TEAM

LAB RESEARCHERS

Man-pui Sally Chan, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor
sallycmp@upenn.edu

Sally Chan has a background in information systems and received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Hong Kong in 2014. She was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship in the Cambridge Prosociality and Well-Being Lab in the UK. Sally has joined the Social Action Lab in the Psychology Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since late 2015. Her research seeks to enhance both mental and physical well-being for a better quality of life. She was involved in projects examining the self-regulatory processes on well-being in the online (computer-mediated) and offline (face-to-face) social milieu. Sally’s current projects focus on incorporating the data science approach and machine learning algorithms to examine the influences of the person-in-context on well-being.

Bita Fayaz Farkhad, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor
bitaf@upenn.edu

Bita Farkhad completed her Ph.D. in Economics from Lehigh University in 2019. She is an applied microeconomist with interests in health and public policy. Her research studies how public programs and policies affect individuals’ health and behavior. At present, her research primarily focuses on examining the impact of the Affordable Care Act on early-stage HIV diagnosis and access to HIV preventive care and the role of harm reduction policies such as syringe exchange programs on substance use.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

Minjae Seo, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
minjae.seo@asc.upenn.edu

Minjae Seo received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2024. Her research centers on understanding the effects of diverse socio-cultural factors in interpersonal and intergroup contexts. Specifically, her work encompasses (1) exploring intercultural communication and interactions within close relationships, (2) examining intergroup relations and the catalysts behind conflict or cooperation, and (3) investigating cultural differences in prosocial judgments and cooperative behaviors. By delving into both cross-cultural distinctions and intercultural relationships, she seeks to contribute to knowledge that facilitates intergroup and interpersonal communication and cooperation across cultures.

Maya Enisman, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
maya.enisman@asc.upenn.edu

Maya Enisman is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Social Action Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, with joint appointments in the Annenberg School for Communication and the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences. Her research explores the intersection of motivation, social cognition, and decision-making, currently focusing on beliefs surrounding behavioral change. She completed her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2024, where she investigated the differences between conflicts involving desirable alternatives (Approach-Approach conflicts) and those involving undesirable alternatives (Avoidance-Avoidance conflicts).

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Janet Lopez

Graduate Student
janetlo@sas.upenn.edu

Janet graduated in 2021 with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in English from Nova Southeastern University. After graduating, she became a research coordinator with Dr. Angela Duckworth at the University of Pennsylvania. In this role, she led the development and piloting of a course designed to equip high school students with metacognitive knowledge and structured experiences to apply psychological science to their lives. In 2022, Janet joined the Social Action Lab and began her doctoral studies in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania under the supervision of Dr. Dolores Albarracín. She is interested in researching motivation, goal-setting, and how social and relational factors impact behavior change.

Yubo Zhou

Graduate Student
yubozhou@sas.upenn.edu

Yubo received his B.S. in Psychological & Brain Sciences and B.A. in Philosophy with minors in Applied Psychology, Educational Studies, and History at UC Santa Barbara. After graduation, he joined Dr. Hongbo Yu’s Emotion Science Lab as a lab coordinator. His previous research mainly focused on biculturals’ ingroup identification and cultural differences in risk perception and subsequent decision-making with Drs. Brenda Major and Heejung Kim. Yubo has joined the Social Action Lab and started his Ph.D. studies in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2021 under the supervision of Dr. Dolores Albarracín. He is primarily interested in investigating the cognitive, motivational, and behavioral underpinnings of action and inaction.

Feng Yi Chew

Graduate Student
fengyi.chew@asc.upenn.edu

Feng Yi Chew is a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication. She received her B.A. and M.A. in Political Science at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. She also served as a commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces before obtaining a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. While working at the Ministry of Health in Singapore, Feng led a team in developing policies focused on infectious disease prevention and response plans, particularly related to vaccination strategies. Her interests revolve around translational research, specifically in formulating evidence-based recommendations that can shape policy and communication initiatives to improve public health outcomes. Her research focuses on how values, attitudes, and preferences are developed and changed over time and how these factors interact with public health messaging.

Hogeun Lee

Graduate student
hogeun.lee@asc.upenn.edu

Hogeun is a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication. He earned his Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Seoul National University, South Korea. Hogeun has published journal articles and conference papers on strategies to enhance the persuasiveness of fact-checking messages and promote positive journalistic practices. His research focuses on the impact of messaging strategies on beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, with a particular emphasis on public health campaigns and pro-social interventions. Hogeun is committed to combating health-related misinformation and developing effective fact-checking strategies.

Wynne Linnea Williams-Ceci

Graduate student
wceci@sas.upenn.edu

Wynne graduated from Cornell University in May 2024. She was a College Scholar who designed her own major in interdisciplinary social science and completed an additional major in Psychology, with a minor in Communication. In her past research, Wynne empirically tested how identity (gender, ethnicity, and political affiliation) influence support of health policies regarding Covid-19 vaccines. After graduating, she became a Postgraduate Research Associate in the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, working for Dr. Nicholas Christakis on exploring how social networks impact health. Wynne is now starting her doctoral studies in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, as a member of the Social Action Lab led by Dr. Dolores Albarracín. Wynne’s interests include enhancing health and well-being by improving access to accurate information, investigating the importance of demographics and source identity in behavior change, and understanding threats to health-policy uptake represented by misinformation.

Eury Hong

Graduate Student
eury.hong@asc.upenn.edu

Eury Hong is a PhD student at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She leverages AI and multimodal data to design, implement, and analyze communication interventions that drive social change and advance well-being. Previously, Eury worked at the Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, where she developed a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)-based AI chatbot, vetted with SME-approved resources. During her M.A. in Instructional Technology at Columbia University, she implemented AI-powered platforms to combat disinformation through inoculation theory and analyzed outcomes using multimodal learning analytics and K-means clustering. At MIT and Wellesley College, where she earned her B.A. in Media Arts and Sciences, she researched on community-focused learning and storytelling AI.

