Meet Our Team

Dr. Samuel Mehr

Principal Investigator (website)

Dr. Mehr is an Associate Professor Adjunct at the Yale Child Study Center. He splits his time between New Haven and New Zealand, where he is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Auckland's School of Psychology. Dr. Mehr's research centers on auditory perception across the lifespan, using methods of the cognitive sciences to learn why we hear what we hear, and applying these insights to improve health in infants, children, adults, and their families.

Dr. Cho is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Yale Child Study Center, specializing in early childhood music education and interdisciplinary research at the intersection of education, psychology, and culture. With her background in educational research, her work explores the psychological dimensions of everyday experiences and their impact on development across infancy, early childhood, and adolescence. Learn more about her work at eunchomusic.com.

Dr. Linda Mayes is the Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology and Director of the Yale Child Study Center. She is also Special Advisor to the Dean in the Yale School of Medicine. Trained as a pediatrician, Dr. Mayes’s research focuses on stress-response and regulatory mechanisms in young children at both biological and psychosocial risk. She has especially focused on the impact of prenatal substance use on children’s long-term outcomes.

Dr. Nancy Close is an Associate Professor at the Yale Child Study Center and the Clinical Director of the MOMS Partnership® and the Yale Parent and Family Development Program. She is also Director of Clinical Services for Minding the Baby, a home visiting program that has been designated as evidenced based by the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Close is a clinician and an educator. She specializes in infant mental health, parenting and the assessment and treatment of children under age five. She teaches Yale College students and fellows in psychiatry, psychology and social work in training at the Child Study Center.

Based in New Jersey, US, Dr. Blank manages Research and Inclusion Support Services for Music Together Worldwide and is a recent postdoctoral fellow with Drexel University's Music, Creativity, and Wellness Lab. She is also a research assistant with Able Arts Works, a music therapy practice in Los Angeles, California. She owns Music Therapy Services of Central NJ. As a researcher, Dr. Blank is most fond of literature reviews (doing them!), pulling data for systematic reviews, conducting interviews, thematic analysis of qualitative data, and mixed methodologies. She is least fond of choosing statistical analyses, but loves watching others run stats!

Carter is a postgraduate associate at the Yale Child Study Center. His work focuses on evaluating interventions that promote healing and resilience in children, families, and communities. Carter is particularly passionate about improving care for parents, children, and adolescents affected by traumatic experiences while contributing to preventative measures that interrupt the intergenerational cycle of mental health disorders. Outside of the lab, Carter enjoys getting outside to hike and hosting board game nights with friends.