Interested in being a KIND LAB RA?

Interested applicants should complete our application HERE for consideration for RA positions. Eligible applicants will then be invited to attend a brief interview. Please read our eligibility criteria and information to learn more about the application process.

Interested in being a KIND LAB Graduate Student?

We will be accepting doctoral students for Fall 2024 through the Developmental Psychology track. If you’re interested in submitting a Ph.D. application and have any questions, please email Dr. Kalina Michalska at kalina.michalska@ucr.edu.

Lab Director

Kalina Michalska

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. I am also a member of the Program in Neuroscience, the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, and the Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies. Prior to joining UCR, I received my Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Chicago and spent 4 years as a fellow at the NIMH Intramural Research Program, under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Pine. I combine neuroimaging (fMRI), autonomic measures, and behavior observations to understand the neural systems underlying emotional processes engaged by the distress of others. I am interested in how those processes mature across development, how individual differences are expressed, and how these emotional processes relate to disruptive behavior problems and anxiety in childhood and beyond.

LAB MANAGER

Johannah moynihan

I graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2023 with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Education, Society, and Human Development. Broadly speaking, my research interests include understanding different aspects of anxiety in children and the role of caregivers and cultural context in protecting against maladaptive psychological outcomes. I am also passionate about community-based participatory research and centering our participants’ experiences and expertise in our research. I am so excited to be a part of the KIND Lab and hope to be a source of support for the team!

Graduate Students

jordan mullins

I am a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program at the University of California, Riverside. I graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology and a double minor in Spanish and Human Development. Following my undergraduate career, I worked as a research associate at the University of California, Los Angeles, where I examined the neural and emotional correlates of adolescent risk-taking and decision-making. My current research interests center on the relation between family functioning and children's behavioral, emotional, and neural development, particularly in children with conduct disorder and anxiety.

Matthew Kersting

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Psychology program at the University of California, Riverside, specializing in Developmental Psychology. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2020 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Developmental Science. Before my undergraduate studies, I worked in the aerospace and defense sector, where I developed an interest in moral, socioemotional, and cognitive development. My current research interests focus on the role of intention and perspective-taking when evaluating and making judgments of moral blameworthiness throughout development and how blameworthiness is judged when actors use indirect means (e.g., intermediaries) to inflict harm on others.

Hana qureshi

I am a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program at the University of California, Riverside. I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.S. in Psychobiology. Following my undergraduate career, I worked alongside the Orange County Department of Public Health investigating COVID-19 cases, which sparked my interest in social interaction. I also worked as a study coordinator in psychology research labs at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Irvine, where I examined the physiological and neural bases of social connection and loneliness. My current research interests involve understanding social and emotional development through childhood and parent-child interactions, specifically dyadic physiological synchrony and emotion socialization.