Ember is a 4th year Psychology student who transferred from a small community college in  San Jose California. Embers’ research takes place at the  T-PAL (Translational Psychophysiology and Assessment Lab) lab at the Center for Mind and Brain Institute which focuses on working with people with intellectual disabilities. 

Ember found this specific area of research through a Psychology newsletter and applied there. 

At the T-PAL lab Ember focuses primarily on gender identity and gender expression along with working with memory, administering cognitive measures and IQ tests on people.  While conducting this type of research Ember started asking questions about the kinds of research that is done and feels that there is a gap. Due to not asking the people who have intellectual disabilities questions directly, the results of the research do not come from the actual person.

As a transgender person, Ember feels that this area of research is important and feasible, but also thinks that this field is under-researched due to the fact that it has not been done before. What surprised Ember about the research is that “It’s been nice to have conversations with people and easy to get valid data and answers that make sense. it's not easy but less hard than people think.” Ember would advise anyone interested in conducting research: "Start looking for things early and don't be afraid to ask people and figure out how to get those things done.  Advisors are looking to help students!”

Ember’s future plans include attending graduate school and working in a psychology lab after a gap year. Ember’s desired field of study is Autism research. 

Learn more about the T-PAL lab here.