Meet Our Team
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
She/her
I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tulane University and a faculty member of Tulane’s Brain Institute. I also serve as a faculty affiliate at the University of Maryland. You can visit my Tulane faculty page here.
As a developmental scientist, I investigate how caregiver characteristics (e.g., personality, mental health) and children’s own characteristics (e.g., temperament) contribute to individual differences in socioemotional development across childhood and adolescence. In doing so, I particularly focus on how these characteristics contribute to parent–child dynamics during social interactions, and how these interactions, in turn, contribute to children’s social learning, self-regulation, and mental health outcomes. I also investigate how early caregiver and child factors contribute to children’s neural responses related to cognitive control, social information processing, and attention patterns during socially salient situations (stay tuned). My research integrates multiple methods, including behavioral observations, mobile eye-tracking, electrophysiological assessments (EEG/ERPs, EKG), and multi-reporter approaches. My research is primarily supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
I received my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies (with a minor in educational research methods) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, my M.S. in Clinical Community Counseling from Johns Hopkins University, and my B.A. in Early Childhood Education from Bogazici University. I also did postdoctoral research with Dr. Nathan Fox at the University of Maryland, which was supported by an F32 fellowship from NIMH.
When I'm not doing research, I play with my 2 fluffy cats, read, bike, travel, go to concerts, and explore New Orleans! Some of my favorite spots in New Orleans are Euclid Records, Octavia Books, Barracuda, Maple Leaf, Mister Mao, and Atchafalaya!
Selin Zeytinoglu, Ph.D.
Essie Diaz Perdomo
LAB COORDINATOR
She/her
Hello, I'm Essie, the SEED Lab's project coordinator. I earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2026.
My work is motivated by a desire to better understand how social environments and structures can impact the real-time emotional functioning and long-term development of diverse communities. I plan to apply to Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs in 2027.
In addition to research, I enjoy hosting, reading, and embroidery. My favorite places in the city include Audubon Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Dehan Elcin
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
He/him
I completed my PhD in Psychological Sciences at Tulane in May 2026, working with Paul Colombo on the cognitive, physiological, and neural signatures of non-drug altered states of consciousness (focused-attention meditation and high-ventilation breathwork) using fNIRS and EEG.
I came to psychology from engineering, with a BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering, also from Tulane. In the SEED Lab, I work on the parent–child conversational synchrony project and on the design and EEG methods for a new study of error monitoring under social evaluation. He also consults as a scientist for Shiftwave and is completing a Master's in Clinical Counseling at Loyola University New Orleans.
Outside the lab, I play soccer and trumpet. My favorite spots in New Orleans are Levee Baking Co., Blue Oak BBQ, and Coffee Science.
Abigail Maronak
GRADUATE STUDENT
Hello! I am Abby, a 1st year PhD student in Psychological Science. I received my B.S. in Cognitive Science from UCLA and have spent the past year and a half as a lab manager in the Brain, Emotion, and Attention Development Lab at USC with Dr. Santiago Morales.
My research interests are centered on individual differences in socioemotional development and how early social and environmental experiences, such as caregiving and early adversity, shape unique developmental trajectories. In particular, I study aspects of development including temperament, self-regulation, and cognitive control and am interested in understanding how the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying these processes are modulated by parenting and social stressors.
Outside of academia, I enjoy spending time outdoors, reading, and trying new restaurants and coffee shops! So far, some of my favorite spots in New Orleans have been the Sculpture Garden at City Park, as well as Shaya and Turkey & the Wolf for some good food.
Research Assistants
-
Natasha Oberoi
She/her
Hi! My name is Natasha and I am a research assistant working on the mother-child dynamics study in the Child Development Lab. I am a M.S. in Data Science student at the University of Maryland. I recently graduated with a B.S. in neurobiology and physiology.
In the future, I hope to apply data science and machine learning techniques in the healthcare industry to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes.
In my free time, I enjoy reading, hiking, planning trips, and baking!
-
Avery Budlong
He/him
Hi I'm Avery, a junior research assistant studying Computer Science. I'm excited to expand my knowledge of computer vision techniques and apply them to help with the mother-child dynamics study. My role involves using machine learning to assist with processing collected videos.
In the future, I would love to pursue a master's degree in CS.
Outside of school, I enjoy go-kart racing, drawing, and I'm trying to improve my cooking skills.
-
Srinidhi Arumugam
She/her
Hi! My name is Srinidhi and I'm a junior double majoring in Physiology & Neurobiology and Computer Science. I am an undergraduate research assistant working on the Mother-Child Dynamics study.
I'm planning on pursuing bioinformatics or bioengineering in grad school, with a focus in machine learning.
In my free time, I enjoy painting, reading, and playing tennis!
-
Saksham Kapoor
He/him
Hi! My name is Saksham, and I'm an undergraduate research assistant working on the Mother-Child Dynamics study. My role involves developing pipelines to process the data collected during the study, performing sentiment analysis and exploring additional techniques within the domain of NLP to gain deeper insights from the observations.
In the future, I aim to leverage AI-driven solutions to address real-world challenges and push the boundaries of human knowledge and progress.
Outside of academics, I enjoy reading fiction books, going on long walks, and listening to music.
-
Anushka Agarwal
She/her
Hi! My name is Anushka Agarwal and I’m a rising sophomore majoring in Computer Science. I am an undergraduate research assistant working on the Mother-Child Dynamics study.
In the future, I hope to explore how extended reality and robotics can be applied in surgical settings to improve patient outcomes and support more personalized treatment solutions.
In my free time, I enjoy dancing, reading, hiking, and photography!
-
Noraliz Rosa Albarrán
She/her
Hi! I am Noraliz Rosa Albarrán, a sophomore research assistant majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Philosophy. I am excited to learn more about how children develop emotionally and cognitively. Especially, how their environments change the way they perceive the world around them. I am currently working on better understanding eye-tracking technology to predict emotions, anxiety, and temperament in children.
In the future, I aim to attend medical school and advocate for women's health rights. Outside of school, I love going to the beach, doing arts and crafts, learning how to play guitar, and spending time with friends and family. Some of my favorite spots in New Orleans are Audubon Park and the Audubon Aquarium!
-
Brinley Pethe
She/her
Hi! My name is Brinley, and I am a junior majoring in Psychology and Political Science with a minor in Social Work. Right now, I am focusing on parent-child affective synchrony. In the future, I hope to pursue a PhD in psychology and later work with children in clinical settings. In my free time I enjoy reading, crocheting and baking. Some of my favorite spots in New Orleans include City Park, Angelo Brocato’s, and The Bead Shop!
-
Ece Altan
She/her
Hi! My name is Ece, and I am a senior Psychology student. I am an undergraduate research assistant currently working on the Mother-Child Dynamics study.
In the future, I hope to pursue clinical psychology, specializing in children, and continue to explore how parent and child characteristics and interactions influence mental health outcomes.
In my free time, I enjoy going to the movie theater, playing board games with my friends, and exploring new restaurants!