The University of Texas at Dallas
PEOPLE
Faculty
Assistant Professor
Email: sholub@utdallas.edu
Dr. Holub is an assistant professor in Psychological Sciences at UTD. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Experimental Psychology at Millikin University (Decatur, IL) and her doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH).
Dr. Holub’s research program tackles the difficult problem of childhood obesity by focusing on how young children’s eating behaviors and attitudes develop. Her research investigates how parents socialize their children’s eating habits through their feeding practices, such as using food as a reward or using pressure. Current projects also examine the environment that parents provide through their style of parenting, their own attitudes about food and weight, and the foods they make accessible to their children. Last, because Dr. Holub seeks to understand and promote the psychological health of young children, her research examines preschoolers’ body image and their stereotypes toward overweight peers.
Graduate Students
Cin Cin Tan, B.A.
Email: cct061000@utdallas.edu
She joined this laboratory in Spring 2007 and is a doctoral student in Psychological Sciences. Originally from Malaysia, she earned her B.A. in Psychological Sciences from Purdue University in Spring 2006. Her research interests include children's ability to regulate their food intake and parents' perceptions of and responses to children's feeding difficulties (e.g., food refusal, picky eating).
Rabih S. Dahdouh, B.S.
Email: rsd051000@utdallas.edu
Rabih graduated with a B.S. in Child Learning and Development from UT Dallas and is currently pursuing a masters degree in Psychological Sciences. He is originally from Lebanon and has lived in Boston and Saudi Arabia. His research interests include mood disorders, body image, and long-term eating behaviors associated with children and adolescents. Rabih routinely works with troubled adolescents at a local psychiatric hospital, and plans to pursue a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology.
Elaine Dolan, M.A.
Email: ead062000@utdallas.edu
Elaine is currently a Ph.D. student in Psychological Sciences at UTD; she joined the lab in Fall 2007. She is originally from Ireland, where she completed a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in Cognitive Science, both at University College Dublin. Her areas of interest include infancy and parents' attitudes.
Leilani Hinton , B.A.
Email: leilani.hinton@utsouthwestern.edu
Leilani is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Leilani is currently working on her dissertation. She obtained a bachelors degree in Psychology from Smith College (Northampton, MA) and minored in Afro-American studies. Her research focuses on the relationships between culture, parenting styles, and eating behaviors in children.
Flora Farago, B.A.
Email: flora.farago@student.utdallas.edu
Flora is a second year student in the Psychological Sciences masters Program. She received her B.A. in psychology from UT Dallas. She is originally from Budapest, Hungary. She has worked with children many different settings, such as in after-school programs and in shelters. She plans to pursue a Ph.D in Developmental or Clinical Psychology and would like to research the impact of stereotypes and discrimination on parenting. She is also interested in examining the mental health of minority and immigrant communities. Her hobbies are reading, traveling, yoga, and rock climbing.
Amanda Goldstein, B.A.
Email: amanda.goldstein@student.utdallas.edu
Amanda is working toward her masters degree in the Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders program at UT Dallas. She grew up in Plano, and earned a bachelors degree in Psychology at UT Austin. She enjoys working with children and is currently volunteering int he Child Life department at a local hospital and completing a practicum in Early Childhood Intervention. After graduation, she would like to work as an Early Intervention Specialist or a Child Life Specialist.
Sunny Patel , B.A.
Email: slp074000@utdallas.edu
Sunny joined the Healthy Development Project in Summer 2008 and is currently a Ph.D. student in Psychological Sciences. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Psychology in Spring of 2007. Her research interests include anti-fat attitudes and stereotypes in preschool children, specifically their attitudes and behaviors toward their overweight peers.
Undergraduate Students and Volunteers
Jackie Rollier , B.A.
Email: jmr042000@utdallas.edu
Jackie joined the lab in Summer 2009. She is currently in her second year in the Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders masters program at UT Dallas. She completed her bachelors degree in Psychology in 2007 from UT Dallas. In the future, Jackie plans to work with infants and young children.
Sarah Trauterman
Sarah is currently a senior pursuing a bachelors degree in Psychology at UT Dallas. She is originally from Round Rock, TX. She has volunteered as a child care assistant for a group of American parents who had adopted orphaned children from Russia and currently volunteers as a sitter at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. In the future, Sarah hopes to study eating disorders in children and adolescents. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, sewing, and cooking.
Alexandra Wilson
Alexandra is currently a sophomore double majroing in Psychology and Child Learning and Development. She is pursuing the pre-med program and, in the future, hopes to become a pediatric oncologist. Her experience working with children includes organazing bi-monthly programs for children at a local homeless shelter, and babysitting. Her hobbies include figure skating, reading and hanging out with friends.
Jennifer Bacani, B.A.
Jennifer recieved her bachelors degree in Psychology in summer 2009 from UT Dallas. She is currently working on a research project examining attitudes toward different body sizes. She is the mother of two active boys, and enjoys playing sports with them in her spare time. Jennifer served as a room mother for several years, as well as a volunteer child care assistant for a drug rehabilitation program in Colorado. In the future, she plans to attend graduate school and pursue a career in research.
Sasha Moiger
Sasha is a freshman majoring in Psychology. After graduating from UT Dallas, she hopes to eventually obtain a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology. She intered in the trauma intensive care unit and volunteered in the cardiology unit at Children's Medical Center. Her other interests include dance, water skiing, and tennis.
Satya Narapareddi
Satya is currently a junior pursuing a bachelors degree in Biology at UT Dallas. She has experience working with children in child care centers, tutoring and after school programs. She enjoys reading and listening to music in her free time. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in health care.
Elizabeth Reith
Elizabeth is a sophomore majoring in Psychology at UT Dallas. She is interested in exploring research as a potential career path. She wants to look at the impact parents have on their children's attitudes about healthy foods and their eating behaviors. She is the Director of Scholarship for Kappa Alpha Theta at UT Dallas and her hobbies include working out, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Kyle Schindler
Kyle is a senior at UT Dallas. He has had experience with working with children, including serving as head coach of a little league basketball team. He plans to study depression and the efficacy of cognitive therapy in treating depression in children. In the future, he plans to obtain a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology and work in a hospital setting.
Photos courtesy of Elaine Dolan.
Contact us at: healthydevelopmentproject@gmail.com
Site Updated:2/2/09