Current Fellows

Aubrey Welburn graduated cum laude from Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon (UO) in 2025 with departmental honors in Neuroscience and a minor in Chemistry. At UO, Aubrey completed their honors thesis, Health Accessibility for Autistic and Otherwise Neurodivergent College Students, under the mentorship of Dr. Christina Karns. Their thesis involved focus groups with neurodivergent students and campus clinicians, ultimately informing all-staff training and more supportive practices for neurodivergent students at UO. Prior to Marcus, Aubrey also contributed to The TOTS Project, a nationwide clinical trial of a parenting intervention for families of young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, completed an internship under the mentorship of Dr. Jacob Raber at OHSU focused on olfactory-related Alzheimer's research, and served as a member of the Oregon Commission on Autism.

Now in their second year as a Cohen Fellow, Aubrey works under the mentorship of Drs. Warren Jones and Alexandra Key. Their particular areas of interest include neurodevelopment, autism-informed medical care across the lifespan, and early identification. To explore these interests, Aubrey conducts EEG and eye-tracking research, including work on FirstFocus, a project investigating early identification and autism screening through community-based outreach across metro Atlanta. These interests are rooted in their own and their family members' lived experiences as Autistic individuals. Following their fellowship, Aubrey hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist dedicated to supporting neurodivergent individuals and families, while advancing inclusive research that reflects the full diversity of Autistic experiences.

Annabelle Li graduated summa cum laude from Smith College in 2026 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in Psychology. For all four years of her undergraduate career, she was a research assistant in the Mind in Development Lab (PI: Dr. Maya Rosen). She helped launch a project involving fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) hyperscanning, which refers to simultaneously scanning the brains of two interacting individuals to capture neural synchrony. She received highest honors on her thesis, “On The Same Wavelength: Parent-Child Neural Synchrony During Shared Problem-Solving”, in which she used fNIRS neuroimaging to investigate whether parent-child neural synchrony mediates the association between parenting behaviors (e.g., scaffolding and intrusive parenting) and child executive function development.

As a Cohen Fellow, Annabelle hopes to apply her experience with hyperscanning and pediatric neuroimaging to study the neural markers of social engagement and social interaction in autism. After her time at Marcus, Annabelle hopes to pursue a PhD in social cognitive neuroscience and investigate how the brain supports our ability to socially interact and connect with others, and how these brain-behavior relationships may differ across multiple dimensions of the autism spectrum. Outside of the lab, Annabelle enjoys playing the piano, reading, and exploring local hiking trails.

Lucy Yang graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University in 2026 with a B.A. in Psychology, minors in Education and Information Science, and distinction across all subjects. During her time at Cornell, Lucy conducted research in the Behavioral Analysis of Beginning Years (B.A.B.Y. Lab) investigating how social behaviors influence language development under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Goldstein. For her honors thesis, she led a collaboration between Dr. Chen Yu’s Developing Intelligence Lab at UT Austin and the B.A.B.Y. Lab. Her thesis leveraged head-mounted eye-trackers to explore how toddler vocalizations influence parents’ vocal responsiveness and attention to create opportunities for learning. Outside of Cornell, Lucy was also an undergraduate research assistant with the Yale Child Study Center Affective Youth (Y.A.Y.) Lab and the Multi-model Imaging, Neuroinformatics, and Data Science (M.I.N.D.S.) Lab under the direction of Dr. Wan-Ling Tseng and Dr. Dustin Scheinost, respectively. Through engaging with fMRI research within these labs, Lucy became more interested in how both behavioral and neuroimaging approaches can be paired to better understand development.

As a Cohen Fellow, Lucy is excited to further explore the intersection of developmental and clinical psychology. She hopes to utilize multi-modal methods to better understand neural and social mechanisms that shape developmental trajectories of children. During her time at Marcus and beyond, Lucy is interested in investigating how neurodevelopmental research can inform clinical practice, including guiding efforts for early diagnosis and intervention. When she’s not in the lab, Lucy likes to bake pastries, read memoirs, and solve (mini) crossword puzzles.

Marina Nakayama graduated from Swarthmore College in 2025 with a B.A. in Mathematics and Educational Studies. As an undergraduate, Marina’s research broadly centered around learning. She worked with Dr. K. Ann Renninger on research examining middle school students’ Executive Functioning in Practice and collaboration skills during group work in dynamic geometry to better inform teachers in structuring and facilitating math group work. She also worked with Dr. Victor Barranca on modeling binocular rivalry using realistic image inputs to examine underlying neurological processes, focusing on the differences in speed and perception of binocular rivalry for people with autism.

As a Simons Fellow, Marina continues to study learning, now through the lens of social visual engagement. She is working under the mentorship of Drs. Warren Jones, Alexandra Key, and Aiden Ford. Her current projects focus on applying methods like Bayesian Networks, temporal convolutional networks, and functional data analysis to better analyze EEG and eye-tracking data to understand social visual engagement during early development. Marina plans to pursue a PhD to continue studying learning during early development, using computational methods that bridge behavioral and simulation-based approaches to build a more integrated picture of how early learning and cognitive development unfold.

