Faculty
Al-Thani Professor of Communication,
Professor of Psychology, Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, and Professor of Medical Social Sciences
Director, Center on Media and Human Development
Curriculum Vitae
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Graduate Students
Silvia Lovato, M.A.
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Sarah Pila, M.A.
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Curriculum Vitae Jabari Evans is a PhD candidate in the School of Communication Studies at Northwestern University and a research fellow at the Northwestern Center of Media and Human Development. His research focuses on the subcultures that urban youth and young adults of color develop and inhabit to understand their social environments, emotional development and professional aspirations. He explores strategies these youth use for self-expression especially regarding digital media. His most recent work is examining the cultural production and social media habits of youth musicians in the DIY Hip-Hop micro-scene of Chicago. His forthcoming dissertation project, which centers on a Hip-Hop Education program in Chicago Public Schools, has been recognized for awards by the International Communication Association and has been covered by the Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune, Rolling Out Magazine, Ebony Magazine and Chicago Crain’s Business. He is also a 2019 selection for Microsoft Research New England’s Social Media Collective PhD Internship.Click to view bio
Brianna Hightower, M.A.
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Breniel Lemley is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Media, Technology, and Society program. She conducts research in the Center on Media and Human Development with Dr. Ellen Wartella. Her research interests include children’s learning from educational media with a focus on early STEM learning. Prior to attending Northwestern, Lemley worked in the Education Division of SRI International as an Education Research Associate. There, she supported projects funded by the Institute of Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, National Science Foundation, George Lucas Education Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Music from the University of San Francisco.Breniel Lemley
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Maya Lennon Maya Lennon is a PhD student in the Media, Technology and Society program. She holds a BS in Cognitive Science from Brown University. She works with Dr. Ellen Wartella in the Center on Media and Human Development. She is interested in children’s learning from educational media, especially interactive forms of media. She has also researched children’s learning of causal information from song.
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Mohammad Behroozian is a first year PhD student at Northwestern School of Communication’s Media, Technology and Society program. A member of the Children, Media and Human Development lab, Mohammad is passionate about studying educational media for wartime. He has studied political science at the American University of Afghanistan and earned his master’s degree in television producing at Boston University on a Fulbright scholarship. Mohammad has nearly a decade of experience in media and communications work.Mohammad Behroozian
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Davide Cino is a Ph.D. Student in Education in Contemporary Society at the University of Milano-Bicocca and a Visiting Pre-Doctoral Fellow at Northwestern University, where he is working at the Center on Media and Human Development supervised by Dr. Ellen Wartella. His main research interests concern children’s online presence, parenting online, and online privacy, which he studies employing different methodologies and through an interdisciplinary lens. He gained his Bachelors’ and Masters’ in Education Studies from the University of Bologna. In 2018, he received a grant from the University of Bologna to collaborate on a project on how parents use ICTs to discuss school topics. He has collaborated with the Children’s Digital Media Center at California State University LA, and with the Complutense University of Madrid for past research projects.Davide Cino
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Undergraduate Research Assistants
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CMHD Affiliates
Rachel M Flynn is a Research Assistant Professor in Medical Social Sciences and the Associate Director for the Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences (DevSci) at Northwestern University. Dr. Flynn received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Riverside and her MA in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her primary research examines the mechanisms of media’s impact on cognitive development. Dr. Flynn’s most recent research has focused on the cognitive, social and physical benefits of Active Video Game play (i.e. Wii Fit, Just Dance) for children.Rachel Flynn, Ph.D.
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Alexis R. Lauricella, Ph.D., M.P.P.
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Alexis R. Lauricella is an Assistant Professor at Erikson Institute and Director of the Technology in Early Childhood Center at Erikson Institute. Dr. Lauricella earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and her Master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University. Her research focuses on children’s learning from media, parents’ and teachers’ attitudes toward and use of media with young children, and the effects of food marketing on obesity and health. Recent publications include empirical research articles in Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journal of Children and Media, Computers & Education, Media Psychology, Merrill Palmer Quarterly and reports for the Fred Rogers Center and Common Sense Media. Dr. Lauricella is also the founder of www.PlayLearnParent.com, a website that translates child-development research for parents.
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