People

Lab Director

Maria Gendron, PhD

Dr. Gendron is the Director of the ASCL and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Dr. Gendron received her B.A and PhD from Boston College in 2006 and 2013, and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Northeastern University before becoming to Yale. Dr. Gendron’s research agenda focuses on the dynamic influences of social, affective and cultural processes on emotional experience, emotion perception and their downstream consequences for the mind, behavior, and relationships. She adopts a multidisciplinary approach that integrates core concepts and methods from cultural, cognitive, developmental psychology, cultural anthropology, and neuroscience. She hails from Rhode Island, the littlest state with the biggest heart. Contact: maria.gendron@yale.edu

Graduate Students

Srishti Goel (she/her/hers)

Srishti is a first-year graduate student in the Social Psychology area. She holds an MA in psychology from University of Chicago, where she worked closely with Dr. Daniel Casasanto, exploring how bodily relativity influences our experience and perception of emotional valence. After graduation, she worked on numerous projects at the intersection of emotions and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill under the supervision of Dr. Sheridan and Dr. Kristen Lindquist. Srishti is interested in exploring how emotions are constructed, what role does language and culture play in the construction of emotional experiences, and what is the neural basis of this mechanism. In her free time, Srishti loves to travel, read books, and spend time with family and friends, and play various sports occasionally. You can contact her at srishti.goel@yale.edu

Full-Time Research Staff

Hanxiao Lu (she/her/hers)

Hanxiao is a recent graduate in neuroscience from Smith College. She works as a post-bac research associate and lab coordinator at ASCL. Before coming to Yale, Hanxiao worked with Dr. Gendron on a cross-cultural study using neuroimaging technique, fNIRS, to understand the cultural effects on the neural correlates of theory of mind. She is passionate about learning and applying machine learning techniques to data-driven research that reveals individual differences and group dynamics in emotion perception and expression. When she is not in the lab, you can find Hanxiao either indulge herself in the hills and dales, rivers and lakes, running, cycling, backpacking and paddling, or spot her enjoying salsa, swing and aerial dancing! You can contact her at hanxiao.lu@yale.edu

Undergraduate Students

Aditi Kodipady (she/her/hers)

Aditi is a senior Psychology major from Hyderabad, India. She has worked as a research assistant in the Affective Science and Culture Lab since Fall 2018. She is interested in the interaction between people’s cultural values and their emotional granularity (how precisely we describe our feelings), as well as the nature of bicultural individuals’ emotional experiences in their different cultural contexts. Outside of the lab, Aditi sings in Pitches & Tones a cappella, manages a high school mentoring program called New Haven REACH, and goes on long runs around New Haven. You can contact her at aditi.kodipady@yale.edu

Calvin Solomon

Calvin is a junior at Yale University in Jonathan Edwards College pursuing a BS in psychology with an interest in applying human behavior and emotion to marketing and advertising. Born in Los Angeles California, and raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Calvin has spent the past three summers working in marketing at Butterfly Network, a cutting edge biotech company making an intelligent handheld ultrasound device of the future. In the lab, Calvin is eager to examine cultural variations in emotion and how knowledge of such differences can be harnessed in a global commercial setting. Outside of the lab Calvin is an avid photographer who enjoys both tennis and playing the piano. You can contact him at calvin.solomon@yale.edu.

Jazzy Fisher

Jazzy is a senior Cognitive Science major from Marietta, Georgia. She joined the Affective Science and Culture Lab in spring 2019, and has worked on several projects as a research assistant since then. This year, Jazzy is excited to be conducting her senior thesis in the lab. She is interested in the many forms of social communication, verbal and non-verbal, and how diversity mindsets play a role in facilitating and hindering collaboration in social settings. When she’s not in lab, you’ll find Jazzy giving tours around Yale’s campus, hanging out with friends in Saybrook College dining hall, or enjoying THE BEST chai latte from Book Trader Cafe. Jazzy is also a proud Saybrook First-Year Counselor, and a member of the student advisory board for Tsai CITY, Yale’s center for innovative thinking. You can contact her at jasmine.fisher@yale.edu!

Justin Lobe

Justin is a senior at Yale University in Jonathan Edwards College from Takoma Park, Maryland. He majors Religious Studies and is concentrating in Psychology. Justin is interested in the efficacy of social treatments for those with psychiatric conditions. His thesis fixates on how culture, and religious communities and beliefs, in particular, affect the day-to-day lives and treatment processes of those with schizophrenia. Outside of the lab, Justin competes on the Yale Men’s Soccer team and enjoys hiking and playing board games in his free time. You can contact him at justin.lobe@yale.edu

Sammy Grob (He/Him/His)

Sammy is a senior Psychology and Education Studies major from New York, New York. He began work as a research assistant with the ASC Lab in the Fall of 2019, and is interested in creative arts pedagogy (particularly theater and music) and its cognitive effects. Sammy’s thesis work will examine the theater performance and emotion through the lens of cognitive neuroscience. Sammy is currently taking a year off of school to travel and perform with the Whiffenpoofs––the world’s oldest collegiate a cappella group––and is an avid performer, musician, and creative collaborator. You can contact him at samuel.grob@yale.edu.

Lotta Keller

Visiting Scholars

Courtney Franco

Courtney recently attained a Masters degree in Research Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Previously, She worked in the Social Cognition on the South Coast (SOCO) research lab which investigates the role of language on emotion perception. Her work explored individual and cultural differences on associations between emotion words and facial expressions, colors, and emoji faces. Her current research interests are emotion perception, individual and cultural differences, and emotional granularity. You can contact her at courtnyfranco@gmail.com

Nicholas Peters

Niko studies Psychology as an undergraduate at Gonzaga University. He works as a remote research assistant at ASCL. Before coming to the lab, Niko had a summer internship at Yale in 2019 under Laurie Santos and Yarrow Dunham. During this internship, Niko met Professor Gendron and liked the research she does. He now helps out on various projects, like her work on cross-cultural perceptions of facial expressions. He has strong interests in researching neurodiversity across cultures, specifically how neurodiversity occurs in group dynamics and individual differences. Outside of the office, Niko enjoys writing, learning new skills, and getting in a good Netflix binge or two. You can contact him at npeters3@zagmail.gonzaga.edu

Maggie Chen

Maggie Chen is a highschool student from the York House School in Vancouver, Canada. She aspires to major in Psychology/ Neuroscience in post secondary, and has been exploring her interests in these fields as much as possible! She loves learning languages, playing volleyball, and a fan of almost any Korean idol/actor you can think of. You can contact her at maggiec2020@gmail.com

Sylvia Lam

Sylvia Lam is a year 3 social sciences student majoring in Psychology and Neuroscience from The University of Hong Kong. She is currently working remotely on a coding project for a cross-cultural study. She is interested in learning more about emotions and how it influences our perceptions as well as behaviours. You can contact her at lamsylvi@connect.hku.hk

Affective Science and Culture Lab