Lab Members

Dr. Willroth (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. Her current research examines how different components of wellbeing (e.g., emotion, life satisfaction, sense of purpose) vary and change across time, both in the short-term from moment-to-moment and in the long-term across the adult lifespan. She applies insights from this research to examine links between wellbeing and important health outcomes in middle and older adulthood, such as chronic illness, mortality, and dementia risk. In her free time, Dr. Willroth enjoys hosting Sunday night dinners, attending game nights, watching movies, and long-distance running.     CV

Gabrielle Pfund (she/her) splits her time as a postdoctoral researcher in the Lifespan Personality and Health lab at Northwestern University and the WELLab at WashU. During her graduate training, her research focused on the measurement, development, and implications of sense of purpose across the adult lifespan. Thanks to the ThinkSwiss Research Scholarship, Gabrielle was able to spend three months in Switzerland learning about personality processes and successful aging while at the University of Zurich. This experience sparked her interest in the bi-directional associations between personality and health across the lifespan, leading her to her current research endeavors. In her free time, she enjoys reading (generally fiction), Pure Barre, as well as spending time with her friends and dogs–and especially her friends with dogs.     CV

Kyrsten Hill (she/her) is a postdoctoral researcher in the WELLab at WashU. She graduated with her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama, with a concentration in Geropsychology. Broadly, Kyrsten’s research seeks to understand how stress impacts mental health and wellbeing across the adult lifespan. Her dissertation examined associations among perceived control, stressor reactivity, and age. Kyrsten moved to St. Louis in 2022 to complete her predoctoral internship at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System and has been enjoying exploring a new city. In her free time, Kyrsten enjoys playing board games with her family, doing DIY projects to renovate her home, and going for walks with her pit bull Moro (affectionately known as “Mr. Momo”). CV

Karysa Britton (she/her) is a PhD student in the clinical psychology program within the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. Broadly, she is interested in healthy aging, Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, and neuropsychological assessment. Her specific research interests include investigating modifiable risk factors as prevention and intervention mechanisms for dementia. She aims to understand how these risk factors interact and affect cognition across time. Karysa is also interested in early indicators of cognitive impairment. In her free time, she enjoys reading, exploring new places, cooking with her partner, and game nights with friends and family. CV

Payton (she/her) graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2022. During her undergraduate training, Payton completed an honors thesis examining the relationships between various psychosocial factors and components of wellbeing among adults with a neuromuscular disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). This experience further sparked her interest in wellbeing, psychosocial functioning, resilience, and mental health, particularly among those with chronic illness/disability. She intends to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. In her free time, Payton enjoys playing adaptive soccer and spending time with her golden retriever, Whitt.  CV

Annika Wei (she/her) is a senior undergraduate student working on her honors thesis at the WELLab. Her project is on the changes in life satisfaction and how people perceive these changes. She is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology in the future to further her research in the field. In her free time, Annika enjoys spending time with friends and family (and her dog), K-pop dancing, and cooking/baking. CV

Tori (she/her) graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 2022. During her time as an undergraduate, Tori gained research experience in Developmental, Personality, and Clinical Psychology. Her research experience focused on child temperament and its relation to both internal and external symptoms as well as another that explored resiliency across the lifespan. She also organized and presented a poster centered on attachment security and self-compassion among young adults at the University of Missouri 2022 Undergraduate Research Week. These experiences sparked her interest in mental health and the promotion of wellbeing, leading her to her current position as a joint lab manager for the WELLab and WAM Lab at WashU. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, spending time with friends, and exploring different spots as a new Saint Louis resident.  CV