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Current Lab Members

Principal Investigator

Martha Wadsworth

Martha Wadsworth is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology. She got her B.A. (1995) and Ph.D. (2001) from the University of Vermont and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Washington. Martha’s research interests include: child and adolescent stress and coping, poverty-related stress’ role in health disparities, and family strengthening and coping-based programs to counteract family stress. The overarching goal of all of Martha’s ongoing projects is to understand the role of stress in contributing to health disparities and to build a knowledge base of coping (& other protective mechanisms) tools that show efficacy in combating stress at both the phenomenological and biological levels. Ultimately, the goal is to apply this knowledge to building interventions and programs that will help combat and prevent health disparities. When not at work, Martha enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, skiing, white-water rafting, hiking, gourmet cooking, and entertaining. 

mew27@psu.edu

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Postdoctoral Scholar

Staff

Mary Veneziano

Lab COORDINATOR

Mary Veneziano manages the CaRES Lab and ongoing data collection for the BaSICS projects with the undergraduate team at the CaRES lab in University Park. Mary joined the CaRES Lab after receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State University Her previous research included work on investigating social cognition of at-risk parents and youth. Mary has a passion for working with children and families who have experienced adverse childhood events. In her free time, she likes to bake, spend time with her family, and travel.

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Tabatha Hahn

INTERVENTION COORDINATOR
Tabatha Hahn is the intervention specialist for the BaSICS intervention projects. She has a master’s degree in Community Psychology and Social Change at Penn State. Prior to her work on this project she supervised two Multisystemic Therapy (MST) teams in the Harrisburg, PA area, was a National Trainer for the PAX Good Behavioral Game and was an intervention specialist on the LEGACY Together: Strengthening After School Programs project at Penn State. She has a passion for working with children and families, specifically through the implementation of evidence-based prevention programs.

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Grad Students

Adithi Rajagopalan 

Adithi Rajagopalan is a student in the Child Clinical psychology program at Penn State. She graduated with a B.A in Psychology and Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University, and completed her M.S.Ed and M.Phil.Ed at the University of Pennsylvania. She gained clinical and research experience implementing community-based interventions with children. Adithi has worked as a research coordinator at the Stanford Pediatric Pain Management Clinic. Adithi is interested in using more strengths-based frameworks to provide support for youth and families experiencing high levels of stress. Additionally, she is interested in the intersectionality of race, SES and the juvenile justice system. In her free time, she loves to bake, run, watch reality TV and travel.

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Bre Genaro

Bre Genaro is currently a graduate student in the child clinical psychology program. She received her B.A. in psychology from Bryn Mawr College in 2018. She worked as a research technician on the Development of Self-Regulation Dynamics project. Bre is exploring coping, self-regulation, and biological stress response systems in children with poverty-related stress. She enjoys watching Netflix, exploring museums and comedy shows.

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Esha Vaid

Esha Vaid is currently a graduate student in the child clinical psychology doctoral program at The Pennsylvania State University. She received her B.A. in 2016 from Rutgers University where she worked on social-emotional and character development interventions in urban school and community settings. She gained additional experience working at Dartmouth College working with adolescents with chronic illness in a rural setting to promote positive health management skills. Esha is interested in continuing to learn more about promoting positive youth development in the face of stress and adversity. In her free time, she likes to sing and play the ukulele.

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Holly Pham

Holly Pham is a graduate student in the Child Clinical Psychology program. She graduated with a B.S. in Psychobiology from UCLA, where she gained valuable research experience working with children and using psychophysiology measures to examine stress responsivity. Before she started her current studies at Penn State, Holly worked at the Stanford Neurodevelopment, Affect, and Psychopathology Lab, where she coordinated a longitudinal study of early adversity and puberty effects on neurodevelopment in adolescence. These experiences have led Holly to develop a research interest in understanding the biological mechanisms through which childhood adversity contributes to risk for psychopathology and other negative outcomes. She also enjoys baking, traveling, and discovering new music.

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Undergraduate Research Assistants

Melissa Montezza Beccerra 

Madelyn Harnish 

Breann Makarus