Aside from research, Marina is passionate about teaching, and she has worked as a teaching assistant in special education classrooms at the Tokyo International Progressive school and as a math tutor for the Chester Children’s Chorus.

Orit Yohannes earned her B.S. in Computer Science with honors from Georgia State University in 2026. As an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Math Path Scholar and NSF CREST D-MAP Research Scholar, she conducted machine learning research in the Subspace Lab (Dr. Vince Calhoun and Dr. Rogers Silva) at the tri-intuitional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS). Her research focused on hyperparameter optimization and Definitive Screening Design (DSD) to improve the computational efficiency, convergence speed, and source separation accuracy of Torch-MISA, a neural network framework for Independent Vector Analysis (IVA) for functional MRI data.  

As a Simons Fellow, Orit is excited to apply her experiences with signal processing, machine learning, and high-dimensional data analysis. Orit’s long-term goal is to earn a PhD in computational neuroscience and to build a research career focused on developing computational methods for understanding brain development. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, community service, and collecting CDs.

Peyton Narr earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Studio Art from the University of California, Davis, graduating with honors and being elected to Phi Beta Kappa. During her undergraduate studies, Peyton joined the Miller Lab as a research assistant under the mentorship of Dr. Meghan Miller, where she explored the developmental trajectories of children with and without a familial likelihood of Autism and ADHD. As a member of the physiology team, she processed electrocardiogram (ECG) data to examine how integrating physiological and behavioral measures can provide a more comprehensive understanding of early development. 
 
In addition to her research experience, Peyton worked as a Child Life Student Assistant at the UC Davis MIND Institute, where she helped create engaging, supportive, and inclusive clinical environments for children and families. She also volunteered as a co-leader for the ACCESS, Social Skills, Camp MIND, and Sibling Support Project programs. 
 
As a joint Clinical and Cohen Fellow, Peyton works under the mentorship of Drs. Cheryl Klaiman, Alexandra Key, and Aiden Ford. Her research focuses on integrating physiological, behavioral, and clinical measures to characterize early socioemotional development. She is particularly interested in understanding the development of emotion recognition and regulation during infancy and toddlerhood, with a focus on infant-caregiver interactions and the influence of caregiver mental health on psychosocial outcomes. Peyton plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology and a research career dedicated to advancing our understanding of early emotional development to inform interventions that support children and families.

Michelle Pu graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University in 2024 with majors in Biology and Child Studies and Human Development. As an undergraduate student, Michelle worked in a rehabilitation center serving neurodiverse and physically disabled adults. Motivated by this experience, she worked in the Crehan Lab at Tufts University delivering a sexual education curriculum to autistic teenagers and researched how autistic adults interact in intimate relationships. She also worked in the Broder-Fingert Lab at UMass Chan Medical School investigating caregiver and provider perspectives on an early-intervention curriculum for young children with social communication challenges. Additionally, she conducted a research project regarding electronic communication device accessibility for physically disabled adults. It was Michelle’s experiences as a mental health hotline operator, hospice volunteer, and as a volunteer working with housing-insecure children that shaped her interest in supporting others’ mental health and social well-being at diverse ages and life stages. Following graduation, Michelle was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru scholarship and conducted qualitative research in Bengaluru, India regarding caregivers of autistic children and their experiences with stigma, education, and disclosure of their child’s diagnosis to schools. This project deepened her understanding of the importance of delivering culturally responsive and equitable care for diverse families.

As an ACCESS fellow, Michelle is committed to understanding how current evidence-based practices can be adapted to suit the needs of the populations we intend to serve. She is passionate about fostering inclusive education practices which best supports neurodiverse children. She is excited to collaborate with stakeholders – providers, caregivers, autistic self-advocates, and community partners – to develop meaningful solutions and bridge health inequities. Following the fellowship, Michelle is interested in pursuing an MD/MPH.

Justin Jun Kim graduated summa cum laude from Emory University in 2025, earning a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. While at Emory, Jun was a research assistant in the ACCESS Lab, working on various projects, including understanding differing provider perspectives on a novel eye-tracking device designed to assist in the autism diagnostic process and examining racial and ethnic healthcare disparities that autistic children, adults, and their families face. Additionally, he volunteered with the myLIFE program at the Emory Autism Center, running two support groups on campus that focused on connecting autistic adults with Emory student volunteers through social communication building activities.

Now as an ACCESS fellow, Jun plans to continue working towards increasing accessibility to quality healthcare, services, and interventions for autistic children and their families. He hopes to focus his work on the diverse communities around Atlanta, specifically growing autism awareness in Asian American communities. After his time at Marcus, Jun intends to apply to medical school and pursue a career in pediatrics.