Simone Lemmers, Ph.D., is a biological anthropologist joining the Dunn Laboratory as a research fellow with expertise in dental and bone histology. Simone is broadly interested in how we can use hard tissues to answer questions on life history, growth, development and responses to physiological stress, in both modern and fossilised tissues. She completed her PhD at Durham University, UK, where she focussed on stress, life history and dental development in primates. During her previous postdoctoral work in Cyprus, she was highly involved in non-destructive approaches to the analysis of archaeological human remains, including application of Synchrotron Radiation enabled research in the context of pathology, stress and health in past populations. Within the Dunn Lab, she will contribute to the ALSPAC and STRONG studies working with deciduous teeth to assess the impact of early life adversity and stress on mental health and depression in later life.

Dr. Mona Le Luyer is a biological anthropologist joining the Dunn Lab as a research fellow. She has extensive experience studying prehistoric and recent human teeth to characterize interactions between biological, environmental, and sociocultural changes. Within the Dunn Lab, she will contribute to the STRONG study using children’s teeth to assess the impact of early life experiences. Mona received her PhD from the University of Bordeaux, France, where she studied dental evolution in Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene human populations. During her postdocs at the University of Kent, UK, she investigated enamel biorhythms and childhood growth trajectories to unlock evidence for understanding the mechanisms underlying dental evolution. She is broadly interested in anything we can learn about teeth and from teeth: identifying any factors or stress that might have impacted dental structures, how and when they got embedded in teeth, understanding their evolution through time and throughout lifespan.

Brooke McKenna, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist joining the Dunn Lab as a postdoctoral research fellow. She received her doctorate from Emory University in 2023, where she examined the interplay between biological factors (e.g., epi/genetics, gut microbiome) and environmental influences (e.g., childhood trauma, chronic stress) that contribute to psychopathology within and across generations. In the Dunn Lab, Brooke studies how alterations to DNA methylation can help us better understand how adversity and protective factors become biologically embedded to influence the development of psychopathology. Broadly, Brooke's interests center on diversifying science and promoting health equity while examining the biological, social, and developmental factors that contribute to risk and resilience against depression, PTSD, and other psychological disorders.

Anna K. Ruehlmann, PhD is a molecular epidemiologist and joins The Dunn Lab as a Senior Data Analyst. She was most recently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine where her research focused on epigenetics and stress, particularly in maternal stress associated with DNA methylation in newborns. She has a diverse scientific background and has contributed to published work in drug development, microbiology, and molecular biology. In the Dunn Lab, Anna hopes to study how ethnic and cultural differences play a role in stress and epigenetic modifications, as well as whether DNA methylation can function as a biomarker for neurodevelopmental disorders early in life.

Sammy joins the Dunn Lab as a Data Analyst. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a B.S. in Psychology and minors in Criminology and Human Relations. Sammy has worked as a Research Assistant for the Developmental Psychopathology Lab at Iowa, a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Laboratory for Youth Behavior at MGH, and a Clinical Research Coordinator II here in the Dunn Lab. Her research career has broadly focused on child development, resilience, and behavioral disorder treatment. Sammy is now completing her Master’s in Data Science at DePaul with a concentration in Healthcare. She hopes to continue her work and is looking forward to better understanding what factors may influence vulnerability and resilience towards mental illness.

Celia is a fifth-year undergraduate student at Northeastern University studying Economics, Mathematics, and Global Health. She is joining the Dunn lab as a co-op research assistant, where she is excited to learn about biomarkers in mental health. Her research interests are in the intersection of data analysis and biological and psychological data. She hopes to one day pursue epidemiology and early disease detection.