University of Minnesota
College of Education and Human Development
Department of Family Social Science
People
Principle Investigator
Dr. Sun is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, at the University of Minnesota. As a developmental and family psychologist, she conducts research on the interplay between family systems processes and well-being across adolescence and young adulthood, situated in the larger socio-ecological context--including the cultural context and digital context. With data science background, she is also interested in applying innovative methods and data to family and developmental research.
Current Lab Members
Research Coordinator, MA
Jillian Anderson
She/Her/Hers
Email: and05375@umn.edu
Jillian graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Spanish, and later earned her Master's degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She previously worked in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Minnesota in the Translational Neuroengineering Lab. Jillian has a wide variety of research interests, including developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and clinical psychology. Her overarching interest is mental health disorders across the lifespan; the causes, the treatments, social relationships, all of it! In her free time, she enjoys painting, watching sports, and cooking.
Graduate Research Assistant
Teagan Beckley
She/Her/Hers
Email: beckl118@umn.edu
Teagan graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include identifying and addressing mental health disparities as well as risk and protective factors across the lifespan. Outside of school,Teagan loves to spend time outside, take yoga classes, and crochet.
Graduate Student
Ting Xu
She/Her/Hers
Email: xu000940@umn.edu
Ting Xu is a third-year Ph.D. student in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her academic background includes a B.A. in Social Welfare with a minor in Psychology from Wuhan University and an M.S. in Social Science from UCLA. Before starting her doctoral studies, she worked as a data manager at Missouri Prevention Science Institute. Ting's research interests lie at the intersection of technology and family, with a particular focus on how family dynamics influence adolescents’ smartphone use and exploring ways to reduce tech addiction through family interventions. Outside of academia, she enjoys traveling, rock climbing, and discovering good food!
Graduate Student
Eunyoung Park
She/Her/Hers
Email: park2784@umn.edu
Eunyoung Park is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the role of communication technology use in a parent-adolescent context. She also conducts research on the prevention of digital behaviors in a family context, which enhances personal and family well-being. She enjoys pilates and watching movies in her free time.
Graduate Student
Celia Tseyen Lee
She/Her/Hers
Email: lee04708@umn.edu
Celia Tseyen Lee is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. Before becoming a Gopher, she earned her M.S. in Human Development and Family Science from Florida State University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on how technology shapes adolescent and emerging adult well-being and development. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, taking nature walks, reading, jamming to her favorite songs, and traveling all over the world.
Graduate Student
Sijin Chen
She/Her/Hers
Email: chen8946@umn.edu
Sijin Chen is a first-year PhD student in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Before this, she earned her Master of Public Policy from the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests include the impact of family engagement on children's development and the effects of technology use in parental practices. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, skiing, watching soccer, and movies.
Graduate Student
Yike Tang
She/Her/Hers
Email: tang0894@umn.edu
Yike Tang is a first-year PhD student in the Family Social Science Department at the University of Minnesota, specializing in Couple and Family Therapy. She is passionate about researching couple relationship quality, stability, and the well-being of children in divorced and blended families. In her free time, she enjoys drawing—feel free to reach out if you'd like a portrait!
Undergraduate Student
Yiwen Chen
She/Her/Hers
Email: chen8691@umn.edu
Yiwen Chen is an undergrad majoring in Statistics. In addition to stats, she is also interested in sociology, psychology, and physics—especially when they intersect in fun, unexpected ways! She loves spending sunny days walking or biking along the Mississippi River. She also dances ballet and is always excited to explore new hiking trails whenever she gets the chance.
Former Lab Members
Graduate Student
Alex Hanson
She/Her/Hers
Alex Hanson is a MA/PhD student in the Family Social Science Department at the University of Minnesota. She has a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice from Hamline University. Her research interests involve the impact of family on the development of antisocial behavior. In her free time, She loves to watch horror movies (especially cosmic horror) and hang out with her husband, their two dogs, and their cat.
Lab Manager
Jiayi Long
She/Her/Hers
Jiayi Long is the lab manager for the technology, teens, and families lab at UMN. She received her undergraduate degree in Developmental Psychology from the U, and her research interests include parenting, parent-child relationships, and technology’s effect on adolescent development.
Graduate Student
Basel Hussein
He/Him/His
Basel Hussein is a Ph.D. student at University of Minnesota. He is interested in modeling complex human behavior, especially how individuals pursue goals and seek information. He enjoys biking, cooking, and listening to music.
Graduate Student
Kimberly Nielsen
She/Her/Hers
Kimberly Nielsen started her PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Washington in Fall 2023. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley 2019 with a B.A. in Integrative Biology. After graduation, she worked with Dr. Sun at Stanford University to coordinate a longitudinal study on adolescent smartphone use and wellbeing. Kimberly is broadly interested in the influences of digital technology on adolescent development, including attention and social interaction, as well as the use of digital technology for detecting emerging mental health symptoms. In her free time, Kimberly enjoys hiking, reading, watching movies, and spending time with her loved ones.
Undergraduate Student
Maezie Flynn
She/Her/Hers
Maezie Flynn is a family social science major originally from Plymouth, Wisconsin. Her research interests include working on the Machine Learning project and seeing the effects of educational attainment and how it contributes to overall health and wellbeing! When she is not working on school or lab work, She likes to read, go on walks with her dog, and hangout with friends!
Undergraduate Student
Kaylin Williams
She/Her/Hers
This is Kaylin's first research project and she is excited to be a part of it! She hopes to participate in more research like this in the future. In her free time, she likes to crochet and play video games.
Licensed social worker
William Hanson
He/Him/His
William Hanson is Integrated Behavioral Health Program Manager and LICSW at Community University Health Care Center. He has experience working with families at emergency shelter and as a student social worker at Edison high school in Minneapolis. In his spare time, he enjoys video games, gardening, biking, reading, and electronic music.
Graduate Student
Pengxiang Xia
Pronouns
Self Introduction
Current Collaborators
Dr. Dworkin is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, at the University of Minnesota. To learn more, visit the Dworkin TECH Lab.
Dr. Piehler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, at the University of Minnesota. For more information, visit the Piehler Lab website.
Dr. Gunlicks-Stoessel is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences , Medical School, at the University of Minnesota. She also provides psychotherapy in the Department’s Early Stage Mood Disorders Clinic.
Dr. Sun joined the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, at the University of Minnesota, as an Assistant Professor in 2019. He also serves as the director of the Group of Learning, Optimization, Vision, healthcarE, and X and of the Healthcare Computer Vision Program at the University.
Dr. Nickodem is the Director of Research Methodology Consulting Center at the University of Minnesota. He is also an investigator with the Minnesota Youth Development Research Group.
Dr. Robinson is the Irving Schulman, M.D. Professor of Child Health, Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center) and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford.
Dr. Ram is a Professor of Communication and of Psychology at Stanford.
Dr. Reeves is the Paul C. Edwards Professor of Communication at Stanford , Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor (by courtesy) in the Stanford School of Education.