Psychology Pre Grad Intern Kassandra Martinez

Kassandra Martinez

“I just accepted a full-time research position at The Center for Autism and the Developing Brain. I couldn’t have done this without IE! The center is part of New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Catherine Lord was one of the authors of the ADOS, which is the gold standard for diagnosing autism in research and sometimes in clinical practice. Researchers have been using the ADOS to measure treatment progress, but it was intended to diagnose, not measure change, so we are trying to develop a new measure that will be used to measure treatment progress over time. I will be in charge of that project!

IE helped begin the conversation about graduate school. I did not know what it was, what it meant, or what it entailed. Through IE, I was able to join The Child Development in Context Laboratory as a freshman and have been mentored by Dr. Rebecca Neal-Beevers and her fantastic graduate students, Bridget Davidson and Alexandra Dowd ever since. Over my four years at the CDCL, I have been given more responsibilities. I think my biggest accomplishment is co-authoring a paper with Dr. Neal, Alexandra, and their colleagues. Most importantly I refined my research interests and found my passion.”