Past Access Fellows in Implementation Science

Lyric Ransom graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Ohio State University in 2024, earning a B.A. in Psychology with Research Distinction and a minor in Youth Development. As an undergraduate, she engaged in diverse research experiences across several labs, building a strong foundation in both cognitive and applied developmental psychology. Under the mentorship of Dr. Julie Golomb in the Vision & Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Lyric completed an independent honors thesis titled “Effective Distribution of VWM Does Not Depend on VWM Capacity,” which examined how individuals with differing levels of visual working memory capacity allocate cognitive resources.

Her subsequent work in the Cognitive Development Lab (Dr. Vladimir Sloutsky) deepened her interest in developmental differences in children, while her time in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Lab (Dr. Katherine Walton) introduced her to autism research and highlighted systemic gaps in access to resources. These experiences led Lyric to consider how socioeconomic status and intersectional identities further compound inequities in diagnosis and care. At the Sleep Empowers Lab (Dr. Mattina Davenport), she explored the role of social determinants of health and provider bias in shaping disparities in autism referrals and diagnoses.

Currently, Lyric is a second-year ACCESS Research Fellow under the mentorship of Drs. Katherine Pickard and Jocelyn Kuhn, where she studies innovative service delivery models and equity-driven solutions to reduce barriers to autism diagnosis and intervention. She is passionate about leveraging schools and community systems to expand access to care and promote culturally responsive practices, with goals of pursuing a Ph.D in Psychology and developing interventions that reduce disparities and support positive outcomes for Black children and other historically underserved populations.

Marycruz Valdivia Acosta graduated early from Carleton College in 2024 with a bachelor's degree in Sociology/Anthropology. During her time in Minnesota, she spearheaded an independent two-year research project titled "El Amor y El Autismo: Latine Parents' Values of Love Towards Their Autistic Children," where she conducted interviews in her Milwaukee hometown with Latino families to explore and discuss their experiences with their autistic children. Her work provided valuable insights into the unique challenges and strengths within these communities, particularly honing in on the importance of the love and care demonstrated in neurodiverse familial spaces. As a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, Marycruz presented her research at various conferences, including the MMUF Midwest Conference and the Latinx Studies Association Conference in 2022 through 2024.

Currently, Marycruz is a second-year research fellow at the Marcus Autism Center, working in the ACCESS lab under the mentorship of Dr. Katherine Pickard and Dr. Jocelyn Kuhn. Her focus is on integrating research and practical implementation to address systemic issues in autism research, particularly emphasizing the lived experiences of families of color. Her passions in the field include improving translation services, enhancing healthcare system understanding, and fostering a resilient perspective on disability in academia. Marycruz aspires to continue her journey in autism research, combining her dedication to empirical study with her commitment to practical solutions that benefit diverse communities.

Selena Valladarez worked on projects addressing the needs of Latino Spanish-speaking families, identifying barriers to autism-related services, and evaluating CBT programs for autistic youth with anxiety. She is now pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Millena Yohannes graduated from Cornell University in 2022 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Health Inequity. During her undergraduate studies, she worked as a research assistant on various sociological and psychological projects, such as tracking commonalities across sexual harassment complaints reported to Title IX offices; child development through play; purpose and identity; and community development. She gained exposure to translational research through her work as an RA in the Purpose and Identity Processes lab, working under Drs. Kaylin Ratner and Anthony Burrow to explore the effect of self driven learning on the psychosocial resources of adolescents, as well as exploring how translational research and engaged scholarship can enrich research for participants. Just as foundational to her time at Cornell was Millena’s community engagement experiences. Across all four years and even after graduation, Millena worked closely as a mentor, teacher, board member, and director for youth dance education and literacy program Ballet & Books. She also served as an ambassador for the Einhorn Center of Community Engagement at Cornell, where she worked to communicate tenets of community-engaged learning, the importance of deliberative critical reflection, understanding place and privilege, and mutual learning to the student body.

