Our current research projects include…
Love Across Cultures (Templeton Project)
What does it mean to “feel loved” across cultures?
Navigate to the “Love Across Cultures” section of the website to learn more about our 5-year cross-cultural project investigating love in everyday life across six different countries: Spain, Brazil, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya.
Aligning artificial intelligence with vernacular mental health in India
How is well-being and distress expressed in everyday life across indian urban microcultures?
In collaboration with OpenAI, this mixed-methods project investigates how people living in India express well-being, distress, and help-seeking in their own words and native language(s). By examining vernacular and code-mixed forms such as Hinglish and Tanglish, the study aims to identify culturally grounded expressions of flourishing and suffering that may be missed by current AI systems. Findings will help inform safer, more responsive, and culturally aligned AI support.
Family network dynamics of emotion (FAMnet)
A systems-level approach to adolescent well-being using family triads
In collaboration with Dr. Stacey N. Doan and Applied Mind & Health Lab (AMH) at Claremont McKenna College, this project examines family emotional dynamics. Moving beyond traditional caregiver–child models, this project uses a network approach to study how emotions are shared, synchronized, and transmitted across broader family triad systems, including two parents and their adolescent child. Using ecological momentary assessment, physiological data, and dynamic network modeling, FamNet investigates how emotional synchrony and stress diffusion unfold in daily life and how these processes relate to adolescent development. Findings from this project can inform family-centered interventions that support emotional connection, resilience, and well-being within families and communities.
Updated June 2026
