People
Director-General
Cristine Legare, Ph.D.
Dr. Legare is a professor of psychology and the director of CACS at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research examines how the human mind enables us to learn, create, and transmit culture. She conducts comparisons across age, culture, and species to address fundamental questions about cognitive and cultural evolution. Dr. Legare has expertise in global public health, international education, child development, and cognitive science.
Senior Research Associate
Mona Baniahmadi, Ed.D.
Dr. Baniahmadi received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. PA. She has expertise in supervising and evaluating STEM education research projects to assess the impact of various programs across K-12 and college settings. Dr. Baniahmadi conducted mixed methods research focused on designing and delivering teacher professional learning programs and examining the influence of education policy and technology on teacher curricular decision-making. She is a former teacher, tutor, and textbook author with over ten years of experience in implementing innovative instructional strategies to provide equal learning opportunities for all students in classrooms.
Research Program Coordinator
Zachary M. Taylor, B.A.
Zach oversees operations and provides project management and data management support for CACS projects. He received his B.A. in psychology and Plan II Honors in 2022 from The University of Texas at Austin. Zach is inspired by research across the cognitive and social sciences and is particularly motivated by the field’s recent push to improve the robustness, replicability, and external validity of its experimental methods (i.e., design, measurement, analysis, inference). During his time at CACS, he has honed an interest in causal modeling and Bayesian methods, which has inspired him to pursue a graduate degree in Experimental or Quantitative Psychology.
Senior Research Scientist
Alejandro (Ale) Erut, Ph.D.
Dr. Erut received his Ph.D. in anthropology from UCLA. His work and interest are related to experimental philosophy, developmental cognition, and epistemic concepts and epistemic vigilance. Dr. Erut has more than eight years of fieldwork experience in South America and has worked on projects that analyze global data from both small-scale and large-scale populations.
Senior Data Analyst
Alexander Etz, PH.D.
Dr. Etz received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Sciences from the University of California, Irvine. The main focus of Dr. Etz's research is improving the statistical methods used in the behavioral sciences, with a particular interest in increasing the accessibility of Bayesian methods. He has published tutorials on topics including Bayesian hypothesis testing, guidelines for conducting and reporting Bayesian analyses, and simulation as a tool for understanding Bayesian statistics. In the lab, Dr. Etz applies his expertise in Bayesian analysis to the Culture of Schooling project, acting as the lead analyst for this large, international dataset.
Graduate Student Researchers
Faiz Hashmi, M.A.
Faiz has five years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research, human-centered design, and program management while working with CARE and Project Concern International. He has deep skills in applying cognitive scientific concepts to develop Theories of Change to devise high impact sustainable Social Behavior Change strategies. Faiz has an M.A. in development studies and a post graduate diploma in public health management. Faiz is interested in exploring the impact of cognitive and cultural factors on various aspects of public health and gender.
Jesse Peregrino, M.A.
Jesse is responsible for designing study materials, overseeing data collection, and performing data cleaning and analysis for various projects. He graduated with a B.A. in psychology and honors in philosophy at California State University, Northridge. His main research interests focus on people’s beliefs on evaluating information, the development of scientific reasoning, and coexistence reasoning between scientific and religious concepts. Jesse seeks to utilize his research to inform infrastructures to understand barriers to accessing public health resources.
Yousef Elsayed, B.A.
Yousef is a first-year PhD student in the STEM Education Doctoral Program. During his undergraduate degree, he studied Earth Science and Education which fueled his interest in understanding current systems of teaching and learning and how they can be expanded upon. Yousef is currently working as a graduate coordinator on the Thinkery Connect project. He hopes his future research will advance and transform initiatives in financially impoverished communities.
Doris Abakah Osei Bonsu, MPhil.
Doris holds an MPhil degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Ghana-Legon. She will be joining the CACS lab in Fall 2024 as she pursues her doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology at UT Austin. During her master's program, her research focused on how socio-economic factors affect neurocognitive abilities and school performance in children from lower-middle-income communities (LMICs) in Ghana. Doris has field experience in Ghana and has contributed to the Culture of Schooling project. Her current interests lie in studying cognitive functioning and development, particularly how cultural and family diversities influence these abilities among children from diverse LMICs. Doris is dedicated not only to conducting research and publishing papers but also to initiating positive change in the communities she studies.
