Principal Investigator
Nicole Sparapani,
Ph.D. is an associate professor within the School
of Education and the MIND Institute. Her research interests
center around the development and evaluation of effective
educational practices for students with autism spectrum disorder
(autism), emphasizing the dynamic interplay between children and
their classroom environment. Dr. Sparapani practiced as a
certified speech-language pathologist on an interdisciplinary
team serving preschool children with autism for several years
before pursuing her Ph.D. in Communication Science and Disorders
at Florida State University and postdoctoral training with Dr.
Carol McDonald Connor at Arizona State University. See her
complete faculty profile here.
Collaborative Partners
Nancy Tseng,
Ph.D. is a Lecturer/Supervisor of Teacher Education in
the School of Education. She began her career in education as a
public elementary school teacher. Her research interests focus on
the development of productive student-teacher relationships in
mathematics classrooms, identifying instructional practices that
support mathematics learning and teaching, supporting student
participation in math classrooms, and pre-and in-service teacher
education. Dr. Tseng received a BA in psychology, elementary
teaching credential, and MA from the University of California,
Davis. She has a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the
University of Maryland, College Park.
Peter Mundy, Ph.D. is
a Lisa Capps Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the
MIND Institute, and a Distinguished Professor in the School of
Education. He is an expert in the education and development of
children with Autism. As a developmental and clinical
psychologist, Mundy has been working on defining the major
dimensions of autism for the past 32 years. Dr.
Mundy’s research focuses on understanding the role that
attention, and especially joint attention plays in the problems
with learning, language and social-cognition that affect
individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). He is also
interested in research on learning in school aged children with
ASD and how to improve classroom based education for these
children.
Postdoctoral Research Scholars
Amanda Dimachkie Nunnally,
Ph.D. is a recipient of the NIH Autism Researcher
Training Program fellowship under the guidance of Drs. Len
Abbeduto (primary) and Nicole Sparapani (secondary). Her research
interests focus on exploring the processes of emotion regulation
and self-regulation among young children with autism spectrum
disorders and other developmental disabilities, specifically
within the context of caregiver-child interactions. Prior to
beginning her postdoctoral position at the UC Davis MIND
Institute, Dr. Dimachkie Nunnally received her Ph.D. in
Education, with an emphasis on Human Development and Psychology,
at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Jennie Bullen,
Ph.D. is a recipient of the NIH Autism Researcher
Training Program fellowship under the guidance of Drs. Nicole
Sparapani and Peter Mundy. Her research interests are to
understand the development of mathematical and numerical
cognition in children with autism and individuals with
dyscalculia. Prior to her postdoc position, Dr.
Bullen received her Ph.D. in Human Development from the
University of California, Davis.
Research Coordinators / Lab Managers
Michelle Salas is a research assistant and recent UC
Davis graduate with a Bachelor of Art in Psychology
and minors in Human Development and Education. Within the
lab, she codes videos of students in classrooms initiating
spontaneous communication with their teachers and peers.
Following graduation, Michelle plans to attend a graduate program
in School Psychology to receive her Master’s
degree.
Kevin Dang is a
recent UC Davis graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree
in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology.
In addition to working as a learning assistant in the Chemistry
department, he also works as a research assistant in the lab,
coding classroom observations of attention regulation and emotion
regulation with students with autism. Following graduation, he
plans to attend medical school with an emphasis in Family
Medicine.
Graduate Students
Laurel Towers is a
4th year doctoral student in the UC Davis School of Education.
She is originally from the United Kingdom and has extensive
experience supporting students with autism as a teacher,
inclusion specialist, and school administrator. Laurel’s research
interests include classroom interactions and practices between
teachers, para-professionals, and students with autism. She is
especially interested in how educators’ instructional strategies
can facilitate students’ emotion regulation during classroom
learning.
