Fran Querdasi

Fran grew up in Seattle, WA and graduated from Pomona College in May of 2018 with a BA in Psychology. At Pomona, Fran worked as a research assistant in the CARE (Childhood Attachment, Relationships, and Emotions) lab and as a volunteer mental health counselor at a local high school. In the SNAP lab, Fran was the project coordinator for the BABIES project, and also worked on the March of Dimes and Early Life Stress projects. Fran is interested in how childhood adversity and the early environment affect development, mental health, and resilience. Fran is currently a PhD student at UCLA, researching how social experiences and stress influence biological systems (e.g., the gut microbiome, immune system) and cognitive-emotional abilities to shape risk for depression, anxiety, and co-morbid physical symptoms.