Millena served as an ACCESS Fellow in Implementation Science. Her research goals at Marcus focused on the sustainability and adaptation of early autism interventions and their implementation into community systems, particularly regarding cultural differences. Her research examined early intervention use within Babies Can’t Wait, Georgia’s birth-to-three program. She investigated factors that may have predicted child skill gain after receiving intervention, such as provider fidelity, barriers to treatment participation, and therapeutic alliance. Upon completing the fellowship, Millena planned to pursue an MD/MPH, remaining committed to community engagement, working with and for marginalized youth, and improving public health from the community level.

Julia Zielke graduated from Stanford University in 2024, with a B.A.H. in Psychology, with Departmental Honors, Class Distinction, and Phi Beta Kappa, as well as a minor in Music. At Stanford, Jules completed her senior honors thesis entitled Examining the Causal Role of Reappraisal on Emotion Beliefs and Affective Wellbeing in the Stanford Psychophysiology Lab, led by Dr. James Gross. In her thesis, Jules utilized ecological momentary assessment methodology to find that a daily reappraisal intervention can increase young adults’ endorsement of adaptive lay beliefs about the utility of emotions and contribute to increased socioemotional wellbeing over time. Additionally, Jules was awarded numerous research grants and fellowships with which she conducted a line of independent research under the supervision of Dr. Carol Dweck on the role of growth mindset in communication, community-based research on autistic women’s perspectives on autism diagnostic and screening processes under the supervision of Dr. Lawrence Fung, and a line of music cognition research in Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics on the relationship between musical features and the psychological state of flow supervised by Dr. Jonathan Berger. In addition to research, Jules is passionate about teaching and advocacy. She was an instructor for the first undergraduate-led course in Stanford’s Psychology Department, as well as a teaching fellow and assistant. She was also a camp counselor at Stanford Neurodiversity Project’s Research, Education, and Advocacy Camp for High Schoolers.

Jules pivoted her focus to autism research in her senior year after partaking in a tutorial of autism science during her time studying abroad at Oxford University in the UK (2022-23). Now, as a Cohen Fellow, Jules will analyze neuroimaging and eye-tracking data with infants, school-aged children, and adults. She plans to investigate gender differences in social-visual engagement in autistic infants and children that may underlie and contribute to differential presentations of autism across genders. After her time at Marcus, Jules intends to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology and conduct neuropsychology research investigating gender differences in autism prestation as well as factors contributing to the later and underdiagnosis of autistic women. In her natural habitat, Jules can be found playing the flute and piano, composing music, writing short stories, or stargazing.

Cynthia Belfleur, a Miami, Florida native, graduated with high honors from Spelman College in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a mental health concentration. Her time at Spelman was spent heavily in the community as a Corella and Bertram Bonner Scholar and Ford First Gen Scholar, working in health and education systems and interning at the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy. She was a research assistant for various labs with varied interests, such as mindfulness and PTSD, and metacognition in flip chemistry classrooms. Cynthia also attended the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, to study positive psychology and mental health. After Spelman College, Cynthia worked as an inclusive ELA teacher at a Title I charter middle school in Memphis, TN, through Teach for America.

Cynthia served as the inaugural David Satcher Community Engagement Fellow at the Marcus Autism Center. Her research at Marcus explored retrospective caregiver experiences of those whose infants had participated in the Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) studies. By interrogating caregiver experiences, she aimed to understand and improve the Center’s relationships with families as they continued to seek care. Concurrently, Cynthia was a research fellow at Morehouse School of Medicine, working on Project GRIT under the Grady Trauma Project. The project focused on capacity building, emphasizing resilience in African American women experiencing PTSD. Cynthia also participated in the Georgia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (GaLEND) program at the Georgia State Center for Leadership in Disability. This interdisciplinary training program emphasized providing coordinated, culturally competent, and family-centered care to children and their families. After completing her time as the Community Engagement Fellow, Cynthia planned to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology, building on her passion for community engagement, education, policy, and mental health outcomes for marginalized communities.