![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Screenshot-2023-06-21-at-1.44.19-PM-197x300.png\")
\u00a0![\"New](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/New-Amy-headshot-225x300.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Amy Needham<\/strong>, Principal Investigator<\/p>\nPh.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.<\/address>\n \u00a0I am the Director of the Hands-On Play Lab and Professor of Psychology and Human Development, which is in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. I am fascinated by how infants learn to use their hands to accomplish their goals and by what they learn when they use their hands to play with and explore objects. I earned my PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I came to Vanderbilt in 2009 after working at Duke University for 16 years. When I\u2019m not working, I enjoy taking walks with my husband and dogs and finding new ways to cook vegetables.<\/p>\n Email <\/span>: amy.needham@vanderbilt.edu<\/a> Telephone: (615) 322-8380<\/span><\/p>\n Fall 2024\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Caroline Danforth<\/strong><\/p>\n PhD Student<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Caroline Danforth, and I am a second-year PhD student in the Department of Psychology and Human Development. My academic background is in psychology and biology, and I worked closely with children with developmental disabilities for several years. I am very interested in how neurodevelopmental differences influence early childhood development, and would like to pursue research that promotes effective, considerate early intervention techniques.<\/p>\n Siwen Wang<\/strong><\/p>\n Master’s Student<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Siwen Wang, and I am a master’s student enrolled in Cognitive Psychology in Context program. I graduated from Tsinghua University with a B.S. in psychology. I\u2019m so glad to join hands-on play lab and explore the world of infants and toddlers through engaging research! I will mainly focus on the research of investigating the impact of Montessori education on the development of fine motor skills in young children.<\/p>\n Jinghan Liu<\/strong><\/p>\n Master’s Student<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Jinghan Liu. I graduated from New York University this year with a B.A. in Psychology and I am a first-year Master\u2019s student in the Cognitive Psychology in Context program. I am interested in studying how infants learn through their actions, specifically the development of perception, action, and cognition. I am looking forward to learning more about the development of manual explorations in the Hands-On Play Lab!<\/p>\n Monica Bashir<\/strong><\/p>\n Lab Manager<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Monica Bashir, and I graduated in May from Auburn University with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in Spanish. I am interested in the intersections between second- and heritage-language learning in children and the effects that these have on their cognition. I am excited to be getting started in the lab this year, and I am looking forward to learning more about the ways that children might improve their motor skills through environment interactions!<\/p>\n Tasfia Alam<\/strong><\/p>\n Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Tasfia Alam, and I am a junior double majoring in Neuroscience and Political Science, with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. After graduation, I hope to attend medical school to pursue a career as a neurologist. I\u2019m looking forward to learning about children\u2019s behavior during play and their motor skill development while at the Hands-On Play Lab!<\/p>\n Kiet Hua<\/strong><\/p>\n Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n Hi, my name is Kiet Hua, and I\u2019m currently a junior majoring in Neuroscience and Cognitive Studies. I joined HOP Lab because I have always been intrigued by the growth and development of children. In the future, I plan to pursue a career in Biotech, which will allow me to find meaningful solutions to neurodegenerative diseases targeted toward children. This field combines many of my interests in STEM and the development of children.<\/p>\n Suman Mohanty<\/strong><\/p>\n Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n Supreethi Sridhar<\/strong><\/p>\n Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n Hello! My name is Supreethi Sridhar and I am a senior double majoring in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society. I am looking forward to learning more about how play influences behavior and habits in children through the Hands-On Play Lab! After graduation, I plan to attend medical school and hope to specialize in pediatric surgery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Amelia Cook<\/strong><\/p>\n Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Amelia Cook, and I am majoring in Special Education with a double minor in Child Development and Spanish. As a Special Education major, I have worked with children of all ages and varying cognitive and social capabilities. I am very excited to offer unique insight into the development of children with intellectual disabilities and to learn more about child development in the Hands-On Play Lab!<\/p>\n My name is Maya Azzato and I am currently a sophomore majoring in child development. I am passionate about working with and for children, and exploring how we can better support them. I have especially done a lot of work with children with special needs, and it is something very close to my heart. I look forward to exploring what insight children’s play gives us into their development, and how it might enhance it!<\/p>\n Eric Duarte<\/strong><\/p>\n Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2027<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Eric Duarte, and I am an undergraduate from Las Vegas studying Human and Organizational Development with a minor in Child Development. I am excited to help the Hands-On Play Lab understand how children learn \u2014 even while they’re playing and having fun. Outside of the lab, you can find me watching soccer matches from around the world or struggling to speak Italian.<\/p>\n Lucy Hu<\/strong><\/p>\n Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2027<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Lucy (Yuchang) Hu, and I am currently a sophomore majoring in Child Studies and Cognitive Studies. With a little sister 10 years younger than me, I have developed a deep understanding of child development and have been tutoring children of all ages for the past five years. I am passionate about supporting children from diverse backgrounds in achieving personal growth. Through my research, I aim to explore how educators can design meaningful play activities that foster motor skill development and enhance children\u2019s long-term learning outcomes.