Nicole Walasek, PhD | Postdoctoral Researcher
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics
Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam
Advisor: Dr. Willem Frankenhuis
Mini Bio:
Broadly speaking, I am interested in understanding how the environment shapes evolution and development. To this end, I developed mathematical models for exploring how changing environmental conditions shape the evolution and development of sensitive periods – time periods during which experiences have a particularly large impact on development. In my empirical research, thus far, I have developed a framework for quantifying environmental changes across developmental time scales and applied this framework to NYC crime data. More recently, I have also begun to venture into empirical research on the development of sensitive periods and individual differences in rodents and fish. I am currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Website: https://walaseknicole.wixsite.com/site
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicoleWalasek
IBED twitter: https://twitter.com/IBED_UvA
Dissertation Award Winners:
2023 Dissertation Award Winner: Isabella (Isa) Stallworthy, PhD
JSMF Postdoctoral Fellow
Complex Systems Lab
University of Pennsylvania
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Twitter: @isaStallworthy
2022 Dissertation Award Winner: Lana Ruvolo Grasser, PhD (she/her/hers)
Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC Lab; starclab.org); Jovanovic Lab—Detroit Trauma Project (DTP; detroittraumaproject.com)
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Detroit, USA @ScientificRuvvy
– Doctoral Mentorship: Drs. Arash Javanbakht and Tanja Jovanovic.
2021 Dissertation Award Winner: Kristie L. Poole, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, Social Development Lab, Department of Psychology @Poole_Kristie
– Postdoctoral Supervisor: Dr. Heather A. Henderson
Ph.D., Developmental Psychology; McMaster University, Child Emotion Lab, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour Dissertation: The origins and heterogeneity of shyness: A developmental, biological perspective, Supervisor: Dr. Louis A. Schmidt
2020 Dissertation Award Winner:Morgan Reiss Firestein, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY USA
– Postdoctoral Mentor: William Fifer, Columbia University in the City; Dissertation Mentor: Frances Champagne, Columbia University in the City
2019 Dissertation Award Winner: Virginia C. Salo, Postdoctoral Fellow, Stress and Early Adversity Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Nashville, Research – Postdoctoral Mentor: Kathryn L. Humphreys, PhD, Ed.M.; Dissertation Mentor: Nathan Fox, PhD
2018 Dissertation Award Winner: Caitlin Cowan, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (formerly, Caitlin Cowan, APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Ireland) – Dissertation Mentor: Rick Richardson, University of New South Wales
2017 Dissertation Award Winner: Rosemarie Perry, Postdoctoral
Research Scientist NYU, Neuroscience and Education Lab,