Sandy Birkeneder is in her 3rd year of her PhD
program within the School of Education. She received her BA from
UC San Diego in Political Science and her MA from San Francisco
State. Prior to returning to academia, she worked in the private
sector at NBC’s political headquarters in Washington, D.C. Her
focus at UC Davis is in autism research in the area of
diagnostics and communication.
Johanna Vega Garcia is a 3rd year doctoral
student in the School of Education. She is interested in studying
the intersection between race and autism, and how this
intersection affects the quality of education students receive.
Johanna also works alongside faculty and students from different
departments to tackle global issues as a Global Education for All
fellow.
Cindy Parks is an
incoming doctoral student in the School of Education. As a
neurodiverse person, Cindy is passionate in her belief that
educating parents, teachers, mentors and community members about
their children’s and students’ neurodevelopmental needs can
result in the implementation of parenting and learning strategies
that will help children and families to live more harmonious,
productive and loving lives. She believes that when a
disability is truly understood families and educators can begin
to interact, parent and/or instruct through a lens that takes
into account the learning differences that come with the
diagnosis. By dedicating herself to research into the impact of
that education, she hopes to foster equity and inclusion for
children and people with learning differences.
Gustav Oppermann
is an incoming member of the Human Development Graduate Group at
UC Davis. He had thus far earned his AA in Psychology, BA in
Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University. He has
worked for many years as a Preschool Teacher and spent summers
working intimately with students on the Autism spectrum (ASD)
both in nature-based play environments and in focused therapy
settings. His research goals are grounded in philosophy and
pertain to the abolition of deleterious education practices
couched in outmoded paradigms.
Christine Joyce
Soliva is a graduate research assistant pursuing
an M.Ed. in General Education with a credential in Single
Subject: English at the University of California, Riverside. She
received a B.A. in English with minors in Women’s Studies and
Education at UC Davis. In the lab, Christine codes classroom
video observations for student productivity, emotion regulation,
orientation, and teacher affect. Following graduation, she plans
on teaching English at the High School level.
Cameron Joseph
Alexander is an incoming School Psychology
Ph.D. student at the University of California, Riverside. He
received a BS in Human Development and minored in Psychology and
Education at UC Davis. Prior to his commitments as a
research coordinator, Cameron worked in the CARE lab as an
undergraduate research assistant for 2 years. He is interested in
understanding and evaluating emotion regulation in learners with
varying neurodevelopmental disabilities. Cameron is currently
preparing his senior honor’s project for publication, which
examined the relationship between biophysiological markers of
stress and emotion dysregulation in individuals with Fragile X
Syndrome.
Research Assistants
Anmolpreet Kang is
an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Art in Psychology
and Linguistics with a minor in Education. Within the lab, she
codes videos of students interacting with their teachers in a
classroom environment. Following graduation, Anmolpreet plans to
pursue a teaching credential and work with education policy to
make classrooms more inclusive of students with
exceptionalities.
Sahar Alaei is an
undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology,
Physiology, and Behavior with a minor in Spanish. Within the CARE
lab Sahar codes videos of student emotion
regulation within the classroom environment. Following
graduation, she plans on attending medical school and pursuing a
career where she is able to help those within the underprivileged
community.
Kaitlyn McNamara
is an undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
with minors in Human Development and Education. In the lab,
Kaitlyn codes classroom videos of emotion regulation in
students. Following graduation, she plans to attend
graduate school to receive her Master’s degree in School
Psychology.
Caroline Van Zant
is an undergraduate student majoring in Political Science -
Public Service. Within the lab, she codes videos of teacher
interactions with students in the classroom. After graduation,
she plans to pursue a teaching credential and make education
policy.
My name is Eileen Nayeli De
Jesus and I am pursuing a Bachelor of Art in Psychology
and double minoring in Education and Chicano Studies. In the lab,
I help with the recruitment of participants and administer DAS-2
assessments. After graduating from UC Davis I plan to attend
graduate school to receive a Master’s degree in School Psychology
and become a licensed school psychologist.