DR. ANDREA VIAL
Lab Director (PI)
PhD, Yale University
My primary goal is to shed light on the psychological factors that promote and maintain gender segregation in social roles, including why individuals pursue gender-stereotypic roles and occupations, the barriers they face when they don't, and how they maintain a sense of well-being and belonging when they occupy non-stereotypic roles.
DR. JULIA SPIELMANN
Postdoctoral Researcher
PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Julia’s research focuses on how psychological processes shape the way people engage in discrimination against members of marginalized groups (e.g., gender minorities), and how these evaluative judgments and perceptions in turn impact social outcomes of members of marginalized groups.
DR. MARTA BENEDA
Postdoctoral Researcher
PhD, University of Cambridge
In her research, Marta seeks to identify the factors that influence the development of gender-related beliefs and expectations that people hold about themselves and others. She is especially interested in the ways in which parents might encourage such beliefs and expectations in young children and the effects this might have on children’s future interests and life choices.
AMNA RAMADHAN
Kawader Research Assistant Fellow
BA, NYU Abu Dhabi
Amna is a full-time Kawader Research Assistant Fellow. Her research interests include gender representation in media as well as the role of gender in professional environments. Before graduating from NYU Abu Dhabi in 2024, she completed an undergraduate thesis (Capstone Project) at SRBL on the role of masculine workplace culture on prosocial work behaviors.
EMMA MIKLASOVA
Graduate Student
NYUAD Global PhD Fellowship
Emma is a first-year Global PhD student in Social Psychology. Her research interests include the intersection of gender and morality, as well as the role of gender stereotypes in the criminal justice system. During her undergraduate studies, she completed an undergraduate thesis (Capstone Project) at SRBL on the relationship between perpetrator gender and perceptions of morality.
SUHANA KASSAM
Undergraduate Capstone Student
NYU Abu Dhabi
Suhana is a senior at NYU Abu Dhabi majoring in Psychology with minors in Chinese and Child & Adolescent Mental Health Studies. She is interested in the intersection of masculinity contest culture and leadership, particularly how it may influence the type of leaders people choose. She is also curious about the role of culture in shaping masculinity contest workplace norms and its broader implications for leadership dynamics.
ANASTASIIA-LEI YANG
Undergraduate Capstone Student
NYU Abu Dhabi
Anastasiia is a senior at NYU Abu Dhabi, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. Her research interests focus on understanding how gender influences attitudes toward leadership, as well as examining gender differences in how men and women navigate various types of relationships.
Mariam Diab
Volunteer Research Assistant
MSc, UAE University
Mariam is a Clinical Psychology Masters student in UAE University and an NYUAD alumni. She previously worked on a research project examining digital media in film, with a focus on the difference of representation between men and women. She is interested in research related to psychological and family well-being, and understanding how gender shapes these processes.
Micah Hein
Volunteer Research Assistant
NYU Abu Dhabi
Micah is a junior at NYU Abu Dhabi majoring in Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing. They are interested in how people’s beliefs and perceptions about gender and gender role expectations both affect and are affected by broader society.
Lab Alumni
Jenny Veldman, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychology, Utrecht University)
Colleen Cowgill, PhD (Senior Consultant in Workforce Analytics at Guidehouse)
Morgane Motlik, BA (MSc student, University College London)
Acklinda Liu, BA (M.Ed. student, Harvard University)
Raye Zhu, BS (PhD student, Boston University)
Cece Kim, BA (PhD student, University of Kentucky)
Yves Teng, BA (MSc student, Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Ruoming Sun, BA (PhD student, Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Juan Soto, BA (MSc student, Maastricht University)
Shaikha Al Nasri, BA (MA student, Abu Dhabi University)
Vid Milakovic, BA (MA student, University of Ljubljana)
Morui Yu, BA (MA student, NYU Steinhardt)
Doris Zhang, BA (MA student, Erasmus Mundus)
Azka Noor, BA
Nejat Musa, BA
Mostafa Elsaid, BA
Zlata Hlukhouskaya, BA
Jasmine Arriaga, NYU student
Crystal Jemy, NYU Abu Dhabi student
Shaqib Alam, NYU student
Angelica Vazquez, NYU student
Sabrina Bustillo, NYU Abu Dhabi student
Sredha Nair, NYU Abu Dhabi student
Rose Shen, NYU Steinhardt student
Yurim Lee, NYU student
Amna Alawadhi, NYU Abu Dhabi student