About Us
Welcome to the C.A.P. Lab at Virginia Tech. Our research focuses on brain-behavior relations, with an emphasis on frontal lobe development in infants and children. Please explore our website to learn more about our exciting research program.
Recent Lab News:
Congratulations to our graduate students and research staff on their most recent accomplishments!
- Brie Ermanni will be a SRCD State Policy Postdoctoral Fellow at the New Hampshire Child Development Bureau and Office of Head Start beginning August 2025.
- Kylie Wijeratne will attend graduate school at University of Denver in fall 2025.
- Cheyenne Williams will attend graduate school at East Tennessee State University in fall 2025.
- Kaitlyn Rasnick is Case Manager for ETSU Health Support Clinic in July 2025.
- Brie Ermanni defended her dissertation in May 2025.
- Doug Harrison proposed his dissertation in May 2025.
- Isa de la Rosa proposed her thesis in May 2025.
- Brie Ermanni, Doug Harrison, Vanessa Diaz, Isa de la Rosa, and Reese Burkey presented research posters at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) meeting in Minneapolis in May 2025.
- Vanessa Diaz Benitez proposed her dissertation in February 2025.
Research Interests
We study multiple aspects of cognitive development, with an emphasis on individual differences in the development of working memory and inhibitory control. In our research studies, we focus on attention, self-regulation, and temperament as the main sources of these individual differences. Our most current work is longitudinal in nature and examines the relations between cognition and affect (or emotion) across infancy and childhood. We focus on behavior, as well as developmental psychophysiology, including the measurement of brain electrical activity (EEG) and heart rate activity (ECG). This work is funded by the National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH / NICHD; R01 HD104945), the National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Mental Health (NIH / NIMH; R01 MH125800) and by National Science Foundation / Developmental Sciences (NSF; 2016919).
People
Lab Members
Director:
Laboratory Coordinator; baby JEDI Project Coordinator; BUBBLES Project Coordinator:
- Leslie Patton, MA
baby BEAR Project Coordinator
- Kylie Wijeratne, BS
- Liza Anderson, BS (incoming)
HBCD Lead Blacksburg Research Assistants:
- Cheyenne Williams, BS
- Reese Burkey, BS
HBCD Research Assistants:
- Skylar Cui, BS
- Ellie Johnson, BS
Graduate Students:
- Doug Harrison, MS (5th year)
- Vanessa Diaz Benitez, MS (4th year)
- Isabela de la Rosa, BS (2nd year)
Undergraduate 2024-25 Research Assistants:
- Joseph Pettinger
- Jace Laska
- Lili Woods
- Chloe Stockli
Summer 2025 Undergraduate Research Interns:
- Libby Fearer - Univ of South Carolina
- Savannah McCoy - Berea College
Participant Information
Parents:
If you would like more information about our research with infants and children, feel free to contact us:
Leslie Patton (Laboratory Coordinator)
Research Lab Phone: (540) 231-2320
Email: lapatton@vt.edu
Directions:
Please see the Directions to Williams Hall.
Current Research Projects
Current research projects in the CAP Lab (data collection in progress):
- Baby JEDI study --- Journey of Emotional Development in Infancy --- Emotion reactivity and regulation behaviors and brain physiology leading to development of self-regulation. There are lab visits every 4 months from 6 to 26 months. Collaborator: Washington State Univ. Funded by NSF 2016919
- Baby BEAR study --- Behavior, Emotion, And Regulation --- Temperamental reactivity and brain physiology from 6 to 24 months as precursors of developing personality. Collaborators: Washington State Univ & Florida Atlantic Univ. Funded by NIH R01 MH125800
- Project BUBBLES --- Babies: Understanding Brains and Baseline Longitudinal EEG Study --- Examination of brain rhythms from 6 to 48 months, with the goal of standardizing resting state recording context and frequency band definitions associated with early attention, cognition, and emotion. Collaborators: Univ of Connecticut & Texas A&M. Funded by NIH R01 HD104945
- HBCD --- Healthy Brain and Child Development --- How early brain development is affected by exposure to environmental, social, and biological factors during pregnancy and after birth. Children will participate from birth through early childhood. Collaborators: 25 universities/Medical Centers across the US. Funded by NIH U01 DA055357
Plus, our ongoing work (data collection is complete; data analysis & manuscript writing continue):
- Cognition and emotion from infancy through adolescence --- Children participated during infancy (5 and 10 months), early childhood (2, 3, and 4 years), middle childhood (6 and 9 years) and adolescence (14 years). (Funded by R01 HD049878; R03 HD043057; R03 HD057319)
- Development of inhibitory control during infancy --- Our monthly study from 5 to 12 months. (Funded by R03 HD091644)
- Development of executive function during toddlerhood --- Our quarterly longitudinal study at 15, 18, 21, and 24 months. (Funded by COS Faculty Fellowship)
- Brain activity during infant inhibitory control --- Our study of infant ERP at 10 and 12 months. (Funded by R21 HD097942)
Join Us
Potential Graduate Students:
If you are interested in doctoral study in the field of Developmental Psychology in general or Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in particular, contact us for details about our Developmental Science graduate program. Our program is committed to training students as research-oriented psychologists using the mentorship model. For information on graduate studies, visit the Developmental Science web site:
Developmental Science Graduate Program
***Dr. Bell will not be recruiting a new graduate student for Fall 2026.
Recent Graduates
- Brie Ermanni, PhD (2025)
SRCD State Policy Postdoctoral Fellow
New Hampshire Child Development Bureau and Office of Head Start
Concord, NH - Jennifer Phillips, PhD (2024)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy
University of Toronto
Mississauga, ON - Mohamed Zerrouk, PhD (2024)
Visiting Assistant Professor
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN - Madeleine Bruce, PhD (2022)
Data Analyst
Abre - Tatiana Meza-Cervera, PhD (2021)
Health Science Administrator
National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD - Ran Liu, PhD (2020)
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Beijing Normal University
Beijing, China - Alleyne (Ross) Broomell, PhD (2019)
Associate Professor of Psychology
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC - Tashauna Blankenship, PhD (2017)
Assistant Professor of Psychology
University of Massachusetts - Boston
Boston, MA - Amanda (Watson) Joyce, PhD (2014)
Professor of Psychology
Murray State University
Murray, KY - Jess Kraybill, PhD (2013)
Associate Professor of Psychology
Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT - Kimberly Cuevas, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2009-12)
Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Connecticut
Waterbury, CT - Anjolii Diaz, PhD (2012)
Associate Professor of Psychological Science
Ball State University
Muncie, IN - Vinaya (Raj) Rajan, PhD (2012)
Director of Dissemination, ABC Intervention Program
University of Delaware
Newark, DL - Annie M. Cardell, PhD (2009)
Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Charleston
Charleston, WV - Katherine C. Morasch, PhD (2007; Postdoctoral Fellow 2007-10)
Senior Scientific Review Officer
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Washington, DC - Denise R. Friedman, PhD (2006)
Psychology Consultant
Roanoke, VA - Hossam M. Zaki, PhD (2005)
Manager, Ergonomics - Customer Testing Center CTC, Commercial
The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services Mobinil
Cairo, Egypt - Christy D. Wolfe, PhD (2005)
Professor of Psychology
Bellarmine University
Louisville, KY - Annie Papero, PhD (2004)
Executive Director, Child Development Center of the Bluegrass
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY - Jonathan E. Roberts, PhD (2001)
Professor of Psychology
Director of University Honors Program
Georgia Southern University - Armstrong Campus
Savannah, GA