Current Lab Members
Lucia Ciciolla, Ph.D., Director
Dr. Lucia Ciciolla is an Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Ciciolla earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in child and family science and quantitative science from Arizona State University (ASU), and completed an APA-accredited internship at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Medicine in the Child-Community track. Dr. Ciciolla was trained as a clinical scientist with specializations in infancy and early childhood, perinatal and maternal mental health, parenting, trauma, and longitudinal methodology.
Dr. Ciciolla is passionate about the health and well-being of women, children, and families. She is an advocate for research, education, and treatment promoting family well-being through the following organizations:
Graduate Students
Elizabeth Hinckley, M.S.
Elizabeth Hinckley is a fifth-year graduate student in the Oklahoma State University Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program working under Dr. Lucia Ciciolla. Elizabeth graduated with honors from the University of Michigan in 2018 with a BA in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) and Spanish. As an undergraduate student, she completed her honors thesis under Dr. Ethan Kross and examined mothers use of self-distanced language as an emotion regulation strategy during stressful encounters with their children. After graduating, Elizabeth worked as a clinical research coordinator at the University of Michigan and then Vanderbilt University using psychobiological methods to study the effects of adversity across the lifespan. Her overarching research interests include risk factors during pregnancy and interventions that leverage caregiving practices to promote resilience and prevent the development of psychopathology in mother and child. Additionally, Elizabeth is eager to study the effects of maternal mental health and stress during the perinatal period on early child development.
Immanuela-Nicole Enwesi, M.S.
Immanuela-Nicole Enwesi is a third-year graduate student in the Oklahoma State University Experimental Psychology Ph.D. program, where she is mentored by Dr. Lucia Ciciolla and Dr. Dian Yu. As a Scientific Training in Addiction Research Techniques (START) Fellow, she studies infant white matter development, and as a Tulsa Schweitzer Fellow, she leads community intervention work with the Oklahoma Birth Equity Initiative. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience and B.A. in French Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2024, where she contributed to the Origins of Infant Temperament Study with Dr. Nathan Fox and the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study with Dr. Tracy Riggins, which she continues at OSU-CHS. Her research interests include maternal-infant interactions, particularly how their sleep patterns influence one another, along with early language acquisition and using MRI techniques to study brain development in infants.
Nina De Vos, B.S.
Nina De Vos is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Oklahoma State University, where she is mentored by Dr. Lucia Ciciolla. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Utah in 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology. Following graduation, Nina served as a study coordinator for a prenatal substance exposure study and as the lab manager for the Development, Early Experiences & Resilience (DEER) Lab at the University of Utah. Her research interests center on the prenatal and early caregiving environments, with a particular interest in individual differences in maternal and infant susceptibility to both stress and support.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Cassidy Rink
Cassidy Rink a third-year undergraduate student at Oklahoma State University. She is pursuing a major in Psychology with an interest in Child development and Family relationships. She plans to attend graduate school following graduation.
Ally Nichols
Ally Nichols is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Oklahoma State University. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with an interest in Child Development. She plans to attend graduate school following graduation.
Kate Duffy
Kate Duffy a second-year undergraduate student at Oklahoma State University. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She wants to pursue a career in Clinical Child Psychology and has plans to attend graduate school following graduation.
Abigail Eyadiel
Abigail Eyadiel is a second-year undergraduate at Oklahoma State University. She is majoring in Nutrition on the Pre-Med Track. She is interested in the nutritional aspects of Child Development research. She hopes to become a Neurological Surgeon as well as pursue Nutrition and Child Development research professionally.