About Valerie:
Dr. Valerie Bambha is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Developing Systems Lab. Her research examines what young children and caregivers’ interactions in playful contexts can tell us about early cognition and the intersection of developmental domains. She is especially interested in how caregivers coordinate verbal and manual scaffolding to support their children’s learning and attention during playful activities and daily routines. Prior to joining the lab, she received her doctoral training at Cornell University under the direction of Dr. Marianella Casasola in the Play and Learning Lab and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Children’s Learning Institute at UTHealth Houston, where she worked to contextualize play-based research within research-practice partnerships. Outside of research, Valerie performs in a ballet ensemble and enjoys board games, creative writing, learning languages, and spending time with her dog, Pippy the permanent puppy.