Mary Avella

Biography:

Mary Avella is a rising senior at Hunter College pursuing a degree in psychology with a concentration in Physiology Psychology. In the summer of 2023, Mary conducted research in Dr. Matthew Nassar’s lab at Brown University to understand the way autistic people learn and think. Her project focused on how neurotypical and autistic people learn in a stable or flexible way, with specific relation to attention to details. Once Mary returned to New York, she joined Dr. Peter Serrano’s at Hunter College Psychology Department for the upcoming academic year. Mary is interested in studying the autistic brain to better diagnose individuals on the spectrum, and how high-functioning, autistic people have a level of social intelligence to navigate their surroundings. She will be a summer research assistant at Yale University in the Summer of 2024 and will be working in Dr. Moitrayee Bhattacharyya’s lab. Her main goal is to learn more about neural testing and use research experiences to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.