LABORATORY DIRECTOR
A. Rebecca Neal-Beevers, Ph.D.
Psychology Research Scientist, Department of Psychology
The University of Texas at Austin
E-mail: rebecca.neal@utexas.edu
Curriculum Vita: [PDF]
A. Rebecca Neal, Ph.D., director of the Child Development in Context Laboratory, received a dual program doctorate in child clinical and applied developmental psychology from the University of Miami in 2002. She completed her internship and an NRSA postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, part of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Neal joined the psychology department at the University of Texas in January 2005 as a research fellow and lecturer. She was promoted to Assistant Professor in January 2009. Dr. Neal has received grant funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Her research program focuses on the identification of markers and mechanisms of developmental delay in at risk populations. Current projects include an examination of the development of joint attention and regulatory function at-risk infants and toddlers. A second, and related line of study is focused on the social-emotional and social-cognitive functioning of children affected by autism spectrum disorders.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Alexandra Dowd, M.S.
Clinical Psychology, 5th year
The University of Texas at AustinE-mail: alexandradowd@utexas.edu
Curriculum Vita: [PDF]
Alexandra Catherine Dowd graduated Cum Laude in Psychology from Harvard University in 2011. She completed her thesis in the Laboratory for Developmental Studies under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Spelke, exploring if 9-month-old infants understand how to take a person’s object preferences into account when helping that person acquire an object. After graduation, she spent two years working as a Research Assistant in the Yale Early Social Cognition Laboratory with Dr. Katarzyna (Kasia) Chawarska and Dr. Frederick Shic. During her time at Yale, she initiated two research projects that assessed the presence and developmental trajectories of various regulatory and affective responses and social deficits during the second year of life in infants later diagnosed with ASD.
Alexandra joined the Child Development in Context Lab and Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Texas at Austin in 2013. Her research currently focuses on identifying the early development of and relationships between empathy, helping, and temperament across the second year of life. Furthermore, she is interested in assessing when deficits in these social domains first emerge in infants who are later diagnosed with ASD. This research may have important implications for the development and use of early interventions for this population.
Alexandra is currently completing a year-long clinical internship at the Marcus Center for Autism, Emory University.
Briana Brukilacchio, M.Ed.
Educational Psychology
The University of Texas at Austin
Briana Brukilacchio graduated Cum Laude from Ursinus College in 2013, with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. At Ursinus, 
she worked as a Research Assistant under Dr. Jennifer Stevenson, studying gaze patterns in autism spectrum disorder using eye-tracking technology. Briana’s undergraduate thesis investigated gaze patterns that individuals with an accumulation of autistic traits use to solve complex visual puzzles. After graduation, she spent two years working as a Research Assistant at the Center for Autism Research Excellence (CARE) at Boston University under Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg. At CARE, Briana administered an extensive battery of psychometric assessments and experimental tasks (electroencephalography, eye-tracking, skin conductance) to minimally verbal children with autism aged 4-21. In 2016, she earned a Masters degree in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Briana joined the Ph.D. program in School Psychology at the University of Texas in 2016. Her clinical emphasis is in pediatric neuropsychology and her research interests are related to the neuropsychological profiles associated with autism, epilepsy, and other developmental disorders in young children. She has an additional interest in parent-child interactions as they relate to stress and coping. Briana began working in the Child Development in Context Lab in 2018.
Research Assistants
Rebeca Cruz
Research Assistant
Beca is currently a junior, with a double major in psychology major and Spanish at the University of Texas at Austin. Beca joined the Child Development in Context Lab in June of 2017.
Caroline Freden
Research Assistant
Caroline is currently a sophomore, with a double major in biology and psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Caroline joined the Child Development in Context Lab in January of 2017.
L
eah-Elena Mycue
Research Assistant
Leah-Elena is currently a junior, psychology major (business minor) at the University of Texas at Austin. Leah-Elena joined the Child Development in Context Lab in June of 2017.
Macy Nolan
Research Assistant
Macy is currently a junior, psychology major (biology minor) at the University of Texas at Austin. Macy joined the Child Development in Context Lab in August of 2016.
Alumni
Bridget Gamber Davidson, Ph.D. 
Clinical Psychology, May 2016
The University of Texas at Austin
E-mail: b.gamber@med.miami.edu
Curriculum Vita: [PDF]
Bridget Catherine Gamber joined the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program and the CDCL in the fall of 2010. She completed her undergraduate studies with honors in Psychology and Studio Art at the University of Miami. Bridget conducted her undergraduate thesis under the direction of Heather Henderson and Peter Mundy. The project assessed gaze following deficits in adolescents with high-functioning autism using eye-tracking technology. She has worked with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and other disabilities since 2005.
Bridget is currently an Assistant Professor in Clinical Pediatrics University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She continues to focus on exploring prodromal symptoms in infants at elevated risk for autism spectrum disorders. Specifically, she is interested in examining differences in joint-attention development and their relation to language and diagnostic outcomes. Identifying markers of developmental delay will facilitate early detection and intervention for individuals with autism.
Hannah Fipp-Rosenfield
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Hannah graduated May 2018 from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.F.A in Visual Art Studies. She completed her independent 
research project with the CDCL, titled “Synchrony at 15 Months, Children’s Risk Status, and Relationship to Later Language Ability at 24 Months. She presented the study at the INSAR 2018 Conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Hannah is currently working as a research assistant in the Early Intervention Research Group at Northwestern University, focusing on early language interventions for infants diagnosed with ASD. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Emily Lang
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Emily graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with honors in December, 2017. She completed her senior project with the lab, 
titled “Coping, Distress, and Wellbeing of Latina Mothers of Children with Autism” in October 2017, and she presented the study at the INSAR 2018 Conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Emily is currently working as a research coordinator at the Anxiety and Depression Research Center at UCLA and plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Sara Stahl
Psychology Honors Student, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sara graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with honors in May, 2018. She completed her Psychology Honors Thesis titled,
“Maternal Language During Play with Infants at High-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder” in May of 2018. Sara is currently working as a Postbaccalaureate Fellow in the Section on Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety at the National Institute of Mental Health.
Kassandra Martinez
Psychology Honors Students, Undergraduate Research Assistant, SURE Intern, CoLA Undergraduate Intern
Kassandra completed her Psychology Honors Thesis titled, “Coping, distress, and well-being of Latino mothers of children with autism: An 
exploratory study” in December of 2015. Kassandra worked as a Research Aide in the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain at the Weill Cornell Medical College for two years and will begin the joint clinical psychology program at UCSD/SDSU, working with Lauren Brookman Frazee this fall.
Mishon Lecheler
Lab Manager
Mishon Lecheler completed her undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to working in the Child Development in Context Lab, Mishon worked as a research assistant at UT Austin in Dr. Greg Allen’s Bridging Research on Autism and 
Imaging Neuroscience Lab where she completed her thesis on how depression moderates emotion recognition in high functioning autism. She has been involved in various projects that include research on clinical treatment for anxiety, structural and functional brain imaging, and neuropsychological assessment. Mishon is currently pursuing a master’s degree in School Psychology at Texas State University.
