Anna Grace is currently a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology at Samford University. She is involved in several organizations at Samford University. She is the Vice President of Campus Initiatives for Restoring Eden, which is Samford’s environmental stewardship organization. Anna Grace is also a member of the Social Justice committee, a Howard College Ambassador, and a University Fellow, which is Samford’s honors program. In the summer, Anna Grace conducted an independent research project with Dr. Chew at Samford University, in which she learned about moral psychology and decision-making. She aspires to conduct research and teach psychology—she is interested in exploring research questions related to social cognition and morality.

"I have had a great experience working in the TRIP Lab. Overall, I have gained a better understanding of the research process and I have learned about the work that goes on in a psychology laboratory."

Tanya Sharma

Tanya is currently majoring in Psychology (with honors) and minoring in Medical Sociology. She is a member of Psi Chi and National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She is also volunteers with Campfire USA. She is interested in going to graduate school and obtaining a Psy. D in Clinical Psychologist by starting her own practice. Although she would prefer to primarily be involved in clinical work, she would still like to collaborate on research with other scientists working in the area of mental disorders. She believes that would allow her to focus on patient care as a whole and still have a smaller but important role in research. Tanya has lived in many different countries and she can speak English, Hindi and French.

Katie Valin

Katie is currently majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology at Birmingham-Southern College. In addition to being a research assistant at the TRIP Lab, she also serves as a research assistant in the Social-Cognition Lab at BSC. Katie volunteers at the Crisis Center as a Kid& Teen Link and a Crisis/Suicide Line volunteer. She is also resident assistant at Birmingham Southern College, a Youth Advocate for Planned Parenthood, a Teaching Assistant for a Cognitive Psychology course, and a member of Executive Board of College Democrats at BSC. Katie also has been working as a swim instructor and a lifeguard for over five years. She hopes to be accepted into the Psychology Honor Society and gain more research opportunities, especially in Cognition and Neuroscience related labs in her remaining years as an undergraduate. Her career goal is to one day obtain her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience and conduct drug research at a university. She is fascinated by neuroscience research because it is not only an area of research where much is still uncovered, but it is an area that would lead to potential medical advancements.

"Learning valuable research skills in addition to observing how a research lab functions and organizes itself will undoubtedly be important for me for not only going on to gain more research experience, but for applying to credible Ph.D programs involved in research in the future. In addition, gaining knowledge regarding applying to graduate school in Psychology through individualized meetings from someone significant in the field was extremely worthwhile to me as it not only assisted me during my time in the lab, but will aid me in reaching my goals for years to come."