Behavioral & Brain Sciences (BBS) Graduate Student My current research interest involves exploring the relationships between language, physiological responses, and cognitive-emotional development in children during dyadic interactions. So, I investigate how parental language supports autonomy and how that can influence children's self-regulation by analyzing physiological markers like respiratory sinus arrhythmia and neural activity via functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Education Education: 2025 M.A. in Behavioral & Brain Sciences, University of Georgia – AthensAdvisor: Dr. Drew Abney (PI)Thesis: Examining how parental language that supports children’s autonomy influences their self-regulatory abilities. (In-progress) 2022 ICIS Founding Generation Summer Fellowship, University of Maimi FloridaAdvisor: Dr. Daniel Messinger (PI) & Dr. Sam MitsvenProject: Preschool Interactions during COVID-19: Effects of Safety Regulations on Vocalizations and Proximity in the Classroom 2021 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Indiana University – BloomingtonAdvisors: Dr. Chen Yu (PI), Dr. Sara Schroer, & Dr. Drew Abney Research Research Interests: Development and Learning, Language and Cognitive Development, Perception and Action, Visual Attention,Social Interactions, Computer Vision, & Machine Learning. Selected Publications Selected Publications: Steffen, G. M., Jerry, C. M., Bell, C., Kolberg, A. R., Patel, B., & Abney, D. H. (2024). The operationalization of coordinated attention and the relations to language development: A meta-analysis. Advances in child development and behavior, 66, 81-107. Abney, D. H., Jerry, C. M., Smith, L. B., & Yu, C. (2024). Look before you reach: Fixation‐reach latencies predict reaching kinematics in toddlers. Infancy, 29(1), 6-21. Mitsven, S. G., Perry, L. K., Jerry, C. M., & Messinger, D. S. (2022). Classroom language during COVID-19: Associations between mask-wearing and objectively measured teacher and preschooler vocalizations. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 874293. Messinger, D. S., Perry, L. K., Mitsven, S. G., Tao, Y., Moffitt, J., Fasano, R. M., ... & Jerry, C. M. (2022). Computational approaches to understanding interaction and development. In Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 62, pp. 191-230). JAI.
