Zakiya Johnson is a first-year PhD student specializing in Diversity and Culture and Child and Adolescent Development. Prior to coming to UConn, she graduated magna cum laude with her Bachelors of Science in Psychology and a minor in sociology from Iowa State University. While at Iowa State, Zakiya participated in multiple research labs and projects, studying a range of topics from children’s and adolescents’ identity development to long-term romantic relationships in older adulthood. As an undergraduate student, Zakiya presented her research on Black girls’ and adolescents’ ethnic-identity development and its association with mental health and self-esteem at the 2023 Society for Research on Child Development. After graduating from Iowa State, Zakiya spent time in Minneapolis, working in clinical research, where she studied risk factors for dementia in aging Black Americans and biotechnology for atrial fibrillation patients. She has also served as a volleyball coach, study abroad mentor, and spent three years working in childcare and as a nanny. She credits these experiences for shaping her interest in youth development, education, and programming.

At UConn, Zakiya works under the mentorship of Dr. Marketa Burnett as part of The Dream Collab. Their work uses qualitative methods to center the voices of Black girls and parents to envision various ways to best support Black girls’ thriving. Long term, Zakiya plans to use research as a tool to create programming and influence policy that creates a more equitable society for all children, with a special interest in Black girls and adolescents. She aspires to produce research that amplifies the voices of marginalized youth, creating accessible, representative research that reflects and supports the experiences of under-researched populations.

Outside of academia, Zakiya enjoys playing volleyball, traveling, reading, knitting, and spending time with her friends and family. She is passionate about community building and engagement and enjoys volunteering, mentoring, and hosting events whenever her time allows.

Críscila Ramos is a first-year PhD student in the Diversity and Culture specialization. Before joining UConn, she worked as an attorney in Brazil, earned her bachelor’s degree in Law from Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora in Brazil in 2021, including a period of study at the Università Degli Studi di Camerino in Italy. She also completed her interdisciplinary master’s degree from Universidade Federal Fluminense in Brazil in Legal and Social Sciences in 2023. During this time, Críscila set out to analyze the international migration and work experiences of Brazilian women who emigrated to the United States, mainly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout her participation at the Human Rights Reference Center of the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (Governador Valadares campus) and her professional career, she also contributed to outreach and research activities through educational initiatives and legal counseling for vulnerable communities in Brazil.

At UConn, Críscila explores the intersection of migration, human development, and social justice, examining how public policies shape the quality of life, health, and overall well-being of immigrant populations. She is advised by Dr. Kevin Ferreira van Leer and currently works on the Elevating Equity project, investigating how structural factors, such as variation in social policy exclusions for Immigrants, and the strengths and resources of Immigrant communities, such as community characteristics, are associated with the well-being of Immigrant families in the United States. Críscila believes in the benefits of a community engagement research approach and intends to continue using this methodology in her research to better understand the challenges these families face, with the goal of proposing more effective interventions that promote their health and well-being.

Críscila was born in the city of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and enjoys spending her free time with family and friends, visiting new places, and learning new languages. She is passionate about research and intends to apply her interdisciplinary experience to promote the well-being of marginalized communities.

Congratulations to Angel Reed for publishing an article in the journal Personality and Individual Differences! More information available here:

Hall, B. T., Rebaldo, T., Geist, A., *Reed, A., & George, D. (2026). Flirting for me or flirting for we? The Dark and Light Triads as predictors of flirting motive. Personality and Individual Differences, 251, 113565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113565

Gloria Oladeji’s nonprofit organization, The GLEA Network, was selected for the UConn MLK Legacy Award in the category of Team/Organization. Gloria is the founder of this youth-led nonprofit that advances girls’ education, health, and empowerment in underserved communities. Congratulations Gloria! Learn more here: https://diversity.uconn.edu/mlk2026/

Linda Maria Trevino is a first-year HDFS PhD student specializing in Child and Adolescent Development. Before she joined the UConn Applied Research on Children (ARC) Lab, she earned her bachelor’s in Psychology with Special Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. There, she conducted her honors thesis, an evaluation of bilingualism, children’s executive functions, and their mathematical capabilities, through Dr. Catharine Echols’ Language Development Lab. Linda designed the research question, methods, and execution, including the development of her own data-collecting platform that met her specific needs. At the University of Texas, she completed the Children and Society: Education, Language and Literacy Bridging Disciplines Program, which required participation in multidisciplinary work and perspectives. During college, Linda worked with children as a camp counselor, preschool teacher, and teacher nanny for a private family. She credits these personal experiences that allowed her to build relationships with children and families for her passion in child development and parenting.

At UConn, Linda hopes to explore programs and interventions that enhance familial relationships, parenting confidence, and parents’ understanding of basic child development with the ultimate goal of creating happy and flourishing families and children. She is guided by her advisor, Dr. Rachel Chazan Cohen, and is currently working on the Connecticut Early Years project, an intervention developed to support healthy family and child development through early childhood programs. Linda aims to use her academic and professional experiences to inform the improvement of existing programs and creation of new ones. She hopes to implement her knowledge of technology, programming, and design throughout her work. Linda’s long-term goal is to close the gap between researchers and parents by making research easy to access, understand, and implement in a variety of limiting situations.

