OUR LAB’S HISTORY

About the ELP

Dr. Rachel Barr established this program and works with graduate students, undergraduate students, and a staff of full-time research assistants in conducting the studies. Participation in studies is completely voluntary, and we rely solely on parent-child volunteers.

This program presents a great opportunity for you and your baby to contribute to the research of the capabilities of infants as a whole. If you are interested in learning more about the program or volunteering for a study we urge you to contact us and participate in this great learning experience. We look forward to meeting you and your baby!

Our Team

Rachel Barr, PH.D
Director
Dr. Barr was trained as a developmental and clinical psychologist in New Zealand. Since 2001 she has been director of the Georgetown Early Learning Project. The ELP shows that babies, toddlers and young children pick up information from a variety of sources, from television, from books, from computers, from touchscreens, from siblings, and across contexts. There are still many open questions about how babies and young children learn and remember.
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Psychology Department Page
Layla Stroer
Lab Manager
Layla graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in Psychology. She is currently working as a lab manager and primarily works on our Eye-tracking Project. In the future, Layla hopes to continue her studies through earning a Ph.D. in developmental psychology. She is interested in learning more about how children form thoughts, beliefs, and morals based on their surroundings and perceptions of the world.
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Doug Piper
Doug is a Psychology Ph.D. student with a concentration in Human Development and Public Policy. He works on projects exploring children’s relationships with screen media. This work builds on his experiences at the Temple Infant and Child Lab, where he also supported the Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network and its Play Everywhere Philly project. Doug is a graduate of the University of Michigan with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and music. While at U-M, he studied language learning through digital media with Dr. Twila Tardif.
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Haifa Al-Bassam
Data Collector
Haifa graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Psychobiology and an M.A. in Human Development and Psychology. She is currently working as a data collector and primarily works on Connect to Baby and our Eye Tracking Project. She is interested in children’s cognitive and emotional development, particularly how early experiences and family-level factors might affect neurocognitive development.
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Rebecca Cockroft
Data Analyst
Rebecca Cockroft graduated from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Mathematics. She will graduate with an M.S. in Data Science and Analytics in May of 2023. Currently, she is the data analyst for CAFE Consortium.
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Anisha Kumar
Anisha Kumar is a sophomore at Georgetown University studying neurobiology in the College of Arts and Sciences on the premed track. She is currently working on the PLAY project and the Cognitive Flexibility project. After graduating, Anisha hopes to attend medical school.
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Ali Lee
Ali is a sophomore in the School of Health at Georgetown University studying Human Science. She is currently working on the PLAY project and the CAFE project. Though a long ways away, Ali hopes to attend medical school after graduation and possibly pursue pediatric oncology.
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Simran Chaudhry
Simran is a junior at Georgetown University majoring in Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences on the premed track. She is currently working on the CAFE consortium project and the Cognitive Flexibility project. After graduating from Georgetown, Simran hopes to pursue a career that combines her interests in clinical psychology and early adolescent development, particularly focusing on spreading mental health awareness amongst children.
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Julia Butler
Julia is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgetown University. She is currently working on the CAFE consortium project and PLAY project and helps run the ELP website and social media. After graduating, Julia hopes to pursue a career that combines her interests in psychology, law, and educational policy.
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Phoebe Chartock
Phoebe Chartock is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a major in Psychology and minors in Women's and Gender Studies and Theater and Performance Studies. She is currently working on the CAFE project and the Children's Museum project. After graduation, she plans to pursue a Psy.D. and become a clinical psychologist specializing in counseling for domestic violence and sexual trauma survivors.
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Madison Loughlin
Madison Loughlin is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences planning to major in Psychology and minor in Journalism. She is currently working on the CAFE Consortium project and the Eye Tracking project. After graduating, Madison hopes to pursue a PhD in counseling psychology or an MSW degree.
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Julia Manuali
Julia Manuali is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Psychology and minoring in Disability Studies. She is currently working on the Eye-Tracking and Connect to Baby projects. After graduating from Georgetown, she plans on pursuing a Ph.D. or Psy.D. and becoming a clinical psychologist specializing in counseling individuals who are struggling with eating and anxiety-related disorders.
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Alejandra Cova
Alejandra is a sophomore at Georgetown University majoring in Global Health in the School of Health and minoring in Economics and Science, Technology, and International Affairs. She is currently working on the CAFE consortium project and the Connect to Baby project. After graduating from Georgetown, Alejandra hopes to pursue a career that combines her interests in psychology research with international development, particularly focusing on spreading mental health awareness and improving health systems in vulnerable rural communities towards universal health coverage.
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Natalie Alfonso Alcaide
Natalie is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Linguistics. She is currently working on the Eye Tracking project and the CAFE Consortium project. After Georgetown, Natalie plans to pursue a career that combines her interests in linguistics, psychology, and education. She hopes to become an educator or a speech-language pathologist.
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Lana Kim
Lana is a freshman at Georgetown University studying Human Science in the School of Health. She is currently working on the Eye-Tracking Project. After completing her studies at Georgetown, she hopes to attend medical school and pursue research regarding pediatric diseases and treatment development.
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Colin Liau
Colin is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a major in Psychology and minors in Education, Inquiry, and Justice and Spanish. He is currently working on the PLAY project and the CAFE consortium project. After graduating, Colin hopes to pursue a career that combines his interests in early childhood development and education research and policy.
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Avanthika Suryadevara
Avanthika is a freshman in the School of Health at Georgetown University majoring in Health Care Management and Policy. She is currently working on the Eye Tracking project. After Georgetown, she hopes to attend medical school and become a pediatrician, combining her passion for child development, medicine, and helping others.
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Noa Pampaloni
Noa is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgetown University majoring in Psychology. She is currently working on the PLAY project and the Memory Flexibility Project. Although unsure about what she wants to do after college, Noa hopes to pursue a career that embraces her passion for psychology.
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Interested in Infant Development?

Our lab is currently accepting undergraduate students for the 2024 Summer and Fall semesters! If you are interested in joining the lab, please fill out the application form below! 

The Georgetown Early Learning Project is looking for motivated graduate and undergraduate students to participate in our research. Our lab is very interested in taking on enthusiastic and intelligent students who want to join us in the investigation of infant learning and the development of infant memory. Specifically, we seek students who are hard working, outgoing, and excited to interact with babies and their families. Any prior experience in research or in working with children and parents is a plus.

Our lab is a busy one. As a new team member, you will be trained on how to recruit new infants, collect data by visiting infants in their homes, code and interpret the data. You will also have the opportunity to present our project’s findings at professional conferences.

Info for Prospective Graduate Students

Info for Undergraduate Students

Our Alumni

To use the map, click on each point to view where each ELP alum is. To view the category breakdowns, click the square with the arrow in the upper left corner. To search ELP alumni, click the square in the upper right corner to open the larger map, then click the magnifying glass in the upper left corner to search.

Advance the Research

Interested in participating in one of our studies?