Kathy D
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill)

Expertise

Adolescent brain development; learning and decision making; developmental cognitive neuroscience; social motivation

Bio

Hello! My name is Kathy Do, and I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I earned my Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from UCLA. I study how teenagers learn from their changing social worlds and make decisions that affect themselves and others (esp. peers and parents). I use psychology experiments, neuroimaging (MRI), and longitudinal methods to understand how brain development from childhood to adulthood supports social learning and decision-making. I am passionate about supporting and diversifying the next generation of scientists, a goal that resonates with me as a female, ethnic minority, low-income, first-generation student. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, hiking/running with my dog Huxley, playing volleyball, and gardening.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Infographic Design - Lasting Impressions

Parents, peers, siblings, teachers, and many others influence young people's everyday choices and behaviors, but the extent to which they do tends to change across development. Make a series of infographics that explain which sources of influence may be more important than others from infancy to adulthood. Learn data visualization by enhancing your Excel and Powerpoint skills.

Design an Experiment - Identity Development

Adolescents define who they are and what they value by seeing how others -- peers, teachers, parents -- act and behave. Design a psychology experiment that can answer when adolescents' own identities are more likely to be influenced by the opinions and behaviors of others.

Class Presentation - The Developing Teenage Brain

Adolescents take more risks than children and adults. Neurobiological theories suggest that increases in adolescent risk taking can be explained by some brain regions maturing faster than others. Learn about the function and development of many brain regions involved in adolescent risk taking. Create a presentation for your classmates explaining key theories of how brain development shapes adolescent behavior.