Linda was born in Mexico and raised on the Texas-Mexico border, full of rich history, culture, and delicious food. Outside of academia, she enjoys designing developmentally enriching children’s toys, creating educational activity kits for families to encourage parent-child engagement, knitting, crocheting, sewing, and painting. She also loves to thrift and read old arts and crafts magazines.

Yuan Lin is a first-year HDFS PhD student in the Couples, Parents, and Families and Health, Wellbeing, and Prevention specializations. He earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.S. in Business Analytics and Project Management at UConn. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, Yuan spent one and a half years as a research coordinator in Dr. Na Zhang’s FRAME Lab, where he contributed to the design and development of a mindfulness-based digital intervention to support divorced and at-risk parenting families.

At UConn, Yuan works under the mentorship of Dr. Na Zhang and continues his research in the FRAME Lab. His research focuses on digital parenting interventions and family-based prevention programs for at-risk families, with particular attention to parental stress, parenting practices, and family adjustment during periods of stress and transition. Grounded in developmental and family systems theory, he is interested in exploring technologies such as web-based platforms and artificial intelligence to enhance the reach and effectiveness of theory-driven interventions. In Fall 2025, Yuan also served as a research assistant on an interdisciplinary project led by Dr. Molly Waring in Allied Health Sciences that used personalized podcast recommendations to promote maternal mental and physical health. His long-term goal is to pursue an academic research career, bridging technological innovation with family science and prevention research.

Yuan was born and raised in Quanzhou, Fujian, China and spent his last 10 years in the United States. Outside of academia, he enjoys cooking, reading, hiking, singing, and playing the guitar, as well as spending time with his two cats, Kiwi and Mocha.

Congratulations to *Elise Sumsion, who received the Best Student/Early Career Presentation Award for her paper The Bisexual Identity Enactment Model: A Model Grounded in Identity Theory at the Theory Construction and Research Methodology Workshop in Baltimore, Maryland.

Gloria Oladeji is a first-year HDFS PhD student in the Health, Wellbeing, and Prevention specialization. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Health Education with a minor in Human Kinetics from the University of Ibadan (Nigeria) in 2021, and completed her master’s degree in Kinesiology and Health at the University of Wyoming in 2025. At the University of Wyoming, Gloria examined how Nigeria’s food security interventions align with the United Nations’ best practices for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2—a focus on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture.  She also contributed to mental health research, deepening her interest in the intersection between food security, mental health, and the social determinants of health. Beyond academics, Gloria is passionate about social impact and gender equity. She is the founder of The GLEA Network (The Gloriae Girls’ Empowerment and Advancement Network), a youth-led nonprofit advancing education, health, and empowerment for girls and women in underserved communities. One of her major projects before coming to the U.S. focused on supporting the mental health of young girls who were survivors of female genital mutilation by providing psychosocial care and community sensitization.

At UConn, Gloria hopes to explore research and community-based interventions that enhance food and nutrition security, promote physical wellbeing, and prevent chronic diseases across diverse populations while working with her advisor, Professor Kim Gans. She aims to merge her academic research with her social development experience—building evidence-based, sustainable interventions that advance health globally.

Originally from Oyo State, Nigeria, Gloria enjoys volunteering, exploring new foods, traveling, and spending time with her husband. She believes in purposeful living and finds joy in using her voice and research to create positive, lasting change.

Sampson Chinonso Ipiankama is a first-year HDFS PhD student specializing in adulthood, aging, and health. Before joining UConn, he served as the Research, Grants, and Sustainability Lead at Project PINK BLUE – Health & Psychological Trust Centre in Nigeria, leading national initiatives supported by organizations such as AstraZeneca, the Global Colon Cancer Association, the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS), the ACT Foundation, and From Testing to Targeted Treatments (FT3) to strengthen cancer control and patient-centered care across Nigeria.

At UConn, Sampson works with Dr. Keith Bellizzi to explore the psychosocial aspects of health and aging, focusing on resilience, adaptation to chronic illness, and cancer survivorship across the lifespan. He is particularly interested in applying emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to better understand these processes and enhance psychosocial care. Sampson’s long-term goal is to improve cancer survivorship outcomes through technology-driven, culturally responsive approaches.

Sampson was born and raised in Nigeria and brings a strong passion for global health equity to his work. Outside of academia, he enjoys volunteering, writing, mentoring young advocates, and spending time with his family. Sampson also loves storytelling and photography, which he uses to highlight resilience and hope in the cancer survivorship journey.

Graduate student Gloria Oladeji was selected as a fellow for the upcoming year in the Food and Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association. This selection was made from a highly competitive pool of over 100 applicants. She was also elected as the Student Liaison for the upcoming year.