Research Technicians
Jessica (Yee Jie) Ooi, M.s.
Jessica graduated with a MS in Research Psychology and is intrigued by the dynamics of parent-child relationships. Her research interest lies in exploring how parent-child relationships and interactions shape children's development, mental health and cognitive learning. Jessica also finds joy in cleaning and analyzing data, driven by a genuine desire to understand human behavior through empirical evidence.
Meryl Jiang
Meryl is a senior, majoring in Psychology with a Pre-Health Professions certificate and a Japanese certificate. She is interested in how culture influences education and attitudes towards healthcare. She is passionate about improving culturally competent care in the field of medicine. She is currently working on the EvoLearn project, and hopes to attend medical school after graduating.
Honors Thesis Students
aarushi Gupta
Aarushi is a senior majoring in Psychology with a certificate in Applied Statistical Modeling. She is passionate about understanding the complexities of cultural differences and how they shape development and cognition. Her research currently focuses on how religious diversity, concepts of justice, and environmental factors influence social judgements in diverse populations. In the lab, she is working on a senior thesis exploring the impact of different psychological intuitions of karma in the US and India on causal attributions of misfortune.
Jenelle Abigail Medina
Jenelle is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, double majoring in Psychology and Plan II, with a minor in Sociology and a certificate in Children & Society, focusing on adolescence. Throughout her time at UT, she has developed a strong passion for bridging her interests in developmental psychology and educational equity within the K-12 sector. Jenelle is currently working on her senior thesis, which explores cultural variations in teaching and learning. After graduation, she plans to pursue a Master's in School Psychology, aiming to make a personal impact as a school psychologist by supporting children who are often overlooked in the educational system.
Kiera Dicesare
Kiera is a senior with majors in Psychology and Spanish. She is passionate about promoting psychological and physical well-being in diverse populations, and interested in the social factors affecting both health and mental health care globally. Her current research centers around the cultural factors influencing learning and creativity in children, and she is curious how education correlates with well-being around the world. In the lab, she is working on her senior thesis investigating the development of social learning and innovation in children across cultures.
Ruth Befekadu
Ruth is a junior, majoring in Psychology with a certificate in Social Inequality, Health, and Policy. She is passionate about advancing mental health care in low-resource settings, especially through local cultural resources. More broadly, she is interested in cognition, behavior, and wellbeing within contexts of peace-building and development. In the lab, Ruth is working on her senior thesis exploring the role of traditional religious leaders and practices in modern mental health care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This summer she will travel to Ethiopia to collect data for her project!
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Ruth Befekadu
Trisha Clennan
Averiana Davis
Melis Demiralp
Kiera DiCesare
Christian Graulau
Aarushi Gupta
Meryl Jiang
Jenelle Medina
Shruthi Mudigonda
Jaden Panicker
Victoria Perugini
Casey Ray Willingham
Maitreyi Vartak
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Kimberly Mendez
Morgan Newhouse
Karlos Ramos
Hannah Lunkenheimer
Aurora Brinkman
Katie Cullum
Alex Etz
Nicole Wen
Leigh Plummer
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Angel Filer, Ed.D., served as the Project Coordinator for the Harnessing Global Science Networks to Accelerate Cultures of Learning (AccelNet) Project from 2023-2024.
Adrienne Barnett, M.B.A., is the Executive Director at Northwest Austin YMCA. Ms. Barnett was the Director of Administration and Partnerships from 2021-2022.
Oskar Burger, Ph.D., is a Senior Data Manager at OMNI Institute. Dr. Burger was the Director of Design and Development at UT Austin from 2018-2022.
Justin T.A. Busch, Ph.D., is a user researcher for Λ Γ Γ I V Λ L. Dr. Busch received his Ph.D. from UT Austin in 2018.
Lydia Chen, B.A., is a Research Data Analyst at UT’s Office of the Vice President for Research. Lydia was Associate Director of Operations and Data Management at CACS from 2020-2022.
