Lab Director
Damian Murray, Ph.D.
Dr. Murray’s research programs follow two themes: 1) The consequences of a disease-avoidance motive for interpersonal relationships, social attitudes, personality, and cultural differences, and 2) The dynamics of new interpersonal relationships—the individual differences that predict formation, stability, and satisfaction in new romantic relationships, and the implications of these relationships for physiology and health.
Current Graduate Students
Maria Casteigne
Maria is a fourth-year Ph.D. student working in the ESC lab and Dr. Laurie O’Brien’s Social Perception Lab. She earned her B.A. in psychology at Le Moyne College and her M.A. in experimental psychology at the University of Dayton. Her research interests include perceptions of parents, parental motivations, and discrimination judgements. If you would like to know more about Maria’s work, please check out her CV or email her at mmusumeci@tulane.edu.
Qiran Fan
Qiran (Rex) is a third-year Ph.D. student. His research interests center around how ecology and life history strategy shape individuals’ perceptions and judgments (especially moral behaviors and decisions). He is intrigued by studying morality from an evolutionary psychology. Rex is also interested in how disease threats (such as the pandemic) alter the ways people achieve fundamental goals (e.g., parenting and kin care). If you are interested in learning more about Rex’s work, please email him at qfan3@tulane.edu, or see his CV.
Harrison Read
Harrison is a first-year Ph.D. student working in the ESC lab. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland and a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) from the University of Melbourne. Prior to undertaking his Ph.D. in psychology, he worked in foreign affairs, national security, and defense. He is interested in exploring political tribalism and intergroup conflict from an evolutionary perspective. If you would like to know more about Harrison’s work, please email him at hread1@tulane.edu.
Former Graduate Students
Zachary Airington, Ph.D. Adjunct at Tulane University
Nicholas Kerry, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania
James Moran, Ph.D. Behavioral Scientist, Johnson & Johnson
Aaron Moss, Ph.D. Project Manager, Cloud Research
Former Post-Doctoral Fellow
Marjorie Prokosch, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology