About Us
Dr. David Purpura
Dr. Purpura is a Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University and the Director of the Center for Early Learning. He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Florida State University and a postdoctoral research fellowship in Mathematics Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research is
Dr. Purpura is a Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University and the Director of the Center for Early Learning. He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Florida State University and a postdoctoral research fellowship in Mathematics Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research is focused on early mathematics and reading development, home numeracy and literacy environments, mathematics learning for dual language learners, behavioral and cognitive development, and interventions for children at-risk of later mathematics difficulties
Senior Research Associates
Dr. Michael Eiland
Dr. Eiland is a Senior Research Associate on both the Reading and Playing with Math and the Our Mathematical World projects. His interests include early childhood and elementary mathematics education.
Graduate Students
Lauren Westerberg
Lauren is a PhD student in HDFS at Purdue. Her research interests include: Preschooler's STEM learning, home science environment, measurement of preschooler's science skills and knowledge, early STEM intervention.
Fabiola Herrera
Fabiola is a PhD student in HDFS at Purdue. Her interests include: the intersectionality of Latine youths' cultural values and identity and its relation to their academic abilities
Patrick Ehrman
Patrick is a PhD student in HDFS at Purdue. His interests include: Early math and language development, math interventions, educational eBooks, and the home learning environment.
Suzanne Varnell
Suzanne is a PhD student in HDFS at Purdue. Her interests include: early STEM development and the etiology of gender differences in STEM skills.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Dr. Sona Kumar
Dr. Kumar started as a postdoc at Purdue in 2023 as part of the NSF PURPOSE Postdoctoral Training program. She received her Ph.D. in Applied Human Development from Boston University. Her research program focuses on investigating the developmental origins and trajectory of the gender and racial gap in STEM fields.
Dr. Avery Closser
Dr. Closser started as a postdoc at Purdue in 2022. She received her Ph.D. in Learning Science & Technologies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is a learning scientist focused on discovering how we can leverage the inherently embodied nature of learning to improve instructional materials for educational technologies and classroom settings. Additionally, she is interested in uncovering how students' individual and developmental characteristics may influence the way they are impacted by scaffolding in instructional materials to inform the design of educational technologies and open instructional materials.
Dr. Susie Beltrán Grimm
Dr. Beltrán Grimm started as a postdoc at Purdue in 2021. She received her doctorate from Pepperdine University and previously was the director of early learning at PBS SoCal. Her research focuses on learning and development in early childhood, especially in math, media, and technology, focusing on children from low-income Latine communities. She is especially interested in how children learn math and use media and technology in informal learning environments, focusing on lifting Latine families' funds of knowledge to improve educational and developmental outcomes.
Lab Alumni
Dr. Tanya Paes
Dr. Paes is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Psychology & Biobehavioral Sciences department at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She was a postdoc at Purdue from 2020-2023. She received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on how to support the development of cognitive and behavioral skills, particularly executive function, social-emotional, and school readiness skills in children that may be at-risk for later cognitive difficulties, including children with cancer and childhood cancer survivors. Dr. Paes has experience working with children from families with low incomes and those from diverse ethnic groups using experimental, observational, and longitudinal methodologies.
Dr. Tamika McElveen
Dr. McElveen is currently an assistant professor at Miami University (Ohio). She was a postdoc at Purdue from 2021-2023. She received her Ph.D in Educational Psychology from North Carolina State University. Her research investigates how culturally relevant teaching and learning can positively impact the academic and social motivations of Black and Latinx youth. Specifically, Tamika is examining belonging- and communally-supportive instruction as mechanisms of student motivation in mathematics. Her current non-profit leadership experiences and past professional roles in school counseling and community mental health have strengthened her commitment to scholarship that honors the reciprocal relationship between motivation research and instructional practice.
Dr. Alexa Ellis
Dr. Ellis is currently an assistant professor at the University of Alabama. She was a postdoc at Purdue from 2020-2023. She received her Ph.D. in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan. She is interested in the origins of individual differences in young children's mathematical abilities and the various contexts that contribute to those differences, such as the home and school environments. Further, she is interested in the measurement and diverse methodologies used to assess both mathematical skills and mathematical environments.
Dr. Connor O'Rear
Dr. O'Rear is currently an analyst and consultant at Notre Dame's Institutional Research, Strategy, and Innovation office. He was a postdoc at Purdue from 2020-2023. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology at Notre Dame. His research looks at how children's early math skills develop as well as how to intervene to improve these skills in children at risk for later math difficulties. He also focuses on parent and child factors that determine how children's early learning environment is structured. His research helps provide a framework for how best to bridge theory and practice to promote children's early learning.
Dr. Erica Zippert
Dr. Zippert received her Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Maryland, College Park, and previously worked as a postdoctoral scholar at Vanderbilt University before coming to Purdue. Dr. Zippert studies young children’s mathematics development and how it is supported during social and playful interactions with parents and peers in a variety of informal contexts. She also examines the role of materials and parent and child factors in determining the quality of early math learning experiences.
Dr. Jimena Cosso
Dr. Cosso is currently an assistant professor at the Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. in Education Psychology and Research Methodology from Purdue University in 2022. Her research explores learning contexts that shape how young children develop and learn, with a particular focus on dual language learners (DLLs) from immigrant Latine communities. Dr. Cosso addresses this topic through two strands: (a) culturally developed measures and (b) contextual factors shaping early learning, with a specific interest in early mathematics skills.
Dr. Yemimah King
Dr. King graduated from HDFS at Purdue in 2022. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Georgia State University. Her research interests include: Early language and math development, parent-child interactions, home learning environment, educational activity engagement (traditional and digital).
Dr. Amy Napoli
Dr. Napoli was a graduate student in HDFS at Purdue from 2013-2018. She is currently an Assistant Professor and Early Childhood Extension Specialist at the University of Nebraska. Her research and extension work focuses on early childhood education, numeracy development, home learning environments, and intervention development and evaluation.
Dr. Caroline Byrd Hornburg
Dr. Hornburg was a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue from 2017-2019. She is currently an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech, and director of the Learning and Development Lab. Her research program focuses on children’s learning, primarily in the domain of mathematics, from PreK to 6th grade. She focuses on skills that are foundational for understanding of later math concepts, as data on early skills can provide insight into identification of children at risk for later difficulties. Her research also provides a framework for optimal design of interventions to improve children’s understanding.
Dr. Ellen Litkowski
Dr. Litkowski was a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue from 2017-2019. She is currently a Human Services Research at Mathematica. She was previously a Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Federal Executive Branch Fellow in the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Her research investigates factors within the home and school environments that contribute to the development of children’s school readiness skills. Moreover, Dr. Litkowski is interested in understanding the role of programs and policies in supporting children’s experiences within these early contexts.
Dr. Joyce Lin
Dr. Lin was a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue from 2017-2019. She is currently an assistant professor at California State University - Fullerton. Her research focuses on how to support parents in providing optimal home environments for their young children. Specifically, she examines how parent perceptions of more distal contexts impact what they do with their children at home. Her two lines of research focus on culture and physical punishment and the various factors that contribute to young children’s home learning environments.