2021-23
Faculty Fellows 2021-2023
Danielle Dallaire is a Professor of the Department of Psychological Sciences at William & Mary. She earned her B.A. from the Pennsylvania State University in 1997 and her doctorate degree in developmental psychology from Temple University in 2003. Her research examines children's development in the context of the multifaceted stressor of parental incarceration. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the W.K. Kellog Foundation, the Anthem Foundation, and the March of Dimes. She is currently the evaluation consultant for a Department of Juvenile Justice Grant for the Virginia Department of Corrections, and the evaluation consultant for the Families Forward Virginia evaluation of their home visiting programs. In 2018 she was named as a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science for sustained and outstanding distinguished contributions to psychological science.
Since coming to William & Mary in 2006 Professor Dallaire has been director of the William & Mary Healthy Lab (HB Lab). Over the years, the HB Lab has researched how children and families are impacted by the multifaceted adverse childhood experience (ACE) of parental incarceration, as well as other stressors (e.g.. COVID-19). As part of the English-Stonehouse fellowship program, Professor Dallaire, together with HB Lab students will examine what resilience looks like in individuals from the inside out. Specifically, over the last year the HB Lab has been researching biomarkers of resilience that can be assessed with saliva and hair samples (e.g.., cortisol), as well as with heart rate (e.g.., heart rate variability), and with electroencephalography (EEG) recordings (e.g., frontal alpha symmetry). In addition to studying biomarkers of resilience, we would like to study individual characteristics (e.g.., intelligence, emotion regulation), relational factors (e.g.., quality of relationships with family and friends), and community factors (e.g.., availability and accessibility of community-based resources) associated with positive adaptation to stressful experiences. The goal of this line of research os to build competencies in undergraduate students' abilities to collect, analyze, and interpret psycho-physiological data related to resiliency under the context of risk. Studies will examine participants' exposure to ACEs in relation to their current functioning and adaptation. Research participants will include college students as well as member of the community. Importantly, this line of research will expose students to research methodologies that will be important for them to further their STEM education and will also expose them to other researchers both within the department of psychological sciences and in other related STEM disciplines including biology, chemistry, and kinesiology and health sciences.
Harmony Dalgleish is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department. She earned her BA from Grinnell College in 2000 and her PhD in ecology at Kansas State University in 2007. Her lab is broadly interested in understanding how plant-animal interactions, such as those between plants and their pollinators, seed dispersers, and herbivores, affect plant populations. Over the next two years, Dr. Dalgleish and her English-Stonehouse students will extend the lab’s plant pollinator research into a new realm: understanding how microbes affect the relationship between plants and their pollinators. Nectar is the main reward for pollinations services and microbes, including yeast and bacteria, can have large effects on nectar chemistry. This opens the door for the microbial community within the nectar to have a large, and currently underappreciated, impact on pollination: microbial activity could determine the nectar chemistry which then changes pollinator behavior and, ultimately, pollination success for the plant. The goal of the research is to understand the development of the microbial community in nectar (the nectar microbiome) and how it affects and is shaped by insect floral visitors. Students will address several questions surrounding the nectar microbiome including: Does abundance and/or diversity of the nectar microbiome change depending upon insect visitor identity? How does the abundance and diversity of the nectar microbiome affect sugar profiles and ultimately pollination success? How does microbial abundance and diversity affect insect visitation rate?
Student Fellows 2022-2023
Jules Colombo
Jules is a freshman planning on majoring in psychology and minoring in chemistry from Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Jules plans on continuing work on Healthy Beginning’s STAR study, a research project focused on analyzing brain waves and identifying possible biomarkers of resilience to stress in undergraduates. She joined the Healthy Beginnings lab in December of 2021. Her future aspirations include pursuing either a Ph.D. in developmental or clinical psychology or attending medical school. Outside of research, Jules is the Panhellenic Delegate for Pi Beta Phi Fraternity, and an afterschool tutor for Hornsby Middle School.
Daniella Morales
Daniella is a freshman from Woodbridge, Virginia, planning on majoring in psychology. Daniella plans on continuing to work in the Healthy Beginning’s STAR study, a research project focused on analyzing brain waves and identifying possible biomarkers of resilience to stress in undergraduate students. She joined the lab in December of 2022, and her future aspirations include pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Outside of research, Daniella serves as the public relations co-chair for the William and Mary Fighting for Immigrant Rights and Equity Organization. She also serves as the communications chair for the First Generation and Low-Income Organization and is a Latin American Student Union member.
Katie Barlow
Katie is a rising sophomore from Northern Virginia who plans to major in biology. She joined Professor Dalgleish’s plant ecology lab at the end of fall 2022 because she was interested in learning more about plants. This summer Katie will be exploring how varying nectar sugar concentrations in milkweed affect their pollen tube germination. Outside of research, Katie is involved with William & Mary RUF and a member of the botany club.
Mia Perry
Mia is a freshman planning to pursue major in biology or maybe the CAMS biology track program. Mia chose to start her exploration into biological research in Fall 2021 in Professor Dalgleish's Plant Ecology Lab because it was a discipline of science she had not considered studying. This summer Mia will be planning to collect nectar samples from the Milkweed plant (Asclepias Syriaca) and analyzing the effects of pollinators on the sugar content and how that affects pollinator success in each sample. Outside of research Mia is a part of the William & Mary Herbarium Digitization Project and a referee for William and Mary Intramural Sports.
