ASU Department of Psychology

Congratulations to PhD student Jen Figueroa, recipient of this year's Doctoral Scholar Award! 🏆

Under the mentorship of Associate Professor Thao Ha, Figueroa's research explores adolescent romantic relationships in digital contexts, with a particular focus on the experiences of Latino/a/x youth. Her outstanding scholarship recently led to a first-author publication in the "Journal of Research on Adolescence."

In addition to her impressive research contributions, Figueroa is a dedicated teacher and mentor who has supported multiple undergraduate courses, developed engaging learning activities, led guest lectures and helped students succeed on major projects.

The Doctoral Scholar Award recognizes excellence in research, teaching, service and progress toward degree completion. It is made possible through the generosity of our Department of Psychology community.

Kudos, Jen, on this well-deserved recognition! 👏

A big congratulations to Karen Aguilar, recipient of the Martha E. Bernal Memorial Scholarship! 🎉

Aguilar is a clinical psychology PhD student under the mentorship of Professor Leah Doane. Her research explores how cultural context and minority stress influence sleep health among Latino youth. She's also a dedicated clinician at the ASU Clinical Psychology Center, where she's led Spanish-language parent training groups and developed culturally responsive resources for Latino families. In addition, she mentors students and serves as vice president of the Psychology Graduate Student Association.

Named in honor of Dr. Martha Bernal — a former ASU professor and the first Latina to earn a PhD in psychology in the United States — the scholarship recognizes graduate students who carry forward her legacy of advancing ethnic minority mental health and supporting diverse scholars.

Kudos, Karen, on this well-deserved recognition.

Meet Nayen Lee, recent and recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. 🏆

An international student from Korea pursuing a doctoral degree in developmental psychology, Lee was recognized for her work as a teaching assistant in PSY 441: Cognitive Development.

Under the supervision of Associate Professor Kelsey Lucca, Lee consistently went above and beyond in her role. She provided extensive, timely feedback on major writing assignments, remained highly attentive to student needs and created new resources to help students navigate common challenges and revisions. She also collaborated on assignment design and offered frequent support during office hours.

This July, Lee will begin an NSF-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Educational Neuroscience Lab at American University.

“I will continue my curiosity research, focusing on the question of why curious students learn better,” Lee said.

Congratulations, Nayen, and best of luck on this exciting next chapter!

Congratulations to Brendan Davies, recipient of the Department of Psychology’s Joshua E. Zantek Undergraduate Scholarship! 🏆 Established by alumnus Joshua Zantek, this award supports students who demonstrate exceptional commitment to their studies, research, and community service.

A Barrett, The Honors College at ASU student majoring in neuroscience, Davies maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA and, since September, has served as a research assistant in the Health Neuroscience Collaboratory.

Inspired by seeing friends and family affected by neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, he is particularly interested in synaptic dysfunction and the role of glial cells in disease progression as pathways toward future therapies.

Brendan has dedicated three years to volunteering at HonorHealth Shea, providing comfort and support to patients and their families. Most recently, he and his peers co-founded a nonprofit organization focused on expanding access to resources in underserved communities across Arizona.

Amazing work, Brendan! 👏

Hats off to Elliot Holst and Ethan Cowan-Kazmin, recipients of this year’s Dariel Overby Memorial Scholarship in the Department of Psychology!

Open to psychology majors, this award honors the memory and spirit of Dariel “Rusty” Overby, whose life was tragically cut short just two days before she would have graduated from ASU with a degree in psychology.

About this year’s recipients:

🔹 Elliot Holst is double majoring in psychology and family and human development. She has contributed to multiple research labs, including the Arizona Twin Project and The Courage Lab, and has served as a teaching assistant for PSY 101 and PSY 366. Holst has also gained hands-on experience through an internship with a school psychologist, serves as a near-peer mentor with HealthCorps, and is a Mayo Clinic Scholar through Barrett, The Honors College at ASU.

