Meet the Team

Dr. Dorsa Amir

Assistant Professor
& PI of the MACLab

Dr. Dorsa Amir is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. She earned a B.S. in Anthropology from UCLA in 2012, a PhD in Anthropology from Yale University in 2018, and completed postdoctoral training in the Boston College and UC Berkeley Departments of Psychology. Dr. Amir's research investigates the routes through which culture shapes the developing mind, with a focus on the early determinants of preferences, judgments, and decision-making. You can learn more about Dr. Amir and her research at her personal website.

Gita Paladugu

Lab Manager

Gita is the lab manager of the MAC Lab. She graduated from Emory University in 2025 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Global Development Studies. Gita has previously researched socio-emotional development in children, media representation of intersectional identities, and the integration of culturally responsive mental healthcare for refugees. She is interested in studying resilience among multicultural children and youth and in designing and evaluating culturally responsive interventions that support those at risk of developing mental health conditions.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. Julia Smith

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Julia Smith is a postdoctoral researcher in the MAC lab. She earned a B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Intercultural Studies from Wofford College in 2015, a Master’s in Psychology from the New School for Social Research in 2018, and a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2024. Her research focus is how people make normative “should” judgments about how they should think about and treat others, and how the world should work. See her personal website for more information!

Graduate Students

Serena Spada

PhD Student

Serena is a Psychology and Neuroscience PhD student in the MAC Lab and graduated from UC San Diego in 2024 with a B.S. in Business Psychology. Serena has previously researched social cognitive development, particularly children’s understanding of group essentialism and motivations to pursue STEM. Her primary research interest is moral development, specifically how children reason about and behave in instances of moral dilemmas, as well as the factors (e.g., culture or senses of fairness) that influence them.

Alissa Rivero

PhD Student

Alissa is a Ph.D. student in the MAC Lab who investigates sociocultural influences on exploration, motivation, and creativity across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in the developmental consequences of prioritizing efficiency over exploration in childhood (i.e., how this can undermine children’s cognitive strengths).

Prior to working in the MAC Lab, Alissa graduated from Duke University in 2025 and spent a year managing the Tomasello Lab. See her personal website and CV for more information!