Email: yl6594@nyu.edu
Program: PhD in Developmental Psychology
Year Entered Program: 2025
Research Interests: caregiver-infant interactions, early language development, social and cultural context
Principal Advisor(s): Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda
Research Description/Bio:
Melody completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Davis, where she earned B.S. degrees in Psychology and Human Development. Motivated by a strong interest in developmental psychology, Melody pursued an M.A. degree at Cornell University. Her research experiences in various laboratories solidified her determination to pursue a doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology. Her current research interests center around the bidirectional dynamics of caregiver-infant interactions and their influence on developmental outcomes in social, language, and cognitive domains. She is particularly interested in exploring the nuanced aspects within the interactions — such as speech, object engagement, and joint attention — through naturalistic observations and across diverse cultural and linguistic contexts.