Current Undergraduate Researchers

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Avni Agarwal

Avni is a junior at UMass Amherst, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Linguistics. Her passion for social psychology led her to join the IRSJ lab. She is particularly interested in identifying effective methods for improving cross-group interactions and reducing prejudice between diverse groups. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys dancing with her team, UMass Dhadak, specializing in hip hop and fusion dance styles.

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Sophia Chen

Sophia is a junior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, pursuing a degree in Psychology with a certificate in Criminology. Her current research interests involve creating more positive intergroup contact between different racial communities through shared experiences and aligned identities She can be found taking peaceful late night walks throughout the UMass Amherst campus.

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Elena Li

Elena is currently an honors thesis student working in the IRSJ lab, focusing on integrating theories of ingroup identification and attachment. Now in her senior year, she is a double major in Computer Science and Psychology, and she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in a field in which she can utilize her psychology background as the world rapidly advances with Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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Ami Rajesh Mungilwar

Ami is currently a double major in psychology and managerial economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She joined the IRSJ lab to work on projects related to identity and intergroup relations. She is an international student, and she aspires to become a therapist.

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Heeralakshmi Prem

Hera is a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a double major in Legal Studies and Psychology, with a keen interest in the intersectionality of these fields and their implications for society.

Past Undergraduate Researchers

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Megan Abbott

Megan graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in psychology. Her interest in social equality brought Megan to the IRSJ lab, and she continually seeks to learn how to spread this interest to the general public. She now works as a behavioral health care coordinator in the Boston area.

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Yara Akkeh

Yara graduated from UMass Amherst with a dual degree in Psychology and Social Thought & Political Economy, and minors in Arabic and Afro-American studies. With her interest in social justice and equity for marginalized communities, Yara joined the IRSJ lab to learn about how intergroup relations can produce empathy and reduce indifference between groups. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in social work at Boston University, where she is connecting immigrants and trauma survivors with resources to help them thrive.

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Chloe Andre

As a recent graduate of Northeastern University with a degree in psychology and criminal justice, Chloe came to UMass Amherst as a postbaccalaureate student and was affiliated with the IRSJ lab to learn more about social categorization and intergroup relations. Chloe is now pursuing a PhD at the University of Georgia, where she studies the processing and categorization of ambiguous faces, and how such forms of social perception impact intergroup interactions. When not working on research, she can be found hiking, drinking iced coffee in the middle of winter, or petting other people's dogs.

Anais Clinch

Anais received her undergraduate degree from the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a major in psychology and a minor in sociology. She joined the IRSJ lab to work on projects related to belonging and inclusion among vulnerable populations. She now works as an assistant preschool teacher near Boston.

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Adina Covic

Adina graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2024 with a B.S. in psychology, having completed a senior honors thesis in psychology through the Commonwealth Honors College. Her long-term goal is to contribute to a better understanding of social injustices and ways to address them, both within the U.S. and internationally. Through her research, Adina seeks to inform policies and interventions designed to reduce prejudice and promote social equality.

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Lauren Duhr

Lauren is a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a degree in Psychology and a certificate from the Sustainable Food and Farming Program. They contributed to IRSJ research on strategies for buffering negative effects of contact. In their free time, they enjoy hiking, climbing, and gardening.

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Maite Elacqua

Maite graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She joined the IRSJ lab to work on studies related to public attitudes toward migrants, and fostering contexts that promote diversity and inclusion. She now works as a behavior technician at a center that provides services to people with autism, and she seek to pursue a master’s degree to continue her work in providing access and opportunity to members of minoritized and disadvantaged communities.

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Hannah Eng

Hannah worked as a research assistant in the IRSJ lab during her junior year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Originally from New York, she is continuing her psychology studies to become a therapist and growing her passion for research. For fun, she enjoys writing, pointing out dogs on walks, and caring for her two pet Guinea pigs.

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Suling Lam

Suling completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a major in psychology and a minor in Chinese. She is passionate about diversifying and opening conversations related to the mental health among members of minoritized racial and ethnic groups. During her time in the IRSJ Lab, Suling also expressed interest in understanding cross-cultural and interpersonal relationships, as she sought to pursue work in the non-profit sector during her post-college career.

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Nicole Levenson

Nicole conducted senior honors thesis research in the IRSJ lab, with particular interests in identifying methods to reduce prejudice and prevent intergroup hostilities. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology with a certificate in social work. During her undergraduate years, Nicole combined her passion for social justice work with a love of the performing arts as a member of UMass Amherst peer education theater troupe, Shaha The Storytellers, which focuses on issues of social justice and diversity on the college campus. She now works as a substance abuse counselor in the Boston area.

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Danielle Ligure

Danielle graduated from UMass Amherst in 2024 with a dual degree in psychology and English. Her passions lie in understanding the impacts of social interactions on mental health. She is now pursuing a master’s degree in clinical social work at Boston College with a focus on mental health, to pursue her long-term goals of providing mental health counseling as a licensed clinical social worker.

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Maeher Narula

Maeher received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with intertests in research on psychological safety in workplace settings. She is continuing her studies at the London School of Economics, working toward a master’s degree in social and organizational psychology. Ultimately, she wishes to start her own company, with a focus on human resource consulting for small-scale businesses in her home country of India.

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Mia Rogers

Mia joined the IRSJ lab as she pursued her undergraduate degree at UMass Amherst with a major in psychology and a minor in Afro-American studies. She is motivated to reduce prejudice, address discrimination, and create dialogue about mental health within minoritized racial and ethnic populations in the United States. Outside of research in the lab and her studies, she enjoys creating art pieces using watercolor, graphite pencils, and occasionally collage with old magazine pieces and spending time with friends and family.

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Nedret Şen

Nedret graduated with high honors in Psychology from Hacettepe University (Turkey), with a focus on social justice, identity, and intergroup conflict. Drawing from her Kurdish and Turkish heritage, Nedret's work is inspired by personal experiences with political oppression and cultural struggles in Turkey. She has conducted and participated in research projects, including a study examining whether prosocial behavior after the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey is influenced by the victims' group identities. Nedret also volunteers as an English tutor for disadvantaged children and aims to develop intervention programs fostering equity and justice.

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Andrew Simonton

Andrew joined the IRSJ lab to better understand intergroup and interpersonal relationships, partially in cross-cultural settings. This desire was instilled in Andrew during his years as a missionary, through which he noticed that there were immense needs for better communication between people from different groups to promote reconciliation. Andrew is now pursuing a PhD degree in counseling psychology at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

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Sam Xi Wong

Illuminating human connections and helping people speak their emotional truth drives Sam to do the work she does. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a self-designed B.A. in Emotional-Linguistic Articulation and a minor in Psychology, she began her social justice work earnestly as a staff member at the UMass Stonewall Center, the LGBTQIA+ resource center on campus. She now works as an admissions counselor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. When Sam is not pursuing research, she can be found bopping to bachata and ballet, savoring a buzzy synthpop beat, and trying really dang hard not to be too verbose in composing bios.