<\/p>\n PREVIOUS LAB MEMBERS<\/strong><\/p>\n Katie Swift, Junior Lab Manager<\/em><\/p>\n Jasmyne Yeldell, Lab Manager<\/em><\/p>\n Laura Green, Honors Student<\/em><\/p>\n Melody Li, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Judy Min, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Jacob Wade, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Stella Owings, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Grace Rupert, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Abigail Phillips, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Chelsea Yang, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Sarah Megan Erb, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Frances Garrard, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Charlotte Jeanne, Honors Student<\/em><\/p>\n Caitlin Hertzendorf, Summer Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Angie Zhao, Summer Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Brooke Berger, Lab Manager<\/em><\/p>\n Sarah Wiesen, PhD Student<\/em><\/p>\n Mandy Kaur, Postdoctoral Fellow<\/em><\/p>\n Darcy Smith, Masters Student<\/em><\/p>\n Lindsey Rae, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Georgia Wilson, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Tara Webster, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Rachael Holstine, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Molly Sokolosky, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Kelly Willard, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Shannon Shiffer, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Doreen Li, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Savannah Diamond, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Sarah Barrett,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Theresa Brogan,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Ivy Han,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/i><\/p>\n Anna-Grace Lilly,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Ava Murchison,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Isabell Plotsker,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Kashope Anifowoshe,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Aunnika Short,\u00a0Master’s Student<\/em><\/p>\n Mabel Donahue,\u00a0Lab Manager<\/em><\/p>\n Maggie Huntley,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Amelia Murray,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Frances Farrell,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Evy Mattson,\u00a0Lab Manager<\/em><\/p>\n Hijaan Mitha, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Iris An, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Lauren Malley,\u00a0Honors Student<\/em><\/p>\n Lauren Malachowski,\u00a0PhD Student<\/em><\/p>\n Maggie McGowan,\u00a0L<\/em>ab Manager<\/em><\/p>\n Daniyah Bowen, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Jana Yan, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Wendy Wang, Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n Emma Kerr,\u00a0Research Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 Dr. Amy Needham, Principal Investigator Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. \u00a0I am the Director of the Hands-On Play Lab and Professor of Psychology and Human Development, which is in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. I am fascinated by how infants learn to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":586,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/586"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":368,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1466,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions\/1466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/handsonplaylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/a>\u00a0![\"Caroline](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Caroline-Website-300x296.png\")
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<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0![\"KietNowPic\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/KietNowPic-300x226.png\")
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\n![\"SumanBaby\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/SumanBaby-300x225.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\nHi! My name is Suman Mohanty, and I am a senior majoring in Medicine, Health, and Society and Child Development. I’m also minoring in Spanish! After graduating, I’m planning on going to medical school because I’ve always wanted to be a pediatrician. I’m super excited to be involved with Infant Learning and Down Syndrome research at the Hands-On Play lab!!!<\/div>\n\n
\n<\/div>\n![\"Supreethi](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Supreethi-baby-website-220x300.png\")
<\/a>\u00a0![\"Supreethi](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Supreethi-website-224x300.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n![\"Amelia](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Amelia-Baby-Website-300x224.png\")
<\/a>![\"Amelia](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Amelia-Website-221x300.png\")
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\n<\/div>\n![\"Maya](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Maya-baby-pic-1-242x300.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Maya](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Maya-now-pic-225x300.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMaya Azzato<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\nUndergraduate Research Assistant, 2027<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n![\"IMG_4414\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/IMG_4414-300x225.jpeg\")
<\/a>![\"IMG_6488](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/IMG_6488-1-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n![\"Lucy](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Lucy-1-225x300.jpeg\")
<\/a> ![\"Lucy](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Lucy-2-300x300.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n![\"Brooke](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Brooke-baby-pic-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0![\"Brooke](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/448\/2012\/01\/Brooke-now-pic-232x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBrooke Stimson<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\nUndergraduate Research Assistant, 2027<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMy name is Brooke Stimson, and I am an undergraduate majoring in Child Studies. I have always been interested in exploring how environmental interactions influence early childhood development and learning. I look forward to working alongside my fellow lab members to investigate how children learn through object manipulation and play!<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"