Meet our team!
After earning her Ph.D., Dr. Benner completed a one-year postdoctoral research position in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She then completed a NICHD-funded Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA postdoctoral fellowship at the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). She is currently a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at UT Austin.
Dr. Benner’s substantive research interests center on the development of low-income and race/ethnic minority youth, investigating how social contexts influence experiences of marginalization and discrimination, school transitions, and developmental outcomes during adolescence. As a developmental psychologist, the core of her research program is a fundamental developmental question—what are the continuities and changes in the social, emotional, and cognitive growth and maturation of young people? Reflecting her training in educational demography, she works to answer this question with an awareness of how such developmental patterns are embedded in the groups, contexts, and social structures of society.
Kiera Coulter completed her doctorate degree in public health with a minor in family studies at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on adolescent development, particularly among ethnic-minority adolescents, focusing on 1) the links between ecological contexts and adjustment and 2) their developmental assets and strengths and how those relate to positive youth developmental outcomes (e.g., academic achievement, career commitment, and mental health). Prior to her postdoctoral fellowship, she was the Research Manager for the CDC-funded Arizona Prevention Research Center (AzPRC) at the University of Arizona, which focused on examining the efficacy of community health workers (CHWs) in improving chronic disease risk and emotional well-being among Latinx populations in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
Nina Mbonu is a Spring 2024 graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with a BSA in Human Development and Family Sciences and a BA in Plan II Honors. Her academic and professional experiences reflect a strong dedication to supporting the health and development of children and their communities. Nina joined the MOSAIC Lab in Fall 2023 as a Research Assistant for Project TAURUS and now serves as Lab Manager, overseeing several projects. She enjoys being part of organizations that are dedicated to fostering community and promoting positive outcomes for children and their families!
Ashley Leon is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). Before coming to UT, Ashley earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). At UCSC, she studied adolescent and young adult decision-making in academic settings and how focusing on biological cues such as a heartbeat influence self-focus. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she worked as a research assistant and counselor. Ashley gained a deeper understanding of adolescent experiences in and out of school in both roles. As a research assistant, she focused on educational equity and the academic experiences of socioeconomically and ethnically diverse students. As a counselor, she became aware of the challenges youth endured during the COVID-19 pandemic. These experiences built her interest in investigating how unique stressors impact youth’s health and academic outcomes and how they utilize psychological assets (e.g., psychological resiliency) to help them thrive. As a mixed-methods researcher, she prioritizes a strengths-based approach to examine how youth navigate life stressors (e.g., peer conflict, discrimination, COVID-19 pandemic).
Crystal Li is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Arizona State University in 2023, where her training focused on biobehavioral processes (e.g., sleep, stress) and cultural factors (e.g., acculturation) among diverse children and adolescents. These experiences shaped her current research program, which examines how sociocultural stressors, such as discrimination, influence adolescents’ and young adults’ health behaviors and academic trajectories. Her recent projects investigate the mechanisms linking various forms of discrimination (e.g., racial, sexual orientation-based) to adolescent sleep patterns, academic outcomes, and socioemotional health. In her work, she leverages a strengths-based approach to identify protective factors within different contexts (e.g., school, family), with the ultimate goal of promoting the success and well-being of minoritized students.
Yingying Tang is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). Before coming to UT, Yingying earned her master’s degree in developmental psychology and bachelor’s degree in psychology at Beijing Normal University (BNU). At BNU, she investigated how family dynamics influence children’s socioemotional development in diverse family structures, with particular focus on three-generational families. These early experiences shaped her current research focus on the multiple facets (physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and affective) of emotion regulation and stress coping and how these processes are influenced by, as well as interact with, contextual factors. Guided by Dynamic Systems Theory, her research aims to reveal the complex processes of socioemotional development, with an ultimate goal of facilitating individuals’ adaptive functioning and psychological well-being. Yingying is also enthusiastic about learning, applying, and teaching advanced statistical methods.
Haoran Meng is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his M.A. in Mental Health Education and B.S. in Psychology from Beijing Normal University. His research examines how contextual and interpersonal factors influence the development and well-being of youth from underrepresented social groups, particularly sexual and gender minorities. Taking an intersectional approach, his work explores how social processes and lived experiences, shaped by systemic oppression and privilege, contribute to health disparities among youth with diverse intersecting social positions. Haoran Meng is co-advised by Dr. Stephen T. Russell and Dr. Aprile Benner.
