachelor's degree, with honors in Psychology, from Lafayette College.