Phase 1 Psychology Early-Career Fellows

Phase 1: Patience in Adversity Psychology Early-Career Fellows Virtual Inquiry Group

Participants of the Phase 1 Psychology Early-Career Fellows Virtual Inquiry Group are psychology graduate students and early postdocs interested in research on state, trait, and/or virtue conceptualizations of patience. This program will help early-career fellows build supportive and collaborative interpersonal relationships with colleagues and mentors, in hopes of spurring productive collaborations. 

Virtual Inquiry Group Details

• Duration: 10 months
• Award amount: $1,000
• Participation consists of monthly virtual meetings and attendance to Patience in Adversity Launch Conference.
• Fellows will be eligible to apply for $30-35k Pilot and subsequent $120-240k Full Study Awards.

Phase 1 Recipients

Allison Alford, Baylor University

Allison Alford is a psychology doctoral student in Dr. Sarah Schnitker’s Science of Virtues Lab at Baylor University. Her current research interests revolve around the psychology of religion and spirituality. Specifically, she is interested in investigating the characteristics of one’s relationship with God, faith’s impact on experiences with chronic illness, and virtue development in adversity. 

Dr. Elizabeth Bounds, Baylor University

Dr. Elizabeth Bounds is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in psychology from Baylor University, an M.Div. with a focus in sport theology/ministry from George W. Truett Theological Seminary, and a B.A. in psychology and Spanish from Hope College. Trained in personality and social psychology, her research explores virtue development, religious/spiritual formation, goal pursuit, and self-esteem. Elizabeth also has an applied background in developmental athletics and ministry contexts, such as coaching and camps/retreats.

Ben Hardin, Washington University in St. Louis

Ben Hardin is a PhD student in the Well-Being and Morality Lab at WashU. Broadly, he is interested in moral character and moral improvement. His specific research interests include investigating the psychological mechanisms that influence different moral character traits (e.g., honesty, compassion, patience), the relevance of morality to everyday life, and the factors that inspire people to become more moral. Prior to joining the WAM Lab, Ben received his BA from the University of Mississippi and his MA from Wake Forest University. 

Natasha Keces, Tufts University

Natasha Keces is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Human Development at Tufts University, specializing in developmental research methodology, advanced quantitative methods, and the developmental science of character strengths. Her work focuses on understanding how youth flourish in the face of adversity using approaches such as intensive longitudinal data (ILD) and dynamic modeling. As a research assistant at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, she has extensive experience in data management, analysis, and cross-functional collaboration, supporting projects investigating character strengths and socioemotional outcomes for students in majority-world countries. Her doctoral research explores within-person processes, examining how self-regulation and stress interact with other character strengths, over time and across cultural contexts. She has coauthored research on youth development in Uganda and South Africa related to understanding how purpose, other character strengths (e.g., empathy), and related constructs (e.g., agency, intentional self-regulation) support positive outcomes among youth changed by adversities associated with poverty and few educational, employment, and health resources. Natasha is passionate about using rigorous methods and theory to support an individualized understanding of human development and to enhance educational and programmatic equity.

Jason Kwan, University of Connecticut

Jason is a current first-year doctoral student in the University of Connecticut clinical psychology program. His research interest rests within the psychology of religion and spirituality field, specifically how religion/spirituality can be leveraged as an emotion regulation strategy for mental health. Jason is currently working on numerous projects such as a study on divine forgiveness, a study examining resilience factors in cancer survivors, and a study focusing on yoga and emotional well-being. Prior to joining the lab, Jason was a statistician at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, helping to maintain and publish the nation’s largest annual state health survey: the California Health Interview Survey. He holds a B.S. in Statistics and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Bao Han Tran, University of Houston

Bao Han L. Tran earned her Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Houston in 2022 and is currently working on her PhD in the Experimental Psychology program at Texas Christian University. Her work draws from existential psychology to explore how time perception (i.e., sensory experience) and perspective (i.e., attitude) affect psychological well-being. Focusing on the intersections of these dimensions with close relationships, self-identity, group processes, and
language, her work seeks to understand how our subjective experience of time shapes not only individual mental health, but also interpersonal and societal dynamics. Her current projects investigate how time perception affects the rate of social healing, the role of time perspective on authenticity in older adults, themes of temporal rootedness, and time perspective in those with a history of substance abuse. Outside of the lab, Bao Han enjoys exploring coffee shops and a good book

Valeriia Vlasenko, University of Denver

Valeriia V. Vlasenko is a current Ph.D. student in Experimental Psychology at the University of Denver. She earned her MA in Psychology at Wake Forest University. Her research on emotion regulation contributes to the science of well-being. She is particularly interested in understanding the role of mental time travel in emotion regulation processes. The aim of her work is to provide new insights into the application of reappraisal (i.e., changing the way we think about a stressor in order to change how we feel) in a variety of stressful situations. She hopes that her work will help mental health professionals to better meet the needs of their clients.

Qilin Zhang, Washington University in St. Louis

Qilin Zhang received his B.A. in philosophy and B.S. in psychology from the University of Minnesota and his M.A. in psychology from Wake Forest working with William Fleeson. He is currently a first-year doctoral student working with Jessie Sun in the psychology department of Washington University in St Louis. His research integrates perspectives from social, personality, and quantitative psychology to explore ways to encourage prosociality and promote moral progress in society. His current research focuses on answering three general questions, 1) how does morality contribute to personal and communal well-being; 2) How to accurately measure moral (e.g. compassion, fairness, and respect) and intellectual traits (e.g. open-mindedness and intellectual charity); 3) When do people decide to change their moral traits and how to promote them through interventions?

The Patience in Adversity Psychology Early-Career Fellows Virtual Inquiry Group is part of the Patience in Adversity Grant and is generously supported by Templeton Religion Trust.