Our Team
Christine Lee Bae, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Foundations Of Education, Educational Psychology, Discourse and Learning Lab Director, Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Christine received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Research Methods at the University of Florida (2012). She worked as a postdoctoral researcher on a Science Education project in the Bay Area (2013-16, CSU East Bay). As an Assistant Professor at the VCU School of Education (2016 - present), she is applying learning, motivation, and sociocultural frameworks to understand and support equitable teaching and learning in science classrooms.
Kamil Hankour
Doctoral Student
Kamil Hankour is a fourth-year Educational Psychology doctoral candidate He previously received a Master of Science in Psychological Science from SUNY New Paltz. His research interests include classroom discourse and engagement in science education, with a particular focus on peer interactions and NLP/ML methods.
Ryan LeVault
Ryan LeVault is a second year doctoral student in Educational Psychology. Graduated from VCU in 2024 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in music, Ryan explores the intersection of STEM and arts in order to influence student motivation. Specifically, his research interests include computer code and computational thinking taught via the arts and its impacts on student learning self-efficacy.
Rachel Niemira Namboodri
Doctoral Student
Rachel Niemira Namboodri is a third-year doctoral student in Educational Psychology. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology with a minor in Cognitive Science in 2023. Rachel is interested in exploring how we can help students succeed in their academics, while keeping their mental health, self-esteem, work-life balance, and curiosity intact.
Gabriella Osei-Poku
Gabriella Osei-Poku is a second year doctoral student in the Educational Psychology program. She holds an MA. in International Education from The George Washington University and a B.A. Psychology with Political Science. Gabriella is interested in integrating educational psychology, learning sciences, and sociocultural perspectives to promote meaningful and sustained interest in STEM disciplines among middle school students.
Former Team Members
Javonti Braxton, Ph.D.
Doctoral Student
Javonti is a second-year doctoral student in Educational Psychology. He is a former middle and high school social studies teacher. His research interests include: student learning and motivation, literacy, and social studies education.
Hui (Fiona) Sun, Ph.D.
Doctoral Student
Fiona is a fourth-year doctoral student concentrating on Urban Service Leadership with primary research interests in the area of nonprofit organizational leadership and change, especially in religious and urban service institutions. With a multidisciplinary background and 16-year executive management experience, She got an Executive Master of Business Administration degree. Currently, she is also a student in the online program of Dallas Theological Seminary. Her secondary interests include the exploration of family relationship management (marriage and parenting) in conjunction with theological belief.
Martinique Sealy, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow, Educational Psychology, American University
Dr. Martinique is a former GA, VCU graduate, as well as Holmes Scholar. She was AERA Division C Graduate Co-Chair from 2021-2023. Her current research focuses on students’ funds of knowledge [specifically identity, culture, and language] and creating asset-based classroom contexts to foster historically marginalized students’ academic achievement. She began her career as an elementary school teacher, has a bachelor of science degree in psychology, as well as a masters of arts degree in special education.
Lauren Cabrera, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow, Educational Psychology, Michigan State University
Dr. Lauren is a former GA and graduate of the Educational Psychology. As a former middle school science teacher, she is interested in classroom-based research directly tied to science teaching practices and student development. Her current research focuses on scientific discourse practices, with a focus on questioning and self-regulation in science classrooms.
Jessica Gladstone, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Jessica is a Postdoctoral Fellow. During graduate school at the University of Maryland she specialized in Educational Psychology and Developmental Science. In her research she focused on three main areas: (1) how parents and teachers shape students’ motivational beliefs, values, and engagement in math and science; (2) how undergraduates' motivational beliefs and values predict their engagement in math and science courses and how later engagement may then predict their motivational beliefs and values; and (3) how students’ personality characteristics, such as grit, relate to their motivation, self-regulation, and achievement.
Marquita Sea, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Mathematics, Educational Psychology, J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Dr. Marquita is a former GA and VCU graduate. She is also an Associate Professor of Mathematics in the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at Reynolds Community College. Her research focuses on student motivation in mathematics and its association with achievement-related outcomes. In particular, her interests center on positively influencing students’ views and self-beliefs in mathematics.
Daphne Mills, Ph.D
Educational Psychology Researcher
Dr. Daphne Mills is our former postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Foundations of Education. She received her Ph.D. in Education within the Educational Psychology, Measurement, & Evaluation (EPME) strand from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019. She began her career as a middle school science teacher and her research interests focus on science achievement motivation and the influences of parental socialization practices on science achievement in African American middle and high school students.
Fa Zhang, Ph.D.
Educational Psychology Researcher
Dr. Fa Zhang is a graduate of the School of Education. Her research interests concentrate on students’ motivation and learning outcomes as well as advanced quantitative methodologies. She has explored international large-scale database regarding secondary students’ science achievement.
Undergraduate RAs
Dylan Young
Research Assistant
Dylan is a Psychology undergraduate with a minor in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. She is interested in how different factors such as SES, race, ethnicity, gender, and especially disability, impact education. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a doctorate in School Psychology.
Larson Ashworth
Larson Ashworth is a recent VCU graduate with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. She plans on pursuing a law degree through higher education. She would love to go into education law and has an interest in issues that arise in the K-12 system. In terms of research, she is interested in better understanding students' motivation and engagement.
