Laura Hennefield, PhD
Instructor in Psychiatry
Dr. Laura Hennefield is an Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine Director of the STARK project. She completed her doctoral work in social cognitive development in the Department of Brain and Psychological Sciences at Washington University in St Louis in 2015, and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry in 2021. Dr. Hennefield’s research program focuses on how children acquire knowledge and form expectations about the future (optimism). She also studies how early-onset psychopathology, such as depression and suicidality, intersect with these basic social and cognitive processes.
Katherine Luking, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dr. Katherine Luking is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Saint Louis University and affiliated faculty with the Department of Brain and Psychological Sciences at Washington University. She completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience at Washington University in 2015, followed by post-doctoral work at Stony Brook University. Dr. Luking’s work focuses on relationships between neurodevelopment and the emergence of psychopathology in middle childhood and early adolescence. Using a variety of methods (EEG, fMRI, behavior, hormones) she asks how core affective and cognitive processes, including emotion reactivity/regulation, response to social feedback, and reward processing, change in early puberty and mechanistically contribute to the emergence of depression and borderline personality disorder.
Ethan Fleuchaus, MA
Research Staff
Ethan joined the EEDP team after completing his Master of Arts degree in psychology at the University of Cincinnati. Specializing in children’s cognitive development and learning, he is interested in working with kids to further the behavioral sciences and spread enthusiasm for STEM research in general. Ethan has substantial experience conducting research with children in schools, museums, and academic psychology labs. Currently, Ethan’s roles include collecting behavioral data from children, EEG/ERP administration, coordinating and managing EEG/ERP data collection and processing, and overseeing and training undergraduate research assistants.
Christina Chen
Research Staff
Christina recently graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned her B.A. in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology with minors in Music and Biology. As an undergraduate, she has worked as a research assistant on several studies in the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Emergency Department and Dr. English’s Emotion and Relationships Lab. Christina is the study coordinator and primary contact for STARK, and she also conducts clinical interviews for STARK and PEP.
Caroline Maywood
Research Staff
Caroline graduated from the University of Michigan in the spring of 2022, where she earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Spanish. As an undergraduate, she worked in the Social Minds Lab under Dr. Felix Warneken, studying the development of cognition, reward processing, and altruism in adolescents. She completed her honors thesis on the development of ritual learning in adolescents. In the EEDP, Caroline is the study coordinator and primary contact for the Emotional Changes study with 7- and 8-year-olds and PEP. Caroline also runs study sessions, administers EEG/ERPs, and assists with processing and analyzing data.
Uchechukwu Agali
Research Staff
Uchechukwu is a recent graduate of Harris-Stowe State University, where they earned their B.S. in Biology. As an undergraduate, through BP ENDURE, they worked in Dr. Rogers’ WUNDER lab. They also work with children teaching after-school STEM enrichment programs. In the EEDP, Uchechukwu assists with behavioral and EEG/ERP data collection, data coding and processing, and recruitment across multiple studies including STARK and the Emotional Changes study.