🔹 Ethan Cowan-Kazmin is majoring in psychology with a minor in counseling and applied psychological science. Through the Online Undergraduate Research Scholars (OURS) program, he serves as a research assistant in the Genes, Environment, and Youth Development Lab. He has also gained clinical experience as a behavior technician and clinical assistant, supporting at-risk youth and treatment planning. Cowan-Kazmin has demonstrated remarkable resilience, sharing that his ASD and ADHD diagnoses, along with the loss of his brother, have helped shape his academic and career aspirations.

Congratulations, Elliot and Ethan!

Why do some words seem to feel like what they mean?

A new study from Arizona State University's Department of Psychology found that children as young as 5 can connect certain speech sounds with emotions. Researchers examined the "gleam-glum" effect, where words containing an "ee" sound, like gleam, tend to feel more positive, while words containing an "uh" sound, like glum, tend to feel more negative.

The findings help researchers better understand how language is learned, used and perhaps even evolved.

Read more in ASU News: news.asu.edu/20260601-science-and-technology-why-gleam-sounds-happy-and-glum-sounds-sad

Big congratulations to recent Belal Jamil, recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Graduate Student Award from ASU's Faculty Women's Association. 🎉

Recognized for outstanding scholarship, research, leadership and service, Jamil has made significant contributions to developmental psychology through innovative research, peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and mentorship of undergraduate students.

“He stands out as one of the most remarkable graduate students I have had the privilege to mentor,” said Associate Professor Jinni Su.

Congrats on this well-deserved honor, Belal! 👏🎓

🎉 Congratulations to doctoral student Alexandria Melick on being awarded the 2026 Penelope Davis Neuroscience Scholarship!

Established to support graduate students researching dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, the scholarship recognizes promising scholars advancing neuroscience research.

Mentored by Assistant Professor Jessica Verpeut in the SOCIAL (Study of Circuits in Adolescent Life) Neurobiology Lab, Melick studies the development of neural circuits and brain structure in early life to better understand behavior. The lab focuses on long-distance neural circuits from the cerebellar cortex involved in social and flexible behavior, with research exploring sensitive periods of neural development, how genes and the environment influence neural maturation and aging and analyzing the effect of neuromodulators on downstream signaling pathways.

Way to go, Alex!

Congratulations to our 2026 Psychology ‘Rising’ Scholar Award recipients! 🎉

Each year, six outstanding psychology and neuroscience students are recognized for academic excellence, research achievements and community engagement.

🌟 Renata Escobar is a first-generation psychology student with a minor in counseling and applied psychological science. She has supported fellow students as a success coach while serving as both a teaching and research assistant.

🌟 Jane Li is a Barrett, The Honors College at ASU student double majoring in psychology and biomedical sciences. With a 4.0 GPA, she conducts research in Assistant Professor Joanna Kim’s Engaging Families Lab and serves as a student leader in the Next Generation Service Corps.

🌟 Brendan Salisbury is an honors student with a 4.0 GPA and recognition as a Flinn, Coca-Cola, Bezos and McCord Scholar. He conducts research in Professor Samuel McClure’s Decision Neuroscience Laboratory and serves as Executive Director of Great Heart Global.

🌟 Sanjana Karthik is an honors student majoring in neuroscience with a minor in psychology. She conducts research in Assistant Professor Gi-Yeul Bae’s Visual Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, will join Professor Federico Sanabria’s Basic Behavioral Processes Lab this summer and supports mental health and international student initiatives.

🌟 Matthew Bala, a two-time recipient of this award, is an honors student majoring in neuroscience. As lab manager at the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative, he leads undergraduate researchers while contributing to cardio-oncology research, clinical programs and community service initiatives.

🌟 Aysa Yslas-Grube is an honors student majoring in psychology with a minor in business. With a 4.0 GPA, she conducts Behavioral Informatics Lab research developing AI tools to identify and respond to human emotion in text and serves on the Psychology Engagement Team.