LAB STAFF

Angela Zhang

Research Project Manager/Data Analyst
angela.zhang@asc.upenn.edu

Angela received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018 and her M.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024. She joined the Social Action Lab in the summer of 2024 and led the analyses of a virtual social-behavioral intervention in rural Appalachia and the Midwest. Prior to joining the SAL, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests lie in designing and implementing effective health-promotion interventions.

Wenlu Du

Research Coordinator
wenlu.du@asc.upenn.edu

Wenlu is a research coordinator at the Social Action Lab. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master’s degree in 2025, and she holds a B.S. in psychology from Beijing Normal University. Wenlu is interested in how collective beliefs and social norms develop and evolve, as well as how socio-ecological environments (such as inequality, culture, and diversity within social environments) shape people’s social cognition, decision-making, and behaviors across different levels of social context, including nationwide culture and organizational settings. Building on these themes, Wenlu is also interested in the general principles of social influence and persuasion, particularly how people attribute and infer from perceived collective attitudes and behaviors, and how and why we adjust our own in response.

Lena Graziani

Research Coordinator
lena.graziani@asc.upenn.edu

Lena graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2024 with a Bachelors in Behavioral Biology, along with minors in Psychology and Environmental Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted independent research on neotropical bats while studying abroad in the Amazon Rainforest. In the summers, Lena gained hands-on experience working in community and therapeutic settings, supporting children with developmental delays. Her research interests focus on creating and refining ethical interventions for neurodivergent youth.

LAB ALUMNI

PhD/MS students and Postdocs

Aashna Sunderrajan (University of Chicago)

AB Warriner (Learning Experience Designer)

Alex Karan (Chabot College)

Allison Earl (University of Michigan)

Alon Kraitzman (Australia)

Angela Zhang (University of Pennsylvania)

Annie Jung (Texas Tech University)

Benjamin White (Alter Agents)

Bita Fayaz Farkhad (University of Pennsylvania)

Brooke Chen (University of Pennsylvania)

Casey McCulloch (Oregon State University)

Christopher Jones (University of Colorado)

CJ Calabrese (Clemson University)

Colleen Hughes (Indiana University Bloomington)

Dana Roll (University of Pennsylvania)

Dominik Stecula (First Colorado State University, now SUNY Buffalo)

Duo Jiang (Analysis Group)

Edgardo Ortiz Sanchez (Florida International University; Deceased)

Elizabeth Harris (Hacks/ Hackers)

Emily Sanders (Data Scientist)

Ethan Zell (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)

Evan Weingarten (First University of California San Diego, now University of Southern California)

Gilad Feldman (First Mastricht University, now The University of Hong Kong)

Hang Lu (University of Michigan)

Harry Wallace (Trinity College)

Hong Li (Azuza Pacific University)

Ian Handley (Montana State University)

Ibrahim Senay (Uskudar University, Turkey)

Inge Brechan (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway)

Jacinth Tan (Singapore Management University, Singapore)

Javier Granados Samayoa (Texas Christian University)

Jiaying Liu (First University of Georgia, now University of California at Santa Barbara)

Justin Hepler (first University of Nevada, now Facebook)

Kathleen C. McCulloch (University of Central Lancashire)

Kenji Noguchi (University of Southern Mississippi)

Kristina Wilson (Duval County Health Department, Florida)

Laura Glasman (Medical College of Wisconsin)

Mehrnoosh Hasanzade (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

Melanie Tannenbaum (Freelance Science Writer)

Mina Kwon (University of Louisville)

Mohsen Farhadloo (Concordia University)

Molly Ireland (First Texas Tech University, Now Receptivity)

Ozan Kuru (National University of Singapore, Singapore)

Penny McNatt (Florida State College)

Riana Brown (Ohio State University)

Rick Brown (Circana)

Ryan Palmer (Riot Games)

Sally Chan (University of Pennsylvania)

Sanda Dolcos (University of Illinois)

Sicong Liu (South China Normal University)

Sophie Lohmann (First Max Planck Institute, now Institute for Resource Efficiency and Energy Strategies)

Stephanie DeMora (Stony Brook University)

Wen (Summer) Song (University of Pennsylvania, now Microsoft)

Tarcan Kumkale (First Koc University, Now Ozyegin University, Turkey)

Thomas O’Brien (US Department of Homeland Security)

Timothy Hyde (Oberlin College)

Wei Wang (CUNY)

Wenhao Dai (Lawrence University)

William Hart (University of Alabama)

Xi (Cici) Liu (Consulting)

Xi Shen (Texas Tech University)

Yafei Guo (University of North Texas)

Staff

Christopher Quasti (University of Pennsylvania)

Colleen Hughes (Indiana University Bloomington)

Devlin O’Keefe (University of California at Santa Barbara)

Ece Kumkale (Author and Influencer, Turkey)

Elana Forman (Drexel University)

Jack McDonald (University of Illinois)

Jeff Gillette (Madwell and University of Colorado)

Lidia Palmese (University of Colorado)

Linda Vu (Centers for Disease Control)

Matthew Lindberg (First Miami University, Now Youngstown State University)

Melody Leung (University of Chicago)

Mia Eccher (Washington University)

Mihn Pham Quang (Vietnam)

Nevaan Bawa (Mazzoni Center)

Patrick Del Vento (Clinical Psychologist in Private Practice, Vancouver)

Patrick McDonald (SUNY Buffalo)

Rima Thakkar (Medical College of Wisconsin)

Sehr Amer (NORC University of Chicago)