Jennifer M. Clegg, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Texas State University. Dr. Clegg received her Ph.D. from UT Austin in 2016.
Daniel Conroy-Beam, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Conroy-Beam received his Ph.D. from UT Austin in 2016.
Sarah Davis, Ph.D., is a UX researcher at Spotify. Dr. Davis was a visiting graduate student at UT Austin from 2015–2017.
Frankie F.T.K. Fong, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Dr. Fong was a visiting postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2019-2021.
Patricia Herrmann, Ph.D., is a senior research scientist. Dr. Herrmann was a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2011–2013.
Afshan Kamrudin, Ph.D., is a research analyst at Lifeworks Austin. Dr. Kamrudin was a postdoctoral researcher at Thinkery Austin Children’s Museum and UT Austin from 2020-2021.
Ajna F. Kertesz, M.A. is a Ph.D. student at UT Austin. Ms. Kertesz received her M.A. from UT in 2022.
Emily E. Little, Ph.D. is the executive director of Nurturely. Dr. Little was a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2017-2019.
Hannah Lunkenheimer, M.A. is a Ph.D. student at UT Austin. Ms. Lunkenheimer received her M.A. from UT Austin in 2022.
Emily Messer, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University. Dr. Messer was a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2018-2021.
Frances R. Morales, M.A., is a lecturer at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Ms. Morales received her M.A. at UT Austin in 2015.
Karri Neldner, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Dr. Neldner was a visiting graduate student at UT Austin from 2018–2019.
Sarah M. Pope, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Dr. Pope was a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2018-2019.
Bruce Rawlings, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Durham University, UK. Dr. Rawlings was a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2018-2021.
Andre L. Souza, Ph.D., is a UX researcher at Spotify. Dr. Souza received his Ph.D. from UT Austin in 2012.
Rachel Watson-Jones, Ph.D.,is a senior user experience researcher at Amazon Business. Dr. Watson-Jones was a visiting graduate student and postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2011–2015.
Nicole J. Wen, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Division of Psychology at Brunel University London, UK. Dr. Wen received her Ph.D. from UT Austin in 2018.
Aiyana Willard, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Division of Psychology at Brunel University London, UK. Dr. Willard was a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin from 2015–2017.
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2023-2024: Isabel Donovan, Phoebe Wang, Irene Wang, Rachael Park, Lekha Surapaneni, Nashitha Azeez
2022-2023: Tamara Garza, Daniela Esquivel Cantu, Amani Saleh, Jana Jimenez, Karsen LaRue, Presley Jones, Sayona Ambastha, Vennila Satheesh, Evan Zou, Sampreeti Bingi, Sohmee Kim, Hui Feng, Taylor Carpenter, Harrison Stotts, Caitlyn Petescia
2021-2022: Julia Abreu, Vanessa Usoh, Teague Marusak, Berivan Barin, Brandon Cambre,Ali Gamboa, Rachel Hershmann, Trisha Lobo, Katie Nguyen, Leo Pratt, Jedsada Thavornfung, Isabel Webb Carey, Klarissa Garza,
