Lab Director
Lori M. Hilt, Ph.D. is the Milwaukee-Downer College and College Endowment Association Professor of Liberal Studies and Chair of the Psychology Department at Lawrence University. She studies the development of emotion regulation and its role in psychopathology. Her current work involves the development of digital interventions and assessments to prevent the development of psychopathology. Much of her recent research has focused on rumination, which is the tendency to passively dwell on negative thoughts and get stuck in one’s head. She has found that this maladaptive emotion-regulation strategy puts children at risk for developing depression, anxiety, and self-injurious behavior. She and her students are now examining alternate strategies to rumination, such as mindfulness meditation, to see how they help might help youth get out of the ruminative process. She developed a brief mindfulness intervention delivered via mobile app and found that adolescents who use it report reduced rumination and negative affect in multiple clinical trials.
Research Assistants
Nabina Rimal is a senior at Lawrence University majoring in biology and minoring in psychology. She is passionate about mental health and enjoys learning about how emotions and well-being develop. Through her involvement in the CARE Lab, Nabina has gained valuable experience exploring emotional and mental health through research. She is particularly interested in understanding the complexities of mental health and the factors that shape emotional well-being across development. As she prepares for the next stage of her academic and professional journey, Nabina hopes to pursue a career that allows her to make a meaningful impact on individuals’ emotional and psychological well-being. Outside of her studies, she enjoys reading, watching psychological thrillers and horror movies, and listening to music.
Sadie Schuh is a junior at Lawrence University with a lot of interest in mindfulness and emotion. She is passionate about trying to find ways to help better the everyday lives of people by spreading positive messages about mindfulness and inclusivity. Sadie hopes to pursue a career that will allow her to both do research as well as participate in a therapy practice. She is especially excited to help out in the CARE lab in order to expand her horizons and learn more about the research process.
Caden Guy is a junior at Lawrence University Majoring in Psychology with minors
in Geo Sciences and Theatre Arts. Having grown up in a family full of social workers and psychologists, he has always been captivated by psychology and the various ways he could make a difference in people’s lives with it. He is especially interested in adolescent clinical psychology with a focus on trauma disorders but has yet to find an area of psychology he finds boring. He is thrilled to be working in the CARE lab and hopes to use the knowledge collected from the research to support mental health advocacy and awareness in the community. Outside of the lab, Caden works in the Lawrence Scenic shop as a set designer, painter and supervisor. He also works for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and loves tech theatre work both in and outside of the Lawrence Theatre. Nonprofessionally, he loves art, baking, cooking and music.
Lara Dodd is a junior double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology with a minor in Health and Society. She is on a pre-med track and is especially interested in mental health and psychopathology in youth. She is excited to explore how research can better understand and support children navigating mental health challenges. You can usually find Lara bouncing between SAASHA and NeuroLawrence, staying involved in campus conversations about health, neuroscience, and student well-being, or somewhere on campus catching up with friends between classes and commitments. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and taking breaks outdoors whenever the Wisconsin weather allows.
Care Lab 2025-2026
Back row: Milciades Gonzalez Medina, Caden Guy, Lara Dodd, Sadie Schuh Front row: Nabina Rimal, Professor Hilt, Zack Obeid, Brenna Sherman
Care Lab 2024-2025
Back row: Noah Parker, Sofie Fune, Charlotte Newville; Middle row: Madeline Markham, Professor Hilt; Front row: Daryian Matthews, Savannah Mujkanovic, Giang Pham
Care Lab 2023-2024
Back row: Charlotte Hall, Professor Hilt, Stella Lanz, Grace Fox, Sofie Fune, Savannah Mujkanovic; Front row: Daryian Matthews, Eliana Stern, Nell Rudoff, Giang Pham, Milci Gonzalez Medina
Lab Alumni
Giang Pham is a senior at Lawrence University majoring in Psychology with a focus on Cognitive Science and Data Science.
Milciades Gonzalez Medina recently graduated and will be earning a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University.
Charlotte O. Newville recently graduated with a B.A. in Psychology.
Daryian Matthews majored in Psychology and Philosophy. He has spent the last year working as a data management specialist for Samaritan Counseling. He plans to pursue his interests in forensic psychology.
Savannah Mujkanovic graduated with a major in psychology and a minor in data sciences and statistics. Savannah currently works in community mental health.
Noah Parker recently graduated with a degree in psychology from LU. He plans to pursue graduate work in neuropsychology.
Sofie Fune recently graduated with a degree in psychology from LU.
Grace Fox is a recent psychology grad from LU, currently earning her PsyD from Roosevelt University.
Nina Austria graduated with a Mathematics (statistics track) major.
Layne Eklund graduated with degrees in Psychology and Theater Arts.
Justus Wahl is earning his PsyD at Pacific University.
Elsa Hammerdahl graduated in 2023 with honors in course and honors in independent study for her project on rumination, mindfulness, and attention control.
Georgia Chau graduated with degrees in Neuroscience and Clarinet Performance.
Jo Berg studied Psychology and English. Jo plans to attend graduate school for clinical psychology in the future.
Elizabeth Hermann graduated with degrees in Neuroscience and Music Theory and minors in Biology and Psychology.
Caroline Swords graduated from Lawrence University in 2019 with majors in psychology and neuroscience. She was the study coordinator for the Adolescent Mobile App RCT and the PI for a Psi Chi grant on the effects of BTA on rumination. She is currently earning her PhD in Counseling Psychology at UW–Madison.
Laurel Soderquist graduated with majors in Psychology and Spanish at Lawrence.
Naomi Curran graduated with a Psychology major.
Moeka Kamiya is an international student from Japan who graduated with majors in Psychology and Neuroscience.
Courtney Wilmington studied Neuroscience and Music Education.
Andrea Lara graduated in 2021 with majors in Psychology and Theatre.
El Horner graduated in 2021 with majors in Psychology and German.
Eliana Whitehouse graduated in 2021 with majors in Art and Psychology. She attended the University of Michigan for a MSW.
Liesl Hostetter graduated from Lawrence in 2020 with majors in Psychology and Government.
Jialun Yang graduated with a Psychology major. She is an international student from China and is interested in cross-cultural psychology.
Sara Prostko graduated from Lawrence in 2020 with degrees in Flute Performance (BM) and Psychology (BA). She is earning a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Florida State University.
Kieran Laursen graduated from Lawrence in 2019 with a double major in Psychology and History.
Renae Tuschner graduated from Lawrence in 2018 with a major in Bassoon Performance (BM) and Psychology (BA) and a minor in neuroscience. She is a music therapist.
Trang Le graduated from Lawrence in 2018 with majors in Psychology and Math. She is now pursuing a PhD in Applied Developmental Psychology.
Cassidy Salentine graduated from Lawrence in 2018 with a major in Psychology and minors in English and Neuroscience. She is completing a PhD in clinical psychology.
Peter P. Ehlinger (LU ’14) is pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Oregon.
Kelsey Fischer
Stephanie Vahsling
Daniel Larson
Alison Kleppin
Elizabeth Bruun
Ruya Zhang
Vijayashree Krishnan
Kalle Nelson
Alana Myatt
Mary Curtin
Vivian Burnette
Lauren Gross
Krista Bohme
Sarah Liu
CARE Lab 2012-2013
Back row: Mary Schultz, Kalle Nelson, Andrew Jacobson, Peter Ehlinger, Vivian Burnette, Emily Hamm, Liz Tracey and Professor Hilt.
Front row: Mary Curtin, Stephanie Vahlsing, Elyse Daly, Gina Torcasso, and Daniel Larson.
