Meet the PERL Lab Team

Amy Roy
Amy Roy is a Professor of Psychology and the director of the Pediatric Emotion Regulation Lab. Dr. Roy received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Princeton University and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University. She completed her Pre-Doctoral Clinical Internship at NYU School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital in the Child Track and remained at NYU as a post-doctoral fellow at the Child Study Center. In 2005, Dr. Roy became an Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU Langone School of Medicine where she remained until she came to Fordham in June of 2011. Dr. Roy’s primary research interests are in the neurobiological underpinnings of emotion regulation in children and adolescents.

Amy Alburquerque

Amy joined the lab in the spring of 2024. She is a senior with a major in psychology on the pre-health track and a minor in anthropology. Amy is currently assisting with recruitment in the YES Study. She is interested in research involving children and adolescent development. Amy is a member of Psi-Chi and is hoping to pursue a PhD in Developmental Psychology after graduating from Fordham. Outside of the lab, Amy is working at a youth mentoring internship at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. 

Lea Ankri

Lea joined the lab in the summer of 2024. She is a junior majoring in psychology while being on the pre-health track. Lea is interested in researching mental health disorders that can be associated with childhood and parental dynamics. As of now, she is recruiting participants for the YES study in order to further her knowledge regarding childhood psychological illnesses and parent-child relationships. Lea aspires to work in the medical field with a focus on women’s health proceeding her time at Fordham. Outside of the lab, she is the president of the St. Rose’s Garden Club at Rose Hill, a member of the Fordham University Choir, and a Resident Assistant at Rose Hill. 

Maggie Benda

Maggie joined the lab in 2021 and is in the clinical psychology doctoral program. She graduated from George Washington University in 2018 with a BA in Psychology and English. After graduation she worked as a Project Coordinator at the Lab of Developmental Neuroscience at Penn State University. Maggie is interested in researching neurocognitive mechanisms underlying pediatric mental health disorders, such as anxiety and irritability. She is particularly interested in working with adolescents and understanding the development of affective processes (e.g. emotion perception, emotion regulation). Similar to her research interests, Maggie is interested in clinical work with pediatric populations, anxiety disorders, and OCD.

Allison Eisenberg

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Ava Moore

Ava Moore joined the lab in the fall of 2022. She is a senior majoring in neuroscience and sociology. She is currently working on her senior thesis examining hemispheric asymmetry in adolescents with anxiety using EEG and fMRI, and her main research interests center around the neural underpinnings of developmental disorders. Ava also assists on PERL Lab’s YES and MTOT studies. She hopes to pursue a PhD in cognitive or developmental neuroscience after undergraduate. Outside of the lab, Ava is an editor of the Fordham Undergraduate Research Journal and vice president of the Integrative Neuroscience Student Association. She also enjoys crocheting, cooking, and reading.

Violeta Pekar

Bio coming soon.

Meryl Rueppel 

Meryl joined the lab in 2023 and is in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program. She graduated in 2020 from the University of Michigan with a degree in Cognitive Science. After graduating, she worked as a project coordinator on treatment development studies for pediatric anxiety and OCD. Meryl is currently interested in the cognitive underpinnings of emotional and behavioral dysregulation in youth, particularly in the context of parent-child interactions. She hopes to translate her research to refine parent-focused interventions for child anxiety, irritability, and anger that are relevant and accessible to underserved communities. Similar to her research interests, Meryl is interested in clinical work with families managing child ADHD, irritability, and anxiety. In her free time, Meryl enjoys painting, going to the movies, going for runs in central park, and baking treats for her cohort.

Julia Trexler

Undergraduate Julia Trexler joined the lab in the spring of 2023. As a senior, she is currently working alongside Dr. Roy and Allison Eisenberg on her Honor’s Thesis. They are looking at the effects of the menstrual cycle on ADHD symptoms and their participation in risky behavior. In the spring of 2025, Julia will present her findings at a conference. On top of that, Julia is working with Maggie and other undergraduate research assistants on the YES study. We are looking at how adolescents regulate their emotions. To accomplish this, we are training high school students to be confederate debaters. Once they are prepped and we have participants, the undergraduate researchers will be trained on how to run the study. Beyond the lab, Julia works as a tennis scorekeeper and is the Vice President of the intramural team. She enjoys reading and cooking. Julia hopes to apply to graduate schools in the upcoming months to pursue a Master’s in mental health counseling.

Previous Lab Members