Amie Ashley Hane, Ph.D. Director, Early Experience and Physiology Lab
I am a developmental psychologist with expertise in developmental neuroscience, parent-infant mental health, and behavioral pediatrics. My research focuses on the social regulation of physiological and behavioral stress responding in infants and children. Using a comparative physiology approach, my work translates animal epigenetic models of postnatal programming to human samples and demonstrates that high quality maternal caregiving behavior is associated with reduced biological and behavioral stress responding in infants and children.
I conduct basic research on caregiving behavior and infant/child stress responding and clinical research as a faculty member of the Nurture Science Program in the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center. Students in my Early Experience and Physiology Laboratory at Williams engage in both types of research, which converge to inform intervention programming designed to reduce the behavioral and health consequences associated with early life stress.
The Early EPH Lab Team
From L to R: Mai Mitsuyama ’16, Abigail Soloway ’18, Abby Brustad ’19, Olivia Carlson ’20, Danielle Faulkner ’19, Anika Mitchell ’18
Amy Garcia ’22
Amy is a rising sophomore and pre-medical student at Williams College and a prospective Biology or Biochemistry major with an interest in exploring Neuroscience and Psychology. She first became curious about the subject of Psychology after taking an introductory course in high school and decided that research at Williams would be a great place to further her interests. She spent her first year in Professor Hane’s Early Experience Laboratory assisting thesis students Maya Bracy ‘19 and Joseph Wilson ‘19, and with a natural love for children and curiosity about developmental psychology Amy is excited to continue working in the Early Experience Lab.
Laura Westphal ’21
Laura is a junior at Williams College pursuing a major in Psychology and a concentration in Public Health. Her interest in the subject was increased by Professor Hane’s Developmental Psychology 232 course, so she joined the lab in the summer of 2019. Laura continues to explore other specializations in the field and hopes to use developmental psychology as a foundation for future work. She is currently aimed towards a career in improving health education in schools as it relates to early understanding of reproductive health and consent.
Outside of the lab, Laura is a co-chair of the Rape and Sexual Assault Network, Junior Advisor to the class of 2023, board member on the Lehman Council for Community Engagement, and a member of the Varsity Swim and Dive team.
Leah Majumder ’22
Leah is a rising sophomore at Williams College planning to major in Psychology and Mathematics. After taking psychology in high school, she knew she wanted to pursue her interest, and taking Cognitive Psych freshman fall solidified her love for the subject. Beginning in high school, she spent afternoons working at the Williams College Children’s Center, quickly falling in love with toddlers, making developmental psychology the perfect crossroads between working with children and studying the mind. When she is not surrounded by toddlers, Leah loves playing pickup almost any sport and is a member of the club soccer team and peer health committee. You can often find her in Schow Science Library at obscure hours working on a math problem set or napping in bean bags.
Olivia Carlson ’20
Olivia is a junior at Williams College and is pursuing a double major in psychology and biology. After taking Professor Hane’s developmental psychology course and shadowing at Berkshire Medical Center she developed a strong interest on the topics of early experience, attachment and maternal health especially those concerning opiate use during pregnancy and neonatal abstinence syndrome. Olivia plans to study public health in Copenhagen, Denmark in the spring of 2019 and hopes to use this as well as her experience in Professor Hane’s lab in a future career as an obstetrician. On campus, Olivia is a member of Peer Health, the Neighborhood Leadership Team and the Women’s Varsity Basketball team as well as working as a first grade buddy in the North Adams Public School System.