CDR Leadership & Staff

Nicholas Epley

Faculty Director
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Nicholas Epley conducts research on the experimental study of social cognition, perspective taking, and intuitive human judgment. His research has appeared in more than two dozen journals and popular publications like the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Wired. He is the author of Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want.

Amy Boonstra

Executive Director
Email | (773) 702-7307
Harper Center 209

Amy Boonstra is executive director of the CDR and oversees programming and initiatives. With her team, she leads the center’s infrastructure, program development, fundraising, and partnerships. Amy has a PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan and an AB from the University of Chicago.

Rebecca White

Director, CDR Labs Services
Email | (773) 702-2621
Harper Center C74

Rebecca (Becky) oversees the operations of the CDR research labs and partnership data collection sites. Becky has a PhD in quantitative psychology from the Ohio State University, with focus in the study of judgment and decision making, and she is also an Adjunct Professor of Behavioral Science at Booth.

Kaushal Addanki

Programmer
Email
Harper Center C74

As the CDR Programmer, Kaushal assists faculty by developing, programming, and troubleshooting computer-based study materials. He focuses on web-based programming and provides support for studies on Qualtrics using Javascript, PHP, and other relevant languages. Kaushal received his BA in Psychology and MS in Computer Science from the University of Chicago.

Stav Atir

Manager, Outreach
Email
Harper Center C74

Stav Atir is a post-doctoral researcher and Labs Outreach Manager at the CDR. Her research is in the areas of judgment and decision-making and social cognition, and focuses on the way people think of themselves and others. In particular, she is interested in how people can tell what they know and what they don't know (knowledge and meta-knowledge), as well as in issues surrounding gender in professional contexts.

Bryan Baird

Lab Manager, Hyde Park
Email | 773-702-8396
Harper Center C74

Bryan manages the Hyde Park Lab, working with Booth faculty, PhDs, and post-docs to support their research endeavors. He has previously worked for the CDR as a research assistant and as the Pop-Up Labs Manager, where he coordinated external research and spearheaded our Call for Studies program.

Morgan Britt

Lab Manager, Loop Location
Email | (773) 702-4471
210 S Clark St, Suite 1510

As manager of the PIMCO Decision Research Labs Loop Location, Morgan is responsible for managing the life cycle of research studies, training and staffing research assistants, and interacting with people from around the downtown area who partake in their studies. The research Morgan does with the center focuses on judgment, decision making, and interpersonal communication.

Mark Brow

Statistical Consultant
Email | Personal website
Harper Center 209

Mark Brow assists CDR faculty and researchers with a variety of statistical methods, including multilevel mediation analysis, mixed effects analysis for binary and continuous outcomes, panel regression, and more. He has a doctorate in education as well as a master's degree in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment (MESA) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He recently completed a PhD in the MESA program.

Carman Fowler

Research Support Assistant
Email
Harper Center C74

Carman serves as a Research Support Assistant in the CDR Hyde Park Lab where she collaborates with Booth faculty, PhDs, and post-docs and assists them from constructing surveys to conducting research studies to analyzing data, as well as interacting with our participant pools.

Sarah Jensen

Lab Manager, Pop-Up Labs
Email
Harper Center C74

Sarah manages the Pop-Up Labs which help researchers collect data at different locations throughout Chicago. Working with RAs, researchers, and partner sites, she coordinates shifts with the Museum of Science and Industry, the Chicago Park District, and on the UChicago campus.

Prianka Koya

Assistant Lab Manager, Loop Location
Email
210 S Clark St, Suite 1510

Prianka is primarily responsible for overseeing studies, lab operations, and participant recruitment initiatives at the Loop location. She also assists with managing the CDR Cloud research account, cross-lab data quality analysis, and the occasional pop-up event.

Jasmine Kwong

Associate Director, Field Lab Services & Programs
Email
Loop Lab & Harper Center 209

Jasmine Kwong oversees the CDR’s off-campus research operations at the Loop Lab and in partnership with other civic, cultural organizations (Pop-Up Labs). She is also responsible for producing CDR programs, such as our Think Better speaker series.

Donald Lyons

Assistant Director, Epley Lab & CDR Programs
Email | (773) 834-9857
Harper Center 209

Don oversees and facilitates the research done by CDR Faculty Director Nicholas Epley and his associated lab group. He also manages the execution of CDR activities, including behavioral science workshops & brownbags, conference travel, accounting, and related logistics.

Chris Partridge

Assistant Director, Communications
Email | (773) 834-3727
Harper Center 209

Chris implements the CDR's communications strategy to attract new research participants and amplify the innovative work of our faculty, labs, and researchers. He manages the center’s social media, email marketing, event promotions and other communications efforts.

Mark Temelko

Senior Associate Director, Communications
Email | (773) 834-5284
Harper Center 209

Mark is responsible for the center’s overall strategic communications, sharing the work of CDR’s faculty and researchers with a broad and diverse audience. He helps tell the story of behavioral science, including its profound ability to provide wisdom and improve lives.

Michael White

Assistant Lab Manager, Hyde Park
Email
Harper Center C74

Michael White serves as the Assistant Lab Manager in the Hyde Park Lab and manages the labs of Drs. Emma Levine, Jane Risen, & Ed O’Brien. Prior to joining the CDR in 2018, Michael received his BS in Psychology & Philosophy from Elmhurst College.

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