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I'm Monica, a researcher in Developmental Psychology. I am an incoming Postdoctoral Researcher in the Changing Brain Lab at the University of Pennsylvania.

I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and am a proud Milwaukee Public Schools grad. Thirteen years spent in racially and socioeconomically diverse schools deeply informed how I think about equity and education today, and led me to questions about the structure of schools and society that I haven't been able to stop asking since.

Before completing my PhD at UC Berkeley, I attended Stanford University, and lived in Stanford's Ujamaa house. I completed an honors thesis under the guidance of Anne Fernald and Virginia Marchman, and then worked as an MRI research coordinator under the guidance of Ian Gotlib.

Photo of Monica (white, long brown hair) in a black turtleneck, with trees in the background.

2015-2017

Stanford University

MRI Research Coordinator

Stanford Neurodevelopment, Affect, and Psychopathology (SNAP) Lab

PI: Ian Gotlib

2011-2015

Stanford University

B.A. with Honors in Psychology

Language Learning Lab

Advisors: Anne Fernald, Virginia Marchman

2023-present

University of Pennsylvania

Postdoctoral researcher

The Changing Brain Lab

Advisor: Allyson Mackey

2017-2023

UC Berkeley

Ph.D. in Psychology

Language & Cognitive Development Lab

Building Blocks of Cognition Lab

Advisors: Mahesh Srinivasan, Silvia Bunge

Dissertation Committee: Mahesh Srinivasan, Silvia Bunge, Arianne Eason, Supreet Kaur

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