Recent Graduates
Cynthia Guo, Ph.D.
Cynthia Xinran Guo earned her Ph.D. in the Spring of 2022. Her research program focuses on the social and cultural foundations of moral decision-making in human development, and her dissertation investigated the social motivation behind early deception.
In addition to her role as a researcher, Cynthia is passionate about teaching and empowering students through knowledge. She was awarded the Mellon Interventions Public Scholarship Teaching Fellowship from 2021-2022. She has taught many courses during her time at Emory, including Cognition, Quantitative Theory & Methods (R statistics), Research Methods in Psychology, upper-level seminar Cultural Psychology, and interdisciplinary course What Does It Mean To Be Human.
Cynthia was born and raised in Beijing, China. She moved to the U.S. in 2012 and graduated from UCLA with highest honors in 2016. She earned her M.A from the Cognition and Development Program at Emory in 2018.
Sara Valencia Botto, Ph.D.
Sara Botto earned her Ph.D. in the Spring of 2020. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Psychology in May of 2014. While in graduate school, Sara has explored how and when we begin to be sensitive to how we are perceived and evaluated by others. Some of Sara’s most recent work on the evaluative perception of an audience with Dr. Philippe Rochat was recently referenced in a New York Times Parenting newsletter! Sara successfully defended her dissertation regarding this facet of development, thus earning her Ph.D. Sara has been serving as a faculty member at Emory University.
Along with research, Sara is also passionate about encouraging young students to pursue careers in STEM by sharing her research in schools, as well a participating in “Roots and Shoots,” a program that teaches basic science to third graders. In her free time, Sara enjoys spending time with her family, running, and being a foodie.
Former Graduates
ShenSheng Wang, Ph.D.
ShenSheng graduated with his Ph.D. in the Fall of 2019.
Maria Jones, Ph.D.
Maria graduated with her Ph.D. in the Spring of 2019. She is currently a faculty member at Spelman College.
Bently "Ginger" Gibson Wallace , Ph.D.
Ginger graduated with her Ph.D. in the Winter of 2013. She is currently a faculty member at Georgia Highlands College.
Erin Robbins, Ph.D.
Erin graduated with her Ph.D. in the Spring of 2013. She is currently a lecturer at the University of St. Andrews in St. Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
Katherine "Kit" Jayne, M.S.
Kit graduated with her M.S. in the Spring of 2013. After graduating she attended Law School at the University of California Berkley.
Tanya Broesch, Ph.D.
Tanya received her Ph.D. from Emory in the Spring of 2012. After graduating she served as a faculty member at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.