Graduate Students
Carlos Jesus Desme, Doctoral Student
Carlos Jesus Desme is a doctoral student in the Developmental Science program. Carlos obtained his bachelors degree in Psychology and was a post-baccalaureate research assistant in the PLSD lab until Fall 2020 when he started the graduate program at FIU. As a post-bac research assistant, Carlos carried out an independent research study examining the direct and indirect effects of prior engagement in spatial activities, spatial anxiety and participant confidence on sex differences in adult mental rotation ability. For his master's thesis, Carlos is now exploring how these various factors explain individual and sex differences in both mental rotation and perspective taking as well as how variability in these spatial abilities relates to performance in STEM courses such as Calculus, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
Karinna Rodriguez, Doctoral Student
Karinna Rodriguez is a doctoral candidate in the PLSD lab. Karinna’s research centers on exploring how young children perceive and understand the spatial world around them, with the goal of fostering both academic achievement and long-term success in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Her work emphasizes the critical role of spatial cognition in early development and learning, particularly in areas such as mathematics, problem-solving, and scientific reasoning. To investigate these cognitive processes, Karinna employs advanced technological tools, such as eye-tracking systems, to measure and analyze how children visually engage with spatial tasks. By adopting a data-driven, she aims to uncover patterns in processing, perception, and reasoning that can inform the design of more effective educational strategies and interventions.
Nicholas Mattox, Doctoral Student
Nick is a doctoral student in the Developmental Science Program. Nick earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas Christian University and a master’s degree in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience from The University of Texas at Dallas. Nick is interested in how improvements in spatial language and changes in the hippocampus contribute to the development of spatial navigation.
Abenaa Yamoah, Doctoral Student
Abenaa is a doctoral student in the Developmental Science program at FIU within the PLSD lab. Abenaa earned a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience and a B.A in Psychology from FIU in Fall 2024. Abenaa is interested in spatial language acquisition in young children, and how the environment and gesture affect spatial language and cognition.
Bridgette Avila, Doctoral Student
Bridgette Avila is a first-year doctoral student in the Developmental Science Program at the PLSD Lab. Bridgette earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from FIU in the Fall of 2025. As an undergraduate student, she worked in the PLSD Lab alongside a postdoctoral researcher on a project examining parent–child interactions during play and their relation to children’s spatial language development. As a doctoral student, Bridgette is interested in spatial anxiety in adults and how eye-tracking can be used to examine the strategies individuals use to solve mental rotation tasks under time constraints.