2020-2021: Rachel Capao, Christian Denolan, Jana Fahkreddine, Kaya Gorsline, Elizabeth Hartzell, Taylor Knight, Juliette Licon, Austin McGinnis, Catherine Nair, Rohan Skaria, Dharsanaa Srignaneswaran, Dakota Tate, Yuchen Tian, Patricia Tomacruz, Juolin Tsai, Yuhan Wang, Musmin Zar, Keyifan Zhao, Quan Zhou
2019-2020: Samiyah Al-Amin, Alex Barshop, Andrea Bongiovanni, Sabrina Chavez, Anoushka Dasgupta, Sushil Gangasani, Elizabeth Hartzell, Kyle Katigbak, Sydney Lanyon, Sebastien Lauzy, Yanxi Lu, Tiffany McFall, Helen Mokhayeri, Emma Morris, Roshan Nair, Morgan Newhouse, Hayden Rosato, Abilio Sanchez, Shelby Sears, Carolyn Smith, Sana Usman, Heather Wessel
2018-2019: Bunmi Akindona, Janet Akisanmi, Justin Allen, Felicia Calo, Hannah Campos, Michaela Caughy, Lydia Chen, Seoyoung Choi, Summer Crawford, Jensen Edwards, Stephanie Estrera, Aliana Gamboa, Claudia Hernandez, Kathryn Klepac, Sonali Krish, Keyun Li, Anh Nguyen, Yasmeen Nofal, Keonnie Parilla, Matthew Reyes, Danielle Salinas, Adriana Threet, Nawal Umar, Nat Watkins, Lori Woo, Amir Zlaei
2017-2018: Sally Do, Shirin Khakoo, Sarah Kim, Hannah Nazir, Ashley Obregon, Ashley Pham, Evan Wotipka
2016-2017: Alyssa Bohnert, Aurora Brinkman, Zac Buckingham, Aditi Chalise, Shihyin Chung, Nick Gatz, Taylor George, Nicole Griffin, Atira Hinton, Daniel Ikejimba, Vibha Iyengar, Bonnie Johnson, Andi Liang, Jacob Maras, Gaby Morgan, Yasmeen Nofal, Reethika Thakkalapally, Jennifer Velazquez, Aaron Wood
2015-2016: Alexander Abbot, Andrew Arriaga, Mahera Badat, Carmen Cardenas, Nitza Chavez, Grace Cicardo, Emily Cruz, Maria de Leon, Emma Denning, Daniel Dosal-Terminel, Leah Duran, Nicole Garner, Taylor George, Tiffany Huynh, Daniel Ikejimba, Eunice Iyalho, Nicole Jacobs, Ana Jacome, Alicia Kiattinat, Sarah Kim, Emily Lang, Lindsey Leggett, Shirley Li, Joel Lucio, Wanja Muturi, Anisa Nabily, Patty Phewklieng, Graciela Rodriguez, Tara Thankachan, Bryn Terry, Shu Jie Ting, Emily Withrow
2014-2015: Adrian Abellanoza, Bethelhem Belachew, Anuj Bhutani, Jayson Alex Carr, Emily Eck, Quinn Hirschi, Elena Keltner, Shama Momin, Valerie Moreno, Priyanka Patel, Bella Prines, McKenzie Ratcliffe, Annabel Reeves, Michelle Ross, Hyunji Seo, Swathi Sridhar, Kasia Szostak, Sarah Talaat, Allison Tsao, Holly Weir, Debbie Yeh, Rithika Yogeshwarun, Chloe Yu
2013-2014: Niki Akhaveissy, Adam Alcott, Andrea Argueta, Joseph Barron, Casey Brown, Courtney Crosby, Cisse Drame, Stephanie Gonzalez, Irene Jea, Alexa Perlick, Elyssa Proby, Emily Shanks, Allison Tsao, Monica Vela, Viviana Wan
2012-2013: Justin Busch, Nathan Davis, Adrienne Fowler, Eric Harvey, Cintia Hinojosa, Sarah Mohkamkar
2011-2012: Brittani Cobb, Kathryn Christine Chevis, Katherine Cullum, Niki Demkowicz, Teresa Gaytan, Lauren Gragg, Lacey Hutchison, Paige Hartman, Michelle Jorgenson, Riley Little, Becky Nekolaichuk, Tiffany Roshanian, Lukas Thompson, Maya Zein
2010-2011: Erica Beall, Victoria Chapman, Claudia Garate, Erin Griffin, Anna Johnson, Abby Lavine, Christin Lusk, Daniel Martinez, Jr., Victoria Nava, Jenna Segraves, Ariana Stern-Luna, Nicole Wen
2009-2010: Molly Callahan, Stephani Clayton, Milla Impola, Katie Jean, Starr La Salde, Linzi Moss, Naomi Schwendemann, Becca Yasskin
2008-2009: Sara Baird, Justin Cho , Kellie Connors, Sabrina Elddine, Sonali Gadkari, Kaitlin McLaughlin, Jane Park, Cam Plummer, Leigh Plummer, Brooke Woolley