Current Research Assistants
Aseda Obuobisah, Sharon Rong, Mercy Okougbodu, Hannah Nguyen, Saumya Dandamuraju, Ria Agrawal, Linh Do, Carly May, Shriya Praveen, Radhika Rao, Yumna Zaidi, Aanyah Abdullah, Layni Mata, Aditi Ingle, Ashni Guneratne, Nikita Rupani, Kyle Nguyen
Alumni
Former postdoctoral fellows:
Francheska Alers-Rojas (2020 – 2023): Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin
Kelly Minor (2015 – 2017): Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, Winston Salem State University
Yoonsun Han (2012 – 2013): Associate Professor, Seoul National University
Former GRADUATE STUDENTS:
Celeste Fernandez (Ph.D. awarded in 2023): Postdoctoral Fellow, Southern Methodist University
Shanting Chen (Ph.D. awarded in 2021): Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Florida
Farin Bakhtiari (Ph.D. awarded in 2021): Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, California State University, Fresno
Alaina Boyle (Ph.D. awarded in 2018): Director of Research, Equal Opportunity Schools
Yang Hou (Ph.D. awarded in 2018): Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Florida State University
Yishan Shen (Ph.D. awarded in 2016): Associate Professor, School of Family and Consumer Sciences, Texas State University
Yijie Wang (Ph.D. awarded 2014): Associate Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University
former PROJECT MANAGERS:
Madeline Harrington (2022-2024): PhD Student, Department of Counseling Psychology, Indiana University Bloomington
Victor Haas (2020-2022): Clinical Research Associate, XBiotech USA Inc.
Karen Limón (2019-2020): Director of Learning & Evaluation at Texas Association Against Sexual Assault
Daniela Marcano (2018-2019)
Ana Martinez (2016-2018)
former research assistants:
Nina Mbonu, Mirely Salinas, Anushka Mehta, Camila Pozo Araujo, Hanna Ahmed, Iman Ahmed, Lauryn Brown, Paula Lanternier, Jacqueline Pham, Usha Siddiqui, Yisel Mata, Nancy Olachi Ayanugo, Elice Shin, Connie Lee, Emily Swinney, Lauren Gredicek, Rebecca Hong, Jordan Miller, Medha Tirumalai, Samantha Alley, Rebecca Hong, Chetana Murali, Joshua Lattao, Supriya Anand, Devin Davis, Eva Strelitz-Block, Chandana Chitralekha, Courtney Williamson, Lauren Simmons, Valerie Nguyen, Ryan McCoy, Janani Gopal, Elice Shin, Paula Lanternier, Emily Swinney, Jordan Miller, Samantha Outar-Sankarpersad, Emily Spitler, Erika Vasquez, Brandon Thint, Megan Lopez-Lin, Lesslie Suarez, Meghana Rao, Claire Newman, Leanne Marduka, Felicia Rosiji, Jai Prasadh, Antonia Utalan, Alicia Farr, Amira Bajracharya, Ricky Rana, Eva Strelitz-Block, Taylor Saenz, Devin Davis, Supriya Anand, Joshua Lattao, Jessica Ngo, Mikayla Morgan, Chetana Murali, Sarah Salas, Avery Chahl, Leighton Harper, Claire Eckardt, Miriha Meghani, Julia Kramer, Lauren Simmons, Chandana Chitralekha, Courtney Courtney, Isabella Penick, Kiona Kole, Nitya Kopparapu, Sarina Patel, Thuy-An Mai, Valerie Nguyen, Gabrielle Resnick, Emily Swinney, Carmela Roque, Janani Gopal, Victoria Salinas, Melissa Estrada, Hifza Hamid, Raina Jain, Fareen Momin, Ndeye Silla, Shu Jie Ting, Leah Tucker, Dasia Warner, Micaela Williams, Alisha Kashyap, Erica Salinas, Jaqueline Lacarno, Kylie Northam, Shan Deng, Katherine Vasquez, Amanda Palomin, Erika Ong, Brittany Villanueva, Jon Valladares, Ziyyan Ali, Pacelli Iglesias, Divya Gupta, Carolina Barquero, Aarti Bhat, Briana Cabrera, Ruby Chapa, Sohail Dhanji, Carlos Diaz, Sylvia Dominguez, Adria Hardy, Kyler Heintz, Amelia Hollis, Mileena Leonard, Madi Low, Morgan McLellan, Katie Na, Jazmin Navarro, Shimei Nelapati, Leonor Ramirez, Sofia Schachner, Cheney Wang, Lauren McCarthy Tonsi, George Ponton, Allison Yeh, Sydney Sadler