Meet the Team
Pat Hill (he/him)
Associate Professor, patrick.hill@wustl.edu
Dr. Hill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. His current research examines how sense of purpose may promote coping with stressors as well as engagement in health promoting behaviors. He is also interested in the role of personality dispositions on daily and long-term cognitive resilience. In his free time, Dr. Hill enjoys playing with his nieces, and going hiking (particularly in Utah). Pat is an avid Indiana University fan, and generally should not be interrupted during any of their games.
Jenn Beatty (she/her)
Graduate Student, jenn.beatty@wustl.edu
Jennifer is a Psychological and Brain Sciences doctoral candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. She has master’s degrees in Psychological and Brain Sciences (Washington University in St. Louis ’22), Applied Positive Psychology (University of Pennsylvania ‘18), and Education (University of Pennsylvania ‘15). Prior to her doctoral program, she worked as a research coordinator at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a K-8 teacher with Teach for America and a school administrator before graduate school. Her primary research interests include interventions for bias regulation, emotion regulation, intergroup relations, and well-being. In her spare time, Jenn enjoys culinary adventures both in her kitchen and at new restaurants.
Mary Cox (she/her)
Graduate Student, c.mary1@wustl.edu
Mary is a first-year graduate student and NSF graduate research fellow in the Social & Personality Psychology program at Washington University in St. Louis. She received a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from The University of Alabama and worked as a post-baccalaureate project coordinator at UNC Chapel Hill. She completed her honors thesis on the impact of racial discrimination on brain volume and mental health in older Black adults. Broadly, Mary is interested in exploring how minoritized individuals find support against stigma and discrimination, and how these behaviors can contribute to a decrease in the prevalence of stress-based disorders. In her free time, Mary enjoys live music, trying new restaurants and recipes, and learning new crafts!
Judy Kwak (she/her)
Graduate Student, j.kwak@wustl.edu
Judy is a graduate student in the Social & Personality Psychology program at Washington University in St. Louis. She received her B.S. in Health Science from James Madison University and worked in the healthcare industry before completing the Post-Baccalaureate program in Psychology at UC Berkeley. Broadly, she is interested in examining the role of emotional processes in social interactions and how they contribute to psychological well-being.
Outside of the lab, she enjoys making her own candles, baking biscuits for her senior rescue dog Poncho, and learning how to compost all her food scraps.
Sang-Mi Lee (she/they)
Research Technician & Community Engagement Lead, sang-milee@wustl.edu
Sang-Mi graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychological & Brain Sciences. They are now pursuing their Masters degree in Social Work at the University of Georgia. Their research focuses on cultural stressors and how immigration can impact an individual’s purpose in life. They are also the head coordinator for the PATH Lab initiative PACE (Purpose and Community Engagement). In her free time, Sang-Mi enjoys dancing and playing board games with friends.
Megan Wolk (she/her)
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, meganwilson@wustl.edu
Megan’s research centers around her broader goal of furthering issues related to diversity and inclusion. She is broadly interested in the relationship between discrimination and purpose in life, as well as identifying the personal and situational factors that lead an individual to engage in activism as their purpose in life. In addition, Megan’s research focuses on the relationships between discrimination, sense of purpose, and health, including how sense of purpose may serve as a tool to reduce health disparities. In her free time, she also enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her 2 cats, and watching scary movies.