Harshini Murthy, originally from Bangalore, India, graduated from Emory University in 2021 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and a B.A. in Psychology. During her time at Emory, Harshini completed her honor’s thesis under the guidance of Dr. Aubrey Kelly and Dr. Michael Siller, which investigated the impact of COVID-19 and distance learning on pre-school children’s active engagement in classrooms. Harshini also was an undergraduate research assistant at Dr. Scott Lilienfeld’s lab, where she aided in researching intellectual humility and biases. She spent her free time at Emory travelling with her acapella group to competitions across the US, and performing on campus and at Atlanta events.
As a research assistant at Marcus, Harshini was part of the neuroimaging team and assists in eye-tracking data collection for infants at high and low risk for ASD. She helped collect control data to study differences between groups with and without 3q29 deletions and duplications. Harshini also served as a research assistant for the ACE Educational Follow Up study, which follows students previously enrolled in the ACE studies and tracks their academic performance and development. In the future, Harshini hopes to pursue a graduate degree in Neuropsychology.
Brooke Demetri was an honors student at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she graduated summa cum laude in May 2021 with a B.S. in Neuroscience. During her time at Geneseo, Brooke worked with Dr. Jason Ozubko in collaboration with the University of Rochester to investigate the neuropsychological basis of spatial memory development over time in humans using functional MRI. Additionally, Brooke conducted her honors thesis with Dr. Varuni Jamburuthugoda, where she used various molecular and microbiology techniques to analyze the role of RNA binding in the integration mechanism of R2 retrotransposable elements to better understand disease-causing retrotransposition of similar elements present in humans. Along with her research experiences, Brooke was a volunteer EMT-B on the Geneseo First Response Team, a Supplemental Instructor for organic chemistry and general biology, as well as a Teaching Assistant for behavioral research methods and cognitive psychology.
As a research assistant at Marcus, Brooke was a member of the neuroimaging team and assists on eye-tracking and MRI studies involving infants who are at high and low risk for ASD. Brooke is worked on a project investigating transitions in cortical and subcortical visual pathways in infants throughout their first six months of life. Brooke is also involved in collecting neuroimaging data on individuals with 3q29 microdeletion syndrome. Brooke plans to apply to medical school and pursue a career as a physician specializing in Neonatology or Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
Malerie McDowell graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN in 2017 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in Studio Art. In her primary undergraduate research, Malerie studied visual perception under Dr. Jason Haberman, and led two projects in aesthetic preferences toward motion and mirror reflection. After graduating, Malerie became a research analyst at Vanderbilt University under Dr. Frank Tong where she continued her studies in vision science using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods and led a project studying how radiologists search for abnormalities in x-rays. While at Vanderbilt, she pursued an interest in clinical psychology and later spent 10 months as a Registered Behavioral Technician at Dogwood Autism Services, where she scaffolded early communication and social skills with toddlers with ASD.
As a research assistant at Marcus, Malerie assisted in eye-tracking and neuroimaging data collection for infants at high risk and low risk for ASD. She investigated visual correlates of perceived salience as infants with and without ASD engage with their caregivers. Malerie plans to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology.
Emma Chatson graduated with highest honors from Emory University in May 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in French studies. She began her journey at the Marcus Autism Center in June 2021 by serving as a volunteer assistant preschool teacher in the Brett and Louise Samsky Inclusive Preschool. She was inspired by the impact of inclusive early education and was eager to learn more about school-based interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and education sciences. In August 2021, Emma joined the Education Sciences Research Core at Marcus as a student research intern where she completed her senior honors thesis under the guidance of Dr. Michael Siller and Dr. Aubrey Kelly. Her thesis investigated the effectiveness of naturalistic interventions in inclusive preschool classrooms by evaluating the associations between active student engagement and teacher facilitation. Emma also collaborated on a social emotional engagement curriculum fidelity coding project by aiding the development of a video coding scheme to evaluate classroom structure in early childhood education settings.
After graduating from Emory, Emma began her current position as a research assistant at Marcus. She is a member of the Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) Education follow-up study team with Dr. Laura Edwards, which recruits participants previously enrolled in ACE studies to evaluate their social, cognitive, and educational development. As a research assistant, Emma recruits families to participate in the study, hosts research visits, collects data through the means of administering educational assessments and eye-tracking procedures, and conducts analyses with this data. She also assists in implementation science research with Dr. Katherine Pickard including a pilot implementation of an enhanced social emotional engagement coaching curriculum in Atlanta Public Schools as well as a clinical comparative effectiveness trial of two school-based interventions for autistic students with anxiety. In the future, Emma hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology or school psychology.