Post-Doctoral Fellow
Steph (Jeong Ha) Choi, PhD
Originally from South Korea, Steph grew up exposed to both US and Korean culture. Prior to joining the Developmental Neuropsychology Across the Lifespan Lab, she received her PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on relatively overlooked sociocultural variability in the intersection of stress, health, and well-being based psychosocial factors related to health and well-being. Through her work, she hopes to highlight the importance of psychological diversity in understanding why some are more prone to health difficulties compared to others, and how such diversity can bring light to potential protective factors in the face of biological and/or socioenvironmental vulnerability. Please check out her website to learn more about her (https://sites.google.com/view/stephjhchoi/).
Early Career Mentees
Rachel Peterson, PhD, NCSP
After graduating from Indiana University with a double major in Psychology and Neuroscience, Dr. Peterson completed her Master of Education and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in school psychology at Indiana University. Dr. Peterson’s pre-doctoral internship in clinical pediatric neuropsychology was completed at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. After receiving her doctorate, Dr. Peterson completed a clinical post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada working with children and adolescents with an array of developmental and medical conditions. She joined the outpatient neuropsychology program at Kennedy Krieger Institute in 2019. Dr. Peterson’s research interests focus on identifying neurocognitive profiles following pediatric oncology treatment, examining neurocognitive and associated neuroanatomical changes following cancer-directed treatment, and delineating risk and neuroprotective factors with respect to neurocognitive outcomes to inform treatment and intervention.
Dr. Peterson has received an early career grant from the American Cancer Society to begin July 2024. The project will examine changes in cognition, using neuroimaging (MRI, DTI, fMRI) along the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway, and brain injury biomarkers of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in pediatric posterior fossa tumors treated with radiation during the first year from diagnosis.