People
Michael J. Poulin, Ph.D.
mjpoulin@buffalo.edu
Dr. Poulin (right) is the director of the SCoPE Lab. His research interests focus on understanding the resources that people use to adjust to adversity, as well as what motivates people to respond to the adversity of others. Both sets of phenomena have implications both for social processes in general as well as people’s mental and physical health. Outside of the lab, Dr. Poulin loves hiking, eating (both cooking at home and exploring Buffalo’s burgeoning restaurant scene), and spending time with his two sons and wife, Jessica, an evolutionary biologist.
Graduate Students
Leslie Mei
Leslie is a fourth year PhD student interested in narrative, empathy, and identity. They earned their B.A. in Psychology and English from Carleton College and their MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. Their research interests primarily include how people engage with displays of suffering, both in relation to fictional characters and to real life cross-cultural interactions. In their free time, they play DnD, study Victorian fashion, and try to craft the perfect latte..
Katie Finnerty
Katie is a first year PhD student whose current research interests include empathy, compassion, awe, and the link between experiences of awe and prosocial motivation. Outside of her academic life, Katie enjoys being outdoors, painting, and spending time with her friends, family, and husband.
Nathaniel Zedomi
Nathaniel is in his second year of the doctoral program in Social-Personality Psychology at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. He received his B.A. in 2021 from Houghton University, with majors in Psychology and Physics and minors in Mathematics and Diversity Studies. Nathaniel is interested in understanding the complex dynamics between prosociality, stress, and various influencing factors such as adversity and intergroup interactions. Outside of academia, Nathaniel enjoys participating in recreational sports and cherishes spending quality time with his family and friends.
Corey Allred
Corey Allred is a second year M.A. student in General Psychology at the University at Buffalo. He received his B.A. at Carleton College in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. Corey’s research interests vary from the boundary conditions of empathy and compassion, the impact that different social media have on interpersonal processes, and the circumstances where anger expression elicits empathic concern in others. Additionally, he is interested in how these and other psychological phenomena can be studied by not only behavioral but careful interpretation of physiological measurements, such as cardiovascular and neuroimaging procedures. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games and DnD with friends, looking after his cat and plants, and getting overly invested in the workings of fictional worlds.
Alumni
C. Dale Morrison, Ph.D.
dale.shaffer-morrison@essex.ac.uk
Dr. Morrison is currently a lecturer at the University of Essex whose research focuses on investigating social, personality, and environmental influences on prosocial behavior and well-being, including: nature, places, awe, social activities, and the trust we place in others. Recent projects have investigated the mechanisms by which helping can impact well-being. The goal of this research is to shed light on factors that maximize the welfare of humans and the environment. In their spare time, Dale enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and design.
Katherine Ison, MA
kyison@buffalo.edu
Kathy is a recent MA graduate of the SCoPE Lab. She received a BA in neuroscience with a psychology emphasis from Transylvania University, where she also minored in philosophy. Her research interests include empathy, perspective-taking, morality, and prosocial behavior. In her free time, she likes to compose music and watch/read sci-fi, fantasy, and comedy TV shows, movies, and books.
Anneke Buffone, Ph.D.
buffone.anneke@gmail.com
Anneke is a Ph.D. graduate of the SCoPE Lab, and currently a Quantitative Researcher at Facebook.
Eun-Ji Esther Song
Esther is a recent UB graduate and was formerly the lab manager of the SCoPE Lab. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Social Psychology at the University of Houston. She joined SCoPE in September 2019 as an undergraduate research assistant. Her research interests include decision-making, social cognition, social well-being, emotion, and psychophysiology. Outside of the lab, she enjoys photography, videography, and watching films.
Mark Cooley, MA
markcool@buffalo.edu
Mark is a recent MA graduate from the SCoPE Lab. Mark received his BA in Sociology and Psychology at SUNY Potsdam.
Lauren Ministero, Ph.D.
lmm55@buffalo.edu
Dr. Ministero Lauren is a recent Ph.D. graduate of the SCoPE Lab. Lauren received her BA in psychology and journalism at The University at Buffalo before joining the social/personality psychology Ph.D. program. She is currently a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the MITRE Corporation.