Our Team

Elena Grigorenko, Ph.D.

Elena Grigorenko, Ph.D. has a wide interest in a number of areas in psychology, genetics and neuroscience. Correspondingly, she has (co-)mentored students in various graduate programs (linguistics, statistics, psychology, genetics, education and neuroscience) and several undergraduate majors in universities in the Russian Federation and United States. Most of her projects are highly collaborative and interdisciplinary, involving scientists from various fields and various countries. She has served as editor-in-chief and board member for a number of professional journals and engaged in reviews for various federal and private funding agencies from different countries around the world. Grigorenko appreciates and values diversity in people’s expertise, approaches and perspectives. She views such diversity as the foundation for all of the lab’s teaching, learning and research activities.

Oxana Yu. Naumova, Ph.D.

Oxana Yu. Naumova earned a Ph.D. in genetics in 2008 from the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics (VIGG), Russia. Naumova’s main scientific interests are in the field of human population genetics and epigenetics. Her ongoing research focuses on understanding the role of dynamic interactions between the genome/gene pool and environment genetic in the development of genetic diversity of populations and psychophysiological phenotypes of individuals. She has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications in the field of gene geography, paleogenetics and epigenetics. Currently, Naumova is a senior researcher at the VIGG and an assistant professor at the University of Houston.

Lisa Chinn, Ph.D.

Upon earning her Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 2019, Lisa joined the GENES:IS Lab as a post-doctoral associate. She is now Research Assistant Professor at UH, and she directs an Office of Naval Research sponsored project on individual differences in response to stress. Her research focuses on infants’ knowledge about their own bodies, effects of early adversity on development, EEG, and cognitive control. Lisa also received a B.S. in psychology from the University of Oregon and an M.S. in cognitive neuroscience from Tulane University.

Galina Khafizova, Ph.D.

Galina Khafizova is a research scholar in the GENESIS lab. Galina earned a Ph.D. in genetics in 2022, studying the consequences of horizontal gene transfer between organisms. Khafizova’s main scientific interests are related to the genetics-environment interactions. Her current research focuses on the genetics of aggression and antisocial behavior. She also studies the effects of prenatal stress on progeny, unravelling the underlying molecular mechanisms. In her free time, Galina enjoys baking, traveling, learning new languages, crafting, and painting with watercolors.    

Ilia Markov, Ph.D.

lia Markov is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the GENESIS lab. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Linguistics from Chelyabinsk State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology as part of the Developmental, Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience program from the University of Houston. His doctoral dissertation is focused on patterns of genetic and linguistic diversity on the continent of Africa. His interests include language origin and evolution, predicting patterns in typological linguistic data, and working with assessments of different language domains. He has worked on projects such as the Bilingual English Language Learners Assessment (BELLA) and the Individual Differences in Response to Stress (IDRS) project.
 

Pavel Dobrynin, Ph.D.

Pavel Dobrynin is a postdoctoral fellow in the GENESIS lab. He has developed practical skills in a wide range of disciplines: molecular biology, DNA sequencing and microbiology. He also has experience with different kinds of phylogenetic, population and demographic analyses. He works with various annotation procedures: gene annotation, gene selection, gene families’ expansion and contraction, functional gene annotation and repetitive annotation, and SNP and CNV analysis. 

Renae Johnson, Ph.D.

Renae Johnson is a postdoctoral fellow in the GENESIS Lab. She holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Arizona and a master’s and PhD in Clinical Adolescent Psychology from Prairie View A&M University. Renae’s research focuses on trauma, resilience, school climate, and mental-health outcomes among Black and historically underserved youth, particularly those affected by disciplinary exclusion and other adverse experiences. Her clinical interests include psychological and neurodevelopmental assessment, autism evaluation, trauma-informed care, and evidence-based intervention with children, adolescents, and families. Drawing on over 20-years of experience in community leadership and grant development, she is tasked with helping expand the Texas Center for Learning Disorder’s clinic into a sustainable service model that supports children and youth.

Vanesa Lerma, M.A.

Vanesa Lerma is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student specializing in Neuropsychology and Child Psychology at the University of Houston. She received her B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from St. Edward’s University in 2016 and her M.A. in General Psychology at New York University in 2018. Her primary research interest is to study how genetic information can be integrated with neuropsychological and neuroanatomical data to comprehensively understand neurological conditions, especially novel neurogenetic and neurodevelopmental disorders. She is also interested in intra-operative brain mapping and investigating how genotype may impact post-neurosurgery outcomes. Her clinical training goal is to gain well-rounded experience with individuals across the lifespan, but she is especially interested in working with children. As a Latina Mexican immigrant, she is drawn to serve minority individuals who lack access to neuropsychological services due to language and cultural barriers.

Matthew Hyland, M.A.

Matthew Hyland is a student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, focusing on Clinical Neuropsychology. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience and psychology. In addition to his studies of neuropsychology, Matthew is broadly interested in multimodal neuroimaging and functional connectivity, epigenetics, psychometrics, mechanisms of learning and English as a second language. Neural synchrony during learning and academic achievement outcomes in middle school: A study aiming to examine relationships among teacher-student and student-student neural synchrony, learning, and academic achievement outcomes in a diverse sample of middle school-aged children

Katherine Crabb, B.S.

