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.

Anisiasunta Guzelides-DiCarlo

Anisiasunta Guzelides-DiCarlo is a first-year HDFS PhD student in the child and adolescent development specialization. She recently graduated with her M.S. in Psychology from Arizona State University. During her first year in the master’s program, she joined the Social Relationships and Health lab, where she centered her research on adverse childhood events, the parent-child dyad, and attachment theory. Over the following year, drawing from her personal experiences in the child welfare system, she refined her research interests on foster care placements, attachment theory, and sibling relationships—specifically speaking to the aftermath of placement disruptions. She is currently working on a manuscript related to this work. Additionally, while in the master’s program, she contributed to the Child and Adolescent Relationships and Emotions lab and Families in Transition Co-Lab, which helped her develop her skills in quantitative and qualitative research and deepened her passion for research.

At UConn, Anisiasunta is working with Dr. Preston Britner. As a doctoral student, she hopes to expand her research related to attachment theory, foster care, and sibling relationships. She aims to continue growing, learning, and evolving into a knowledgeable and solution-oriented professional who leads with passion. Her long-term goal is to conduct impactful research that influences policy for the child welfare system.

Anisiasunta is a proud Arizona native who misses home but is excited to explore a new state. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her husband and their cats, Jameson and Ginger.

Rebekah Hobbs (she/her) is a first-year HDFS PhD student. After graduating from Wellesley College in 2022 with a BA in Psychology and Spanish, Rebekah spent three years working as a Postgraduate Research Associate with Yale University. She spent her first year with the Yale site of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Following that position, Rebekah spent two years as an RA with the Yale LGBTQ Mental Health Initiative (MHI). While at the MHI, she assisted with the development and running of multiple clinical trials. Most notably, Rebekah was the Lead RA for Project SPACES, a study aimed at improving relationships and reducing stress among parents of LGBTQ children.

At UConn, Rebekah hopes to continue researching the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ young people working with her advisor, Dr. Ryan J Watson. More specifically, Rebekah is interested in how family dynamics such as sibling interactions and religious environments influence identity development and disparate mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ young people compared to their cisgender/heterosexual peers. Additionally, Rebekah is interested in continuing to develop family-based interventions for families with LGBTQ members.

Rebekah was born and raised in New Jersey, where she continues to visit family whenever possible. In her free time, Rebekah also enjoys singing in choirs, baking, outdoor rock climbing, and watching too much reality television.

Carly Prentiss is a first-year HDFS PhD student in the health, wellbeing, and prevention specialization. She recently graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Sociology from Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU). Based on personal experiences and her time as a youth services coordinator, she developed an interest in how health behaviors and subsequent outcomes were often overlooked in their developmental process and significance to psychological health. Much of her undergraduate research centered around mental and physical health outcomes, such as fitness, weight, and nutritional wellness. As a member of ECSU’s Health & Human Performance Lab, she worked closely with peers to investigate physical health and its association with wellbeing in young adults. She was also a co-author in presenting the lab’s research at the New England Psychological Association’s annual conference . Additionally, she independently developed a research project to examine the association between proper nutrition and academic motivation in university students.

At UConn, Carly is working with Dr. Marlene Schwartz, where she plans to expand her research ideas regarding the effects of poor perceptions of weight and food quality. She hopes to gain valuable experience conducting and assisting with research at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health. She looks forward to also developing new projects to better understand the developmental process of maladaptive health behaviors. Her long-term goal is to become a professor in developmental science. She aspires to create her own behavioral health lab, where students can build their niche curiosities, much like she did as an undergraduate student.

Carly is a Connecticut native and continues to appreciate the beauty and relaxing nature of the state. In her free time, she likes to go to concerts, watch true crime documentaries, and go on adventures with her friends.

Rashel Marrero

Rashel  Oliva Marrero is a dedicated HDFS major at UConn Stamford. During her time as an undergraduate student, she has embodied a passion for supporting and nurturing others at every stage of life. Rashel is committed to a holistic understanding of human well-being and is pursuing a dual degree in Public Administration, maintaining a strong GPA of 3.8. She aims to apply her studies in human development, equity, and leadership toward policy, communication, and community empowerment.

Rashel’s interest in leadership and public engagement has been deepened by her internships. Most notably, she completed an internship with The Campaign School at Yale Law School (TCSYale), a nonpartisan, issue-neutral training program whose mission is to increase the number and influence of women in elected and appointed office. Through this experience, Rashel gained firsthand insight into the intersection of gender equity, civic participation, and institutional leadership. In addition, she served as a Social Media Intern for different religious organizations, where she developed skills in content strategy, audience engagement, and digital storytelling. These roles allowed her to explore how to leverage online platforms for community impact, advocacy, and public education.

As she approaches graduation, Rashel continues to seek opportunities that integrate her academic training with her passion for building equitable systems, effective communication, and inclusive leadership.