Principal Investigator
Dr. Courtney Filippi
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
I received my PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Chicago in 2016. Broadly, my research investigates the neural mechanisms that underlie social emotional development in infancy and early childhood. To do so, I utilize MRI, EEG, and observational assessments.
My ongoing work examines how factors that are intrinsic to the individual (e.g., temperament) and early experiences shape risk for developing anxiety. These studies prioritize investigation of neural systems associated with infant attention and behavioral control.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Jiayin Xing
Jiayin Xing is a post-doc fellow in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health, working with Prof. Courtney Filippi in the Infant Brain and Behavior Lab. She earned her Ph.D. in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program at Northwestern University, where she studied social and linguistic development in individuals with early developmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, fragile X syndrome) and their families. To do so, she utilized eye-tracking, speech and language analysis, EEG, and behavioral assessments. In her postdoctoral research, Jiayin continues to examine early risk factors for and behavioral and neural markers of social-communicative development.
Research Associates
Christine Eun
Christine majored in Psychology and double minored in Brain & Behavioral Health and Global Health at UCLA. During her time at UCLA, she worked as a research assistant at the Anxiety and Depression Research Center, where she studied how inflammation and stress influence reward processing. She also contributed to research at the Loo Lab at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Behavior, examining trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) as a form of treatment for children with ADHD. Christine is particularly interested in using neuroimaging methods to investigate the psychopathology of mood and anxiety disorders in pediatric populations.
Rachel Abbe
Rachel is a recent graduate from Loyola University Chicago, where she double-majored in Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience. She spent several years as a research assistant in the Cognitive Affective Neuroscience (CAN) Lab, under the guidance of Dr. Robert Morrison, which studied the effects of transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) on the triple network and creative cognition using EEG. Rachel is broadly interested in how experience-dependent changes in neural networks shape behavior. She looks forward to sharpening her technical skills and applying her interests to understanding developmental psychopathology in the IBB Lab.
Master's Students
Elita Gao
Elita earned a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Human Development from Cornell University, where she researched cognitive performance in virtual environments using EEG. Following graduation, she worked as a Research Technician at Massachusetts General Hospital, contributing to MRI research on neurodegeneration in populations with Huntington’s disease and Down syndrome. Currently, she is a master’s student in Psychology at New York University, with a focus in Clinical Neuroscience. Broadly, her research interests center on pediatric neuropsychology and the neural bases of cognitive and emotional development, with an emphasis on normative brain development and its clinical applications.
Yufei Zan
Yufei earned her B.A. from the University of Washington, where she double majored in Psychology and Communication and minored in Philosophy. Following graduation, she worked as a volunteer research assistant at the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where she examined the association between early psychosocial adversity and emotional development using large-scale survey data from Chinese children and adolescents. She is currently a Master’s student in Psychology at NYU, with a concentration in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests focus on how early individual differences in emotional and behavioral traits are shaped across development and reflected in neurodevelopmental processes, and how these early trajectories contribute to vulnerability to internalizing disorders, particularly anxiety and depression.
Undergraduate Volunteers
Sophie Yang
I am a junior at New York University double majoring in Psychology and Politics with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. With a background in teaching, I am particularly interested in how early brain development shapes responses to novelty and how these mechanisms relate to mental health outcomes in young children. Working at the Infant Brain and Behavior Lab will give me hands-on experience in neurodevelopmental research, helping me build the skills and knowledge I need for a potential career in medicine, where I hope to better understand and address mental health challenges from both a scientific and clinical perspective.
Julie Chen
I am a rising senior undergraduate student interested in integrating social and clinical psychology, focusing specifically on brain-behavior relationships. As a student in the Bachelor's-Master's track for psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies, she is excited to learn more about neuroimaging methods in the IBB Lab, and connect this with her current research background in measuring stress and psychophysiology. She is interested in developing a stronger foundation for understanding neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Arya Sharma
I am a sophomore at New York University, majoring in neuroscience on the pre-health track. I am particularly interested in how early childhood distress can influence emotional regulation, behavior, and vulnerability to diseases later in life. Learning about stress, development, and brain-body interactions will give me a broader understanding of health from both a biological and human perspective. I’m very excited to contribute to work that can improve outcomes for children and families.
IBB Lab Alumni
Nalani Mumm, Undergraduate Volunteer
Cheryn Hong, Undergraduate Volunteer
Lillian Su, Research Associate
Alisha Zhu, Undergraduate Volunteer
Dr. Alice Massera, Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Luis Martinez-Agulleiro, Postdoctoral Researcher
Sydney Takemoto, Research Associate
Caroline (CC) Groves, Research Associate
Jackson Parrott, Undergraduate Volunteer
Genevieve Perez, Undergraduate Volunteer
Nhi Ly, Undergraduate Volunteer
Bhanu Prakash Poluparthi, Data Analyst
Aditya Jadhav, Data Analyst
Talia Katz, Undergraduate Volunteer
Gabrielle Sadinoff, Undergraduate Volunteer
Kaelan Swinmurn, Undergraduate Volunteer
Renee Mao, Undergraduate Volunteer
Dr. Haley Berka, Psychiatry Fellow
Amanda Waite, Research Associate