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.
- Vanessa Diaz Benitez proposed her dissertation in February 2025.
- Brie Ermanni proposed her dissertation in December 2024.
- Vanessa Diaz Benitez defended her preliminary exam in November 2024.
- Brie Ermanni, Doug Harrison, and Vanessa Diaz Benitez presented research posters at the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP) in Chicago in October 2024.
- Alana Hull received a Letter of Distinction for Research by the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in September 2024.
- Doug Harrison defended his preliminary exam in August 2024.
- Alana Hull presented two research posters at the International Congress of Infant Studies (ICIS) in Glasgow in July 2024.
- Mohamed Zerrouk defended his dissertation in May 2024.
- Jennifer Phillips defended her dissertation in May 2024.
- Briana Ermanni defended her preliminary exam in May 2024.
- Vanessa Diaz Benitez received the College of Science "Make a Difference" Scholarship for her dissertation research in April 2024.
- Mohamed Zerrouk was a recipient of the VT Psychology Award for Teaching Excellence in February 2024.
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, M.A.
baby BEAR Project Coordinator
- Kylie Wijeratne, B.S.
HBCD Lead Blacksburg Research Assistant:
- Cheyenne Williams, B.S.
HBCD Research Assistants:
- Kaitlyn Rasnick, B.S.
- Reese Burkey, B.S.
Graduate Students:
- Briana Ermanni, M.S. (5th year)
- Doug Harrison, M.S. (4th year)
- Vanessa Diaz Benitez, M.S. (3rd year)
- Isabela de la Rosa, B.S. (1st year)
- Alana Hull, B.S. (4th year medical student)
Undergraduate Research Assistants:
- Mary Kelleher
- Rebecca Cuthbertson
- Omar Almasri
- Joseph Pettinger
- Jace Laska
- Lili Woods
- Chloe Stockli
Participant Information
Parents:
If you would like to find out more information about our research with infants and children, or if you and your child would like to participate in one of our studies, 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):
- 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.
- Development of inhibitory control during infancy --- Our monthly study from 5 to 12 months.
- Development of executive function during toddlerhood --- Our quarterly longitudinal study at 15, 18, 21, and 24 months.
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 2025.
Recent Graduates
- Jennifer Phillips, Ph.D. (2024)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy
University of Toronto
Mississauga, ON - Mohamed Zerrouk, Ph.D. (2024)
Visiting Assistant Professor
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN - Madeleine Bruce, Ph.D. (2022)
Postdoctoral Fellow, CAN Lab
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Duke University
Durham, NC - Tatiana Meza-Cervera, Ph.D. (2021)
Health Science Program / Review Officer
National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD - Ran Liu, Ph.D. (2020)
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Beijing Normal University
Beijing, China - Alleyne (Ross) Broomell, Ph.D. (2019)
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC - Tashauna Blankenship, Ph.D. (2017)
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences
University of Massachusetts - Boston
Boston, MA - Amanda (Watson) Joyce, Ph.D. (2014)
Associate Professor of Psychology
Murray State University
Murray, K - Jess Kraybill, Ph.D. (2013)
Associate Professor of Psychology
Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT - Kimberly Cuevas, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2009-12)
Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Connecticut
Waterbury, CT - Anjolii Diaz, Ph.D. (2012)
Associate Professor of Psychological Science
Ball State University
Muncie, IN - Vinaya (Raj) Rajan, Ph.D. (2012)
Director of Dissemination, ABC Intervention Program
University of Delaware
Newark, DL - Annie M. Cardell, Ph.D. (2009)
Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Charleston
Charleston, WV - Katherine C. Morasch, Ph.D. (2007) (Postdoctoral Fellow 2007-10)
Senior Scientific Review Officer
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Washington, DC - Denise R. Friedman, Ph.D. (2006)
Psychology Consultant
Roanoke, VA - Hossam M. (Zaki) Said, Ph.D. (2005)
Manager, Ergonomics - Customer Testing Center CTC, Commercial
The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services Mobinil
Cairo, Egypt - Christy D. Wolfe, Ph.D. (2005)
Professor of Psychology
Bellarmine University
Louisville, KY - Annie Papero, Ph.D. (2004)
Executive Director, Child Development Center of the Bluegrass
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY - Jonathan E. Roberts, Ph.D. (2001)
Professor of Psychology
Director of University Honors Program
Georgia Southern University - Armstrong Campus
Savannah, GA