Director
Kristina Olson is a professor of psychology at Princeton University and the director of the Human Diversity Lab. She received her B.A. in Psychology and African and African-American Studies from Washington University in 2003 and her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2008. Before joining the faculty of Princeton, she was a professor at Yale University and then the University of Washington. She studies early social cognitive development and directs the TransYouth Project. She was the recipient of the 2018 Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, the 2016 Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformational Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science, was a 2018 MacArthur Fellow, and was awarded the 2015 Davida Teller Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award. Outside of the lab, Kristina enjoys making and eating delicious food and is a prolific reader.
Postdocs and Data Scientists
Natalie received her B.A. in psychology from Barnard College and her Ph.D. in social psychology from Yale University. In graduate school, Natalie explored misgendering, appearance-related stereotypes, and psychological consequences of femininity threats. As a postdoctoral research associate, she is excited to continue conducting research on gender, bodies, and identity (in)validation by examining the effects of medical transition on body image and mental health in transgender adolescents. When she’s not working, Natalie enjoys solving crossword puzzles, spending time with loved ones, and crafting.
Natalie received her psychology B.A. from Georgetown University and completed her cognitive and social psychology Ph.D. at Northwestern University. In graduate school, she studied mental representations of social categories and social networks, with a particular focus on how lay theories influence social cognition. As a member of the HuDL at Princeton, she’s looking forward to continuing this work, including a developmental perspective and incorporating computational techniques. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, woodworking, and travelling.
Graduate Students
Chelsey is a fourth year Ph.D. student at Princeton University in social psychology and the joint degree program in social policy. Her research interests are in prejudice reduction, intergroup contact, reentry and recidivism, institutional signals of social norms, and field experimentation. Chelsey earned her B.S. in Psychology from Yale University in 2017, and she is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRFP). In her free time, Chelsey likes playing tennis, watching horror films, and spending time with friends.
Born in China and raised in eastern Massachusetts, Stats previously studied psychology and violin at Oberlin College & Conservatory and the University of Washington, and has conducted research at Oberlin, Stanford, Harvard, and UW. At Princeton, they are a graduate student in psychology and social policy exploring the development, perceptions, and implications of gender diversity. Outside the lab, you might find them playing violin, exploring nature, or snacking voraciously.
Benny is a fifth-year graduate student working with Kristina Olson and Casey Lew-Williams at Princeton University. He previously served as a lab manager for Dr. Michael Frank in the Stanford Language and Cognition Lab. Benny is interested in children's social categories: how they vary, how they're learned, and how we should measure them. In his free time, Benny is a classical clarinet player and enjoys attempting to recreate his grandmother’s legendary cuisine.
Aditi is an incoming graduate student in the HuDL. They earned their B.S. in Psychology at Yale in 2020, and previously worked as a lab manager for Dr. Liane Young at the Boston College Morality Lab. They are interested in the sociocultural factors that influence the development and expression of trans and non-binary people’s gender identities. In their free time, Aditi enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and watching campy TV shows.
Project Coordinator & Research Staff
Rachel Horton graduated from the University of Washington where she earned her B.S. in psychology. As a research coordinator Rachel assists in helping collect data and overseeing the projects going on in lab. In her free time, Rachel likes spending time with her family and going on camping trips.
Grey graduated from Princeton University where they received their B.S. in psychology and a minor in creative writing. As a lab manager they assist with the management of undergrads, study operations, and data collection as well as other lab tasks. In their free time Grey enjoys live music, writing, yoga, and cooking.
Thesis Students
Our current thesis students include:
Akhila is a junior in the Psychology department with intended certificates in Neuroscience, Gender & Sexuality Studies, and Environmental Studies. On campus, Akhila works closely with the Carl A Fields Center as a coordinator for their mentorship program, Forbes College as a peer academic advisor, and the Seed Farm as a research assistant. Akhila hopes to work in adolescent medicine when she's older! Outside of school, Akhila loves reading, going to big bodies of water, and celebrating with friends!
Rhim is a junior intending to major in psychology or neuroscience with a certificate in computer science. In the lab, Rhim is a research assistant that helps build and run experiments. Outside of the lab and academics, Rhim loves making art, reading comics, and tech theater. She can often be seen across campus with her headphones on constantly listening to music/podcasts/audiobooks.