Katherine is a third-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student on the child track. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Texas A&M University – College Station in 2023. Following graduation, she returned to her hometown of Houston as a research assistant in the GENES:IS and SACH labs before joining the GENES:IS lab as a graduate student in 2024. Her research interests include adverse childhood experiences, especially within the juvenile justice system, with additional interest in autism spectrum disorder. Clinically, she is interested in working with neurodivergent children and adolescents.

Madison Ecklund, B.A.

Madison is a second-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student on the child track. She received her B.A. in Psychology & Humanities from The University of Texas at Austin in 2023. Following graduation, she moved to Boston and completed a Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship at McLean Hospital through Harvard Medical School/ Mass General Brigham. Broadly, her research interests include genetic and environmental factors contributing to child development and psychopathology. She is interested in applying both quantitative and molecular genetic methods to answer questions about behavior and development.  

Micayla Carter, M.A.

Micayla Carter is a first-year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program on the neuropsychology track. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Louisiana State University and her M.A. in Clinical-Community Psychology from Texas Southern University. Her research interests include childhood trauma, developmental psychopathology, and psychological assessment within the juvenile justice system.

Suravi Sarkar, B.S.

Suravi Sarkar is a third-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student specializing in Neuropsychology at the University of Houston. She received her B.A. In Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Psychology from Rice University in 2022. Following graduation, she moved to Philadelphia and worked full-time as a Research Specialist in the University of Pennsylvania administering transcranial neurostimulation and speech therapy interventions to participants with Primary Progressive Aphasia. Suravi is broadly interested in language performance across the lifespan, neuroimaging, and functional connectivity. Clinically, she is interested in administering neuropsychological assessments to medically complex individuals across the lifespan and working with internalizing disorders.  

Haley Zimmerman, M.S.

Haley is a second-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student on the child track. She earned her B.S. in Psychology, with a minor in Anthropology, from Texas A&M University – College Station in 2023. Following graduation, she began an M.S. program in Criminal Justice through Sam Houston State University while working full-time as a Project Analyst for the State of New Mexico. She completed her M.S. in Summer 2025. Her research interests include adverse childhood experiences, specialty courts, and the psychological factors that motivate individuals to engage in criminal behavior. Clinically, she is interested in working with justice-involved youth. 

Harris Drachman, M.S.

Harris Drachman is a first-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student on the Clinical Neuropsychology (CN) track. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers University – New Brunswick in 2021 and M.S. in Psychology from Villanova University in 2024. He has worked at the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation institute in Edison, NJ as a research assistant and the University of Pennsylvania as a clinical research coordinator. His research interests include the relationship between visual attention and working memory, as well as cognitive and language outcomes following brain injury and other neurological conditions.

Hechmi Kilani, M.A.

Hechmi Kilani received his B.A. and M.A. in Psychology from the University of Houston and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Developmental, Cognitive, and Behavioral Neuroscience program. His research interests focus on the effects of digital media and technology on child development, particularly during early childhood. He recently completed a research fellowship at Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, where he gained experience at the intersection of developmental science and policy.
Hechmi also enjoys mentoring and working with undergraduate students. His current projects include the Bilingual English Language Assessment (BELLA) study, a tablet-based assessment administered to preschool-aged children. He is particularly interested in how cultural and linguistic differences shape development and assessment. As part of the BELLA team, Hechmi is contributing to the Arabic adaptation of the assessment, with attention to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Middle East and North Africa.

Leandro Ledesma, M.A.

Leandro (Leo) Ledesma is a fifth-year student in the DCBN program. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Houston in 2021. Leo works on various projects within the lab and has interests in EEG related research and coding (specifically in R). He is currently the US project manager of the KBB study where he is investigating the prevalence and characteristics of developmental disabilities in rural Zambia.

Ksenia Kharitonova, M.A.

Ksenia joined the lab in 2023 as a graduate student in the Developmental, Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience program. She has a BA and MA in Linguistics from Chelyabinsk State University and an MA in Psychology from the University of Houston. She is interested in questions concerning individual differences in language acquisition, literacy development, and language adaptation and deficit. More broadly, she is fascinated by how language development varies across demographic, cultural, and linguistic contexts worldwide.

Allison Moore, B.S & B.A.

Allison Moore is a first-year Developmental student in the Genesis Lab. She received her first undergraduate degree (B.S.) in English Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. After teaching high school for three years in Colorado, she went back to school at the University of New Mexico, where she received a Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) in Psychology. Allison plans to research adolescents and their interactions with AI.

Brittany Miller, M.A.

Brittany Miller is a doctoral student in the Developmental, Cognitive, and Behavioral Neuroscience Ph.D. program. She graduated from Prairie View A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2023. Her interests include neuroimaging, sex/gender differences in cognitive performance, autism spectrum disorder, and inclusive environments that support children of all abilities. Brittany serves as the project manager for an R21-funded study examining multimodal approaches to ASD, leveraging biosensor-informed measurement to characterize and predict behavioral and physiological patterns. She also contributes to human genetics projects using candidate-gene and allele-frequency approaches to investigate neurobiological pathways relevant to behavior. In addition, she is conducting meta-analytic work on sex differences in cybersickness severity and how cybersickness relates to cognitive performance outcomes in immersive virtual reality. Brittany is the undergraduate recruiter and RA manager for the GENES: IS lab and serves as President of the Graduate Association for the Developmental, Cognitive, and Behavioral Neuroscience organization.