Lab members
Lab Director
Sabine Doebel
Sabine leads the Developing Minds Lab in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University. Much of the research in the lab focuses on questions related to the development of ‘executive function’—the capacity and skills involved in exercising control over thoughts and actions in the service of goals. Executive function is essential to adaptive human functioning, and predicts success in a variety of domains in life, including academic, social and behavioral outcomes; however, much remains unknown about how specific experiences shape executive function skills. While there is no question that executive function is important—we use it every day in many ways—there are many questions about how best to measure it, how it is related to skills in specific domains, and whether and how to target it in interventions to improve other aspects of development. The lab aims to address many of these questions and more.
Sabine completed her Ph.D. at the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado Boulder. She was born in Ohio and grew up in Ontario, Canada. (You will rarely hear her saying “eh?” these days but she is known to say “sorry” frequently!) In addition to conducting research on executive function and related topics, she also enjoys considering how we can teach developmental science more inclusively (for example, better showcasing development in diverse cultures) and how this can lead to more accurate conclusions about development. She teaches courses in child development, executive function, culture and development, and parenting. Sabine engages and trains her students in open science practices.
When not teaching or conducting research, Sabine is learning to play tennis and losing chess games to her 8-year-old son, Vincent, who is growing up much too fast.
View her CV here.
Current Graduate Students
Lütfiye Ulusahin
Lütfiye is a first-year PhD student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at George Mason University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Ibn Haldun University in Türkiye and is also looking forward to completing her second major in Sociology at the same university soon. She also worked at the Culture, Society, and Behavior Lab at the University of Oslo, which broadened her perspective on cultural and sociological aspects of child development and well-being. Building on these experiences, her research interests focus on how childhood play and early life experiences are associated with later psychosocial development, executive function, and academic success. She is particularly curious about how such fundamental activities contribute to children’s cognitive functions and overall psychosocial growth. Also, born in Istanbul, she enjoys spending time in the city and loves having conversations about it.
Jennifer Bivin
Jennifer is a first-year MA student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program. She graduated from George Mason in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology, and continued building her experience in the field as a research assistant at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) in Bethesda, Maryland. At CSTS, Jennifer supported various projects by contributing to data collection and analysis, grant submissions, and manuscript writing.
Her research interests include environmental influences on children’s executive function and theory of mind, and how they, in turn, pose protective and/or risk factors for childhood-onset psychiatric disorders. In her free time, Jennifer loves baking, visiting new coffee shops, and going to farmers markets.
Victoria (Vicki) Rabii
Vicki is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Applied Developmental Psychology program. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2020 with a B.S. in Psychology and earned her Master’s degree from George Mason University in 2025. Prior to joining George Mason, she completed a Postbac IRTA Fellowship in a clinical neuroimaging lab at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and subsequently spent a year working as a research assistant under Dr. Brenda Jones Harden at the University of Maryland collecting and disseminating child assessment data for Educare DC's longitudinal program evaluation.
Vicki is dedicated to bridging the gap between research and practice in early childhood care and education contexts. Broadly, her research interests center on the interrelations between early adversity (e.g., poverty), environmental factors (e.g., familial and neighborhood dynamics), and academic development in preschoolers and Head Start/Early Head Start attendees.
Maggie Sutphin
Maggie is a first-year master’s student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program. She completed her undergraduate studies at George Mason University, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Psychology with a clinical concentration in 2025. Prior to starting her graduate studies, Maggie spent four years as a childcare provider, working with children between the ages of 2 and 9. This experience led her to gain an interest in the development of self-regulation in early childhood and its relationship to mental well-being. Her research interests include understanding the environmental and internal factors that contribute to children's ability to navigate their growth and develop autonomy. She is particularly interested in how supportive environments and the development of coping strategies can foster executive function skills in young children. In her free time, Maggie enjoys painting, traveling to new places, and attending concerts.
Aisun Abedinzadeh
Aisun is a first-year MA student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at George Mason University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Development & Family Science and Psychology from George Mason University in 2025, graduating Summa Cum Laude. During her undergraduate studies, Aisun worked with youth populations in various roles. She worked in a childcare center, tutored elementary-aged students, served as a field interpreter for middle school students, gave campus tours to students from K-12 communities, and mentors first-generation college-bound students. These experiences have led her research interests to include how culture influences cognitive and conceptual development along with executive functioning skills, such as judgement, problem-solving, and motivation. She is also interested in exploring how educational factors impact psychosocial growth in young children at home and at school. In her free time, Aisun enjoys spending time with her family and watching sports and television shows.
Gab Neal
Gab is a first-year MA student and part of the Applied Developmental Psychology program at George Mason University. She earned her bachelor's degree at Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as a joint major in Psychology and English Creative Writing with a minor in Anthropology, graduating with honors. In her undergraduate studies, she was part of a psychology research lab at F&M that explored the concept of Narrative Identity and how it contributes to human development. She also has two years of experience as a camp counselor for children from Pre-K to 1st Grade to gain observation experience in the field. These experiences have led her to research interests focused on how aspects of culture and/or neurodiversity shape and affect human development. In her free time, Gab enjoys creative writing, reading, drawing/painting, and video games.
Graduate Student Alumni
Nicole Stucke-Downes
Nicole Stucke-Downes completed her PhD in the Developing Minds Lab in 2024. Her research focused on executive function development and examining gender differences in persistence in childhood. You can find her on LinkedIn here.