Zoë is a sophomore at Princeton University pursuing an intended concentration in psychology. She is an Outdoor Action leader and volunteer at Contact Princeton. She enjoys going for hikes, doing theater, and knitting.
Haley is a sophomore in the Psychology Department, planning on getting a certificate in Gender & Sexuality Studies. She is interested in the roles that gender and sexuality play in the ways we perceive and interact with the world. Additionally, she is interested in evaluating the gender dynamics within the LGBT community and the way queer identities intersect with feminism. She is a member of the Princeton Pride Alliance, the Princeton Psychology Society, and the Scholars Institute Fellows Program. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching cheesy rom-coms, and knitting.
Sara is a junior concentrating in psychology on the pre-medical track. Her research interests relate to how state legislation and healthcare access affect the mental health of transgender youth. On campus, Sara is a coxswain for the Princeton Women's Openweight Rowing Team, a member of the Varsity Student Athlete Advisory Committee (VSAAC), and a Barista for the Princeton Coffee Club.
Research Assistants
We are fortunate to have an amazing team of undergraduate research assistants.
Our current Princeton University research assistants include:
Ben is a rising senior at Princeton studying philosophy and cognitive science. He is interested in topics in the philosophies of mind, language, and artificial intelligence. The relationships among concepts of ‘rationality,’ perception, and embodiment are also of interest. Ben hopes to attend medical school after graduating, and he is very excited to join the Human Diversity Lab for the summer of 2023; he can be reached at [email protected]. Outside of school, Ben enjoys biking, writing, cooking (more accurately, eating), and playing cards.
Alumni
Here is a list of our former grad students and postdocs and where they are now:
- Alex Shaw (former grad student, now faculty at University of Chicago)
- Alia Martin (former grad student, now faculty at Victoria University of Wellington)
- Kristi Leimgruber (former grad student, now a behavioral scientist at BetterUp)
- Vivian Li (former grad student, now at Procter & Gamble)
- Anna Newheiser Reiman (former postdoc, now faculty at SUNY-Albany)
- Sara Haga (former grad student/postdoc, now post doc at University of Lisbon)
- Allison Skinner (former post doc, now on faculty at University of Georgia )
- James Rae (former grad student, now a researcher at Apple)
- Arianne Eason (former grad student, now faculty at UC-Berkeley)
- Anne A. Fast (former grad student, now faculty at Western Washington University)
- Elizabeth Enright(former grad student, now faculty at St. Mary's College of Maryland)
- Selin Gülgöz (former post doc, now on faculty at the Fordham University)
- Eric Gomez (former graduate student, UX Researcher at Google)
- Jen Rubin (former post doc, now Researcher at Foundry 10)
- Tabea Hässler (former visiting post doc, now senior researcher at the University of Zurich)
- Léïla Eisner (former visiting graduate student)
- Dominic Gibson (former post doc, now Researcher at Foundry 10)
- Adriana Germano (former grad student, now faculty at Yale University)
- Lily Durwood (former grad student, now a clinical instructor at NYU School of Medicine)
- Jessica Glazier (former grad student, now post doc at Northeastern University)
- Bryn Bandt-Law (former collaborating graduate student, pursuing PhD at the University of Washington)
- Ashley Jordan (former post-doc, now an assistant professor at University of Wisconsin - Madison)
Former Research Assistants in the Field
These students include:
- Adam Hoffman (current faculty at Cornell University)
- Hannah Schacter (current faculty at Wayne State University)
- Allycen Kurup (Purdue, Psychological Sciences)
- Arianne Eason (assistant professor at UC-Berkeley)
- Zoe Liberman (current faculty at University of California – Santa Barbara, Developmental Psychology)
- Christian Hoyos (University of Chicago, Cognitive Psychology)
- Kelly Reina (Arizona State University, Evolutionary Anthropology)
- Brian Spitzer (NYU, Developmental Psychology)
- Chonghui “Gabriella” Ji (University of Montana, Clinical Psychology)
- Zuoyu “Zoey” Lu (Pennsylvania State University, Human Development and Family Studies)
- Vanessa Calderon (USC, Clinical Science)
- Deja Edwards (Emory University, Masters in public health)
- Kayla Lewis (Marquette University, PhD student)
- Nandana Rao (University of Washington, Institute for Public Health Genetics, PhD student)
- Daniel Alonso (Fordham University, PhD student)
[*if you are a lab alumnus and should be listed here, email Kristina*]