Staff
Erin McGrath
Email: ejm6792@psu.edu
Erin is the wet lab manager for the Stress and Immunity lab. She graduated from Gettysburg College with a degree in Chemistry and worked in a biotech lab after graduating. Erin has a passion for everything chemistry and biochemistry related with previous work synthesizing novel organometallics. Outside of the lab she loves to bake and is a Boston Bruins fan.
Abigail Smith
Email: ajs8854@psu.edu
Abigail is the project lab manager for both The Stress and Health lab and The Stress and Immunity lab. She received a B.A. in Biology from Indiana University.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Jee eun obtained her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University in the summer of 2023. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Healthy Aging. Her research focuses on the role of social relationships, particularly loneliness and social isolation, in cognitive health among middle-aged and older adults, and how these factors manifest in everyday life.
Julie received her Ph.D. in Psychological Science from the University of California, Irvine, in 2024. Her research broadly seeks to understand how underlying biopsychosocial processes contribute to daily and long-term health and well-being during midlife and older adulthood. More specifically, she focuses on the relationship between emotion, inflammatory biomarkers, stress, and cognitive processes.
Brett received his PhD. In Behavioral Sciences in 2024 at the University of North Texas and is currently a T32 Pathways postdoctoral fellow for Penn State’s Center for Healthy Aging. His research focuses on understanding how highly dynamic health behaviors (i.e., health behaviors that can fluctuate substantially from day-to-day and across adult developmental periods such as sleep and emotion regulation) interact with stress processes to impact both short- and long-term health and well-being across the lifespan.
Graduate Research Students
Molly Wright (4th year, BBH)
Email: mpw5810@psu.edu
Molly is broadly interested in the interplay between various forms of stress, inflammation, and biological and cognitive aging. In addition, she is interested in how multisystem resiliency factors such as heart rate variability (HRV) and psychosocial resources might alter these relationships, particularly in the context of depression occurring later in life.
Molly is funded through the T32 Predoctoral Fellowship Award through the HHD Center for Healthy Aging. The fellowship includes a stipend and additional training related to a broad range of psychosocial and biological concepts, lifespan development and aging, and advanced data collection and analysis methods.
Claudette Kessler (2nd year, BBH)
Email: cmk6772@psu.edu
Claudette graduated from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, summa cum laude with a B.S. in Biology, focused in biochemistry. Upon accepting a position at PSU, she received the Fund for Excellence in Graduate Recruitment. Her research interest surrounds general health and wellness, with an emphasis on stress and physical and mental health, as well as the impacts of inflammation on physical health. Outside of academia, Claudette is a certified online health and wellness coach and competitive bodybuilder. She hopes to make a difference in the field of stress and inflammation, and general health.
Tanvi Tomar (1st year, BBH)
Email: tvt5502@psu.edu
Mentees
Riki is a predoctoral fellow in the T32 Pathways training program through the Center for Healthy Aging. She is interested in how sexual health, stress/distress, and inflammation influence cognitive aging.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Email: emc6360@psu.edu