Post-Doctoral Fellows

image of Bri Devlin, PhD
Brianna Devlin, PhD
Post-Doctoral Scholar, bldevlin@uoregon.edu 

Brianna Devlin earned her PhD in Education from the University of Delaware in 2021, specializing in Learning Sciences. Her research focuses on discovering how to best support children’s early learning to benefit their later understanding of mathematics. She has a specific interest in providing early support for children who may experience difficulties with mathematics learning due to math-specific learning disability or contextual factors (e.g., systemic inequities faced by children from under-resourced communities). Brianna is part of Sara Schmitt’s lab and works on an NSF-funded study focused on structuring preschoolers’ group block play such that it builds foundational STEM and self-regulation skills for children from under-resourced communities. Brianna serves as Co-Chair of the Trainee Board of the international Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society. 

image of Elyssa Geer, PhD
Elyssa A. Geer, PhD
Post-Doctoral Scholar, egreer@uoregon.edu

Elyssa A. Geer, PhD examines the connection between spatial and math skills over time with particular focus on factors that may impact this relation such as cognitive anxieties (i.e., math and spatial anxiety), sex differences, executive function, and other cognitive/environmental factors. Elyssa received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Florida State University, and she is currently in her third year as a postdoctoral scholar at the Prevention Science Institute. Elyssa works alongside Sara Schmitt on studies examining the effects of classroom-based interventions that are designed to improve math skills (i.e., geometry knowledge), executive function, and other cognitive skills. 

image of Kate Hails, PhD
Kate Hails, PhD
Post-Doctoral Scholar, khails@uoregon.edu

Kate Hails, PhD earned her doctorate in clinical and developmental psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2021, after completing her clinical internship at Oregon Health & Science University with a focus on supporting children with special health needs. Kate’s research program has two prongs, one focused on understanding parenting and family management in the context of depression, poverty-related stressors, and other ecological influences on child development and wellbeing, and the other on investigating how parents engage with a brief, evidence-based parenting intervention, the Family Check-Up. Her overarching career goal is to expand families’ access to evidence-based behavioral supports, particularly for families who have historically faced barriers to accessing services, in settings such as pediatric primary care and early childhood education.

image of Diana Jenkins, PhD
Diana Jenkins, PhD

Post-Doctoral Scholar, djenkin@uoregon.edu

Diana Jenkins, PhD, received her doctorate from Arizona State University in Family and Human Development in 2022, with a specialization in measurement and statistical analysis, and her MS in Psychology from Arizona State University. Her research interests focus on gender attitudes and inequality and how they impact emerging adults’ interpersonal and intrapersonal outcomes in two lines of work. First, she examines how sexism and the sexual objectification of women impact women’s well-being and their alignment with sexist attitudes. Second, she examines how traditional masculinity ideology is associated with relationship adjustment for individuals and how masculinity impacts men’s well-being. 

 

image of Anna Cecilia McWhirter, PhD
Anna Cecilia McWhirter, PhD
Post-Doctoral Scholar, amcwhirt@uoregon.edu

Anna Cecilia McWhirter, PhD is a bilingual licensed psychologist and postdoctoral scholar. She specializes in child and family interventions and supervising psychological assessment of ADHD and learning disabilities. Anna Cecilia graduated from the School Psychology doctoral program at the University of Oregon with a specialization in Spanish Language Psychological Services and Research. Anna Cecilia has extensive experience providing community-based family therapy services, facilitating intervention groups focused on parenting, social-emotional skills, emotion regulation, and nutrition, and conducting psychodiagnostic and behavioral assessments. Her research includes parenting practices and interventions (particularly for parents of children with disabilities), parent mental health and wellbeing, adolescent health behaviors, and the use of effective observational and clinical tools.

image of Veronica Oro, PhD
Veronica Oro, PhD

Post-Doctoral Scholar, voro@uoregon.edu

Veronica completed her doctorate in developmental psychology at Arizona State University where she was trained in both quantitative and molecular genetic methods. She leverages these approaches to examine genetic and environmental mechanisms underlying parent-offspring transmission of physical and mental health. Moreover, Veronica's research focuses on the role of sociocultural factors in the manifestation of symptomology. Her passion lies in applying these findings to ultimately mitigate health disparities incurred by historically marginalized populations.