Research at Stanford University

Research at Stanford University

I am a PhD student in the Developmental and Psychological Sciences Program. My research interest focuses on the intricate interplay between poverty, psychology, and science education. Specifically, I am deeply passionate to understand the psychological effects of financial scarcity and uncertainty on children’s and adolescent’s motivations, self-perceptions, and educational choices, particularly in the context of science. By exploring the complex nexus of poverty, psychological factors, and academic aspirations, my work aims to uncover insights that can inform policies to promote equitable opportunities for all students to thirve in science and beyond.

Research at Columbia University

My Masters Thesis

For my graduate program at Columbia, my thesis is exploring learning and memory and the role financial stress affects cognition associated with learning and memory. You can access a copy of my thesis here.

While at Teachers College, I presented my thesis research at two conferences: the 2020 Academic Festival and at the 4th annual Institute for Psychological Sciences and Practice (IPSP).

Research at Brown University

My Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Working with Dr. Leslie Welch, we explored a rare phenomenon known as Aphantasia - the inabiltiy to conjure up images in the mind’s eye. We conducted a remote study where participants with and without aphantasia engaged in a mental rotation task.

The Neuroscience of Racism

Along with 7 other students at Brown, I co-created a research seminar at Brown under the mentorship of Dr. Monica Linden.

Additionally, for our final presentation, I organized a public presentation inviting the Brown community as well as the general public to attend a talk of our primary findings. A copy of our slides from that presentation can be found here. I also presented at Brown’s Theories in Action conference on a roundtable discussion entitled “Applying Scientific Research.”

Race and Gender in the Scientific Community

The first statistical project I engaged in was examining the antecedents that supported scientist from underrepresented backgrounds to acquire positions as academic faculty. I was able ot present my findings from this project at the Humans in STEM conference at Yale University in 2018.

And! Fun fact! I (unexpectedly!) ran into my BEST FRIEND from high school (she went to Amherst College for her undergrad) who was also invited to present at this conference.

Here is a picture of us embracing:

And here is a picture of Xuan talking about her awesome research!