People

Jennifer is a Psychological and Brain Sciences doctoral candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. She has master’s degrees in Psychological and Brain Sciences (Washington University in St. Louis ’22), Applied Positive Psychology (University of Pennsylvania ‘18), and Education (University of Pennsylvania ‘15). Prior to her doctoral program, she worked as a research coordinator at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a K-8 teacher with Teach for America and a school administrator before graduate school. Her primary research interests include interventions for bias regulation, emotion regulation, intergroup relations, and well-being. In her spare time, Jenn enjoys culinary adventures both in her kitchen and at new restaurants.

Kyrsten Hill (she/her) is a postdoctoral researcher in the PATH Lab at WashU. She graduated with her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama, with a concentration in Geropsychology. Broadly, Kyrsten’s research seeks to understand how stress impacts mental health and wellbeing across the adult lifespan. Her dissertation examined associations among perceived control, stressor reactivity, and age. Kyrsten moved to St. Louis in 2022 to complete her predoctoral internship at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System and has been enjoying exploring a new city. In her free time, Kyrsten enjoys playing board games with her family, doing DIY projects to renovate her home, and going for walks with her pit bull Moro (affectionately known as “Mr. Momo”).

Dr. Hill (he/him) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. His current research examines how sense of purpose may promote coping with stressors as well as engagement in health promoting behaviors. He is also interested in the role of personality dispositions on daily and long-term cognitive resilience. In his free time, Dr. Hill enjoys playing with his nieces, and going hiking (particularly in Utah). Pat is an avid Indiana University fan, and generally should not be interrupted during any of their games.

Payton (she/her) graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2022. During her undergraduate training, Payton completed an honors thesis examining the relationships between various psychosocial factors and components of well-being among adults with a neuromuscular disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). This experience further sparked her interest in well-being, psychosocial functioning, resilience, and mental health, particularly among those with chronic illness/disability. She intends to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.​ In her free time, Payton enjoys playing adaptive soccer and spending time with her golden retriever, Whitt.

Selin (she/her) is a third-year graduate student in the PATH Lab. She graduated from the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Statistics and International Relations. Her primary research interests include social identity and intergroup processes. More specifically, her current research focuses on the stereotypes and prejudice surrounding diverse dimensions of immigrant identities, such as race/ethnicity, nationality, and religion. Her work delves into not only understanding these stereotypes and attitudes but also exploring their far-reaching effects, including sense of belonging, purpose, and well-being. In her free time, Selin enjoys reading fiction, dancing, and watching suspense movies.

Megan’s (she/her) research centers around her broader goal of furthering issues related to diversity and inclusion. Megan is broadly interested in the relationship between discrimination and purpose in life, as well as identifying the personal and situational factors that lead an individual to engage in activism as their purpose in life. In addition, Megan’s research focuses on the relationships between discrimination, sense of purpose, and health, including how sense of purpose may serve as a tool to reduce health disparities. In her free time, Megan also enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her 2 cats, and watching scary movies.