Our lab photo shows our amazing lab team in their Spring chapter!
Dr. Susan Bluck, Professor, Lab Director
For more information on Dr. Bluck, visit her profile.
Dr. Mary Kate Koch, Postdoctoral Researcher
Mary Kate is a postdoctoral researcher in the Life Story Lab. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2022. Broadly, she is interested in how people make sense of developmental transitions throughout the lifespan, and how the stories they tell about these changes map onto well-being. Her work at Cornell focused on how youth made sense of changes during puberty. She is currently working at the other end of the lifespan on a project involving narrative richness and older adult cancer patients. Outside of her work, Mary Kate can be found taking adult rec league sports too seriously.
Kiana Cogdill-Richardson, Graduate Research Assistant
Kiana is currently a second year Ph.D student in Developmental Psychology at the University of Florida, studying under Dr. Susan Bluck. She received a B.S in Psychology and B.A in English from the University of Florida in 2020. In her undergrad, she studied literature published posthumously and joined the Life Story Lab as a research assistant after an inspiring experience attending one of their ‘Death Over Dinner’ events. Kiana’s research interests include understanding how the structure and features of adults’ narratives signal adaptive storying of autobiographical memories of challenging life events, such as death-related events. She employs a mixed methods by integrating content-analytic, qualitative and quantitative, and linguistic text analysis to investigate what directs individuals to narrative memories in adaptive ways, and whether this relates to individual differences such as personal wisdom. In her free time, Kiana likes to paint her walls crazy colors and listen to Taylor Swift.
Alyssa Crowe, Project Coordinator
Alyssa graduated from the University of Florida in 2022 with a B.S in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. Her research interests primarily include communication processes, specifically, analyzing the role of empathy and purpose in the life stories of older adult cancer patients. In addition to her work in the Life Story Lab, Alyssa works with Dr. Carma Bylund in the College of Medicine’s department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics. In her free time, Alyssa is a dance instructor to children in the Gainesville area.
Sophia Maggiore, Research Assistant and Lab Manager
Sophia is a fourth-year psychology major with a minor in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences and Business Administration. Her interest in the Life Story Lab stems from a realization of the certainty of death as loved ones around her began to age and pass away. She is interested in the complexity of mortality and life experiences and how she can help people who are experiencing hardship in the face of death. She plans to obtain a master’s in Social Work and work with those struggling in their own lives. In her free time, she enjoys playing beach volleyball, reading a good book, and spending time with family and friends.
Kylee Field, Research Assistant
Kylee graduated from the University of Florida in 2020, earning a B.A in Political Science with a minor in sociology. Kylee is interested in the evolving ways people process trauma throughout their lifespan, and the applications of Life Story research to long term recovery care practices. She currently works for the Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center as a Victim Advocate. In the future, she hopes to attend graduate school for clinical mental health counseling. During her spare time, Kylee enjoys antiquing, political advocacy, and dinners with friends.
Esha Nair, Research Assistant
Esha is a senior dual majoring in Psychology and Economics. Her interest in the life story lab stems from her close relationship with her grandparents as well as a desire to study the older demographic of people as her previous research involvements have only focused on youth. In her free time, Esha enjoys photography, reading, and spending quality time with her friends.
Hope Schroeder, Research Assistant
Hope is a third-year student studying General Psychology with a minor in Early Childhood Studies. Her interest in the Life Story Lab stems from her own experiences with grief and losing multiple loved ones from a very young age. After her own experiences, she became intrigued to understand how the death of a loved one can affect someone’s life and memories. After undergraduate, Hope wishes to pursue a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology. Hope’s other campus involvements include being a teaching assistant for CLP2001: Personal Growth, being a volunteer research assistant for the Pediatric Behavioral Health Lab at the University of Florida, and being a mentor for the First-Generation Leadership Program (FGLP). In her free time, Hope enjoys reading, spending time with her friends and puppy, and working out at the gym.
Gavin Hart, Research Assistant
Gavin is a senior studying General psychology. His interest in the Life Story Lab comes from an intuitive understanding of the importance of death, namely the acceptance of the impermanent nature of ourselves and all of our loved ones. He is curious about the emergence of death in conscious awareness throughout the lifespan and the functions that that plays in shaping our values and behavior. After he graduates in Spring 2024, he is planning on going to graduate school for a Ph. D in Psychology, perhaps after a gap year to really hone in on what program best suits him. You can usually find him in Plaza of the Americas eating Krishna Lunch with friends or listening to music or scientific podcasts.
Keegan Whitacre, Research Assistant
Keegan is a third-year Psychology major with a minor in Business Administration. His interest in the Life Story Lab comes from his curiosity on how death shapes our identity and perspective on life. After graduating in Spring 2025, he plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Other campus involvements include the UF GRiP Pawsthetics team, Pickleball, and Outdoor Adventure Recreation club. In his free time, Keegan enjoys reading, backpacking, and watching movies.
Gaya Prabhakaran, Research Assistant
Gaya is a second-year student studying Psychology, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. Her interest in the Life Story Lab is rooted in the desire to gain wisdom by consciously considering her own death and the process of dying, as well as the death of loved ones. She is curious to investigate how compassion, wisdom and peace can grow through such experiences. She hopes to delve deeper into these questions as she does further research in the future. Gaya also works as a gymnastics coach to young athletes with special needs at Balance 180 Gymnastics. In her free time, she likes to spend time with friends and family, meditate and practice yoga, and run.