People

Ana Cruz

Ana is a junior majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Medical Humanities on the Pre-Med Track. She has been part of the Bernhard Lab since Spring 2025. Her research investigates the relationship between empathy and bilingualism and seeks to understand how language experience influences emotional processing and social cognition, with the goal of informing educational and clinical approaches that enhance cross-cultural communication and empathetic behavior. 

Lowanda Casimir

Lowanda is a senior majoring in Psychology and possibly minoring in Linguistics.  She is interested in studying how culture and close relationships can influence how people think about themselves, their futures, and impact the actions or decisions they make. Outside of psychology, Lowanda enjoys learning about language, watching movies, going out to new restaurants and crocheting.

Lauren Bae

Lauren is a senior majoring in Neuroscience and Sociology. Her research interests include moral judgments and decision-making, emotion, and impulse control.

Olivia Smith

Olivia is a junior majoring in Psychology with a minor in Finance. Her research interests center
on the legal frameworks that connect psychology and institutional systems, with a particular
focus on rehabilitation.

Jessica Hwang

Jessica is a sophomore at Boston College, majoring in Neuroscience with minors in Computer Science and Studio Art. She is broadly interested in the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and medicine, and is especially excited to explore research questions related to cognition, decision-making, and mental health.

Alexandria Bien-Aimé

Ally is a senior majoring in Neuroscience on the Pre-Med Track. She is particularly interested in researching the cognitive processes that store memory and support decision making. She is also curious about the neural basis of memory-related disorders and conditions. 

Mollie Forand

Mollie is a senior majoring in Psychology with a minor in Applied Psychology. Her research interests include sport and performance psychology and the psychology of motivation. She is also interested in the process of how hypothetical thoughts form in the brain.

Sevine Klitz

Sevine is a senior majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Global Public Health. Her research interests include the effects of adverse childhood experiences on development, implicit bias and decision-making, and empathy within patient-clinician relationships. 

Miya Duebener

Miya is a senior studying neuroscience. Her research interests include the impact of familial relationships on social functioning and decision making, and the role culture plays in judgement formation. 

Jasmine Maturana

Jasmine is a senior majoring in neuroscience. She is interested in researching how certain parts of a person’s being (language-experience, memories, media-usage, sleep) affects their social flexibility, health behavior, and other cognitive abilities.

Sydni Landman

Sydni is a senior majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Medical Humanities. Her research interests focus on judgment and decision-making, particularly in connection with emotional intelligence, conformity, social pressures, and the influence of trust.

Aveline Roderick

Aveline graduated in 2025 with a B.A. in psychology, completing a senior honors thesis for the lab titled “Failing to See the Forest for the Trees: When Environmentalism Leads to Errors in Environmental Decision-Making.” She is currently a J.D. candidate at Georgetown University Law Center and plans to pursue a career in regulatory and corporate law

Alyssa Bruno

Alyssa majored in Psychology and minored in Marketing and Hispanic Studies. Her research interests include human decision-making and consumer behavior, particularly in the context of purchase decisions and charitable giving. She hopes to pursue a career in brand marketing. 

Priscilla Colon

Priscilla majored in Psychology and minored in Public Health. Her research interest include  exploring the mental processes behind moral decision-making or understanding how hypothetical thinking is represented in the brain.

Liliana Simmons

Liliana majored in Psychology and minored in Accounting for Finance and Consulting. She is interested in the relationships between thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and how individuals develop a sense of self. She is also curious about voluntary versus involuntary behavior and the implications of these classifications. 

Matthew Martello

Matthew majored in psychology and minored in marketing. His research interests include implicit bias, judgement and decision-making, and the development of individual morality. He was a member of the Bernhard Lab since the fall of 2024, through graduation in 2025, working on the Normed Stimulus Set of Interracial Couples. He is now a Customer Relationship Advocate at Fidelity Investments, and will be attending Northeastern University in the fall of 2026, obtaining an MS in Media Innovation and Data Communication.

Phoebe Barnes

Phoebe Barnes majored in Psychology and English at Boston College. She was part of the Bernhard Lab since Spring 2024, and completed her Senior Honors Thesis. Her research investigated the social learning speeds of minority students at predominantly white institutions, and seeks to provide support for the Cultural Red King hypothesis which posits that minority groups learn at a faster rate. She is now working as a paralegal in New Jersey and is in the process of applying to law school 

Lucy Hensley

Lucy majored in Psychology and minored in Sociology. She is interested in the cognitive and mental processes that inform human behavior and decision-making, and how intersecting social identities have the potential to create compounding inequalities.