We are excited to tell you about one of our newest faculty members, Dr. Jasmine DeJesus, who joined the department in 2018.
Dr. DeJesus is an Assistant Professor in the Developmental Psychology Program and the director of the Development, Culture, and Health Lab. She earned her BA in psychology from Harvard University and her PhD in psychology from the University of Chicago, where she was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Before joining the department, Jasmine completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan in the Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics, where she was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the American Heart Association.
Jasmine’s research examines the development of children’s social attitudes, their reasoning about social and cultural groups, the development of food preferences and eating behavior, and children’s early health concepts. The domain of food provides particularly interesting opportunities to examine questions about social learning and cultural group membership through the lens of children’s everyday experiences and to consider the implications of basic research for pressing public health issues.
Her research includes multiple methods, including experimental laboratory studies and observational studies of parent/child interactions, and draws from multiple disciplines, including cognitive science, pediatrics, and public health. Recent research has been published in Child Development, Developmental Science, the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, and Appetite.
In her downtime, Jasmine enjoys cooking and eating delicious foods, hiking, sewing, and catching up on her favorite TV shows.
Students who are interested in pursuing undergraduate or graduate research opportunities are encouraged to check out the Development, Culture, and Health Lab website (devculturehealth.com) and contact Dr. DeJesus directly for additional information.
