Graduate Students

Esther Hanbyeol Lee

Hanbyeol (Esther) Lee

Esther is in her fourth year of the Ph.D. program in Social Psychology at the University at Buffalo. She received her B.A. and M.A. in Psychology from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Her research interests broadly include how various cues in the environment shape impressions of the environment, people within those environments, and downstream consequences of these impressions. In her free time, Esther likes to spend time with friends, work out, and watch movies with some beer.

Selected Works

  • Lee, E.H. (2026, February). Processing multiple cues: How physical and social cues shape safety and threat perceptions in a classroom. Poster presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference. Chicago, IL.
  • Park, L. E., Chaney, K. E., Koefler, N., Lee, E. H., & Pereira-Jorge, I. (2025). How to thrive in times of threat and uncertainty. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 19(8), e70076, 1-10.
  • Lee, E.H. (2025, February). International students’ perceptions of environments​ and expectations of future interactions in the US. Poster presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference. Denver, CO.
  • Lee, E.H., Kim, J. J., Cheon, J. E., & Kim, Y. H. (2023). Multifaceted effects of promotion focus on marital outcomes under mate value discrepancy. Family Relations.

Nicole Koefler

Nicole Koefler

Nicole is in her final year of the Ph.D. program in Social Psychology at the University at Buffalo. She earned her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Theology & Ethics from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University. Nicole’s research interests include understanding how individuals successfully (and unsuccessfully) seek connection with others, and the ways in which people make sense of the world through their moral and religious convictions. In her leisure time, she enjoys perusing used-book stores, exploring Buffalo, and increasing her collection of house plants.

Selected Works

  • Park, L. E., Ward, D. E., Naragon-Gainey, K., Canning, E. A., Koefler, N., Panlilio, Z. A. Vessels, V., & Pascuzzi, G. (in press). Perceptions of Safety and Threat in the Environment: The STEP Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
  • Park, L.E., Ward, D.E., & Koefler, N. (2026). Camera on or off? Appearance-based rejection sensitivity in virtual classroom and work settings. Self and Identity, 25(5), 601-622.
  • Park, L. E., Chaney, K. E., Koefler, N., Lee, E. H., & Pereira-Jorge, I. (2025). How to thrive in times of threat and uncertainty. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 19(8), e70076, 1-10.
  • Koefler, N., Naidu, E.S., Gabriel, S., Schneider, V., Pascuzzi, G. S., & Paravati, E. (2024). Let the music play: Live music fosters collective effervescence and leads to lasting positive outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52(3).
  • Park, L.E., Ward, D.E., Naragon-Gainey, K., Fujita, K., & Koefler, N. (2024). I’m still spending:  Financial contingency of self-worth predicts financial motivational conflict and compulsive buying. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 50(2), 232-252.

Lab Affiliated Graduate Students

Corey Allred

Corey Allred

Corey Allred is a third year Ph.D. student in Psychology at the University at Buffalo.

He received his B.A. at Carleton College in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. Corey’s research interests include the boundary conditions of empathy and compassion, impact of social media on interpersonal processes, and how anger expression elicits empathic concern in others. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games and DnD with friends, looking after his cat and plants, and getting overly invested in the workings of fictional worlds.

Izilda Pereira-Jorge

Izilda Pereira-Jorge

Izilda Pereira-Jorge is a fifth year PhD student at UB. Her research interests include perceptions of representation of marginalized groups, social identity-threat and safety, and prejudice confrontations. 

Selected Works

  • Park, L. E., Chaney, K. E., Koefler, N., Lee, E. H., & Pereira-Jorge, I. (2025). How to thrive in times of threat and uncertainty. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 19(8), e70076, 1-10.
  • Pereira-Jorge, I, Oswald, F., Chaney, K.E., & Garr-Schultz, A. (in press). Marginalized and advantaged parents’ perceptions of identity-safety cues in K-12 classrooms. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 
  • Cipollina, R., Pereira-Jorge, I., Wong, K., & Chaney, K.E. (2025). “I can’t stop thinking about it”: The mental and behavioral health correlates of disclosure rumination among sexual minorities. Stigma and Health. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000617
  • Pereira-Jorge, I., Chaney, K, Oswald, F., & Garr-Schultz, A. (2024, February). Norms of pronoun-sharing at the workplace influence perceived motives and LGBT+ allyship expectations. Poster presented at Gender Preconference, Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention, San Diego, CA. 
  • Pereira-Jorge, I. & Chaney, K. (2024, February). Descriptive social norms impact perceived social costs and benefits to confronting anti-Asian bias. Poster presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention, San Diego, CA.

Valerie Vessels

Valerie Vessels

Valerie Vessels is the Project Support Specialist for Dr. Lora Park at the University at Buffalo. She received her B.S. in Psychobiology and B.A. in Gender Studies from UCLA, and her M.A. in Psychological Research from California State University, Long Beach. Valerie has used her administrative and research experience in Dr. Park’s lab to manage multiple study projects including an NSF grant project. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her cat, baking sourdough, reading, and listening to true crime podcasts.

Selected Works

  • Park, L. E., Ward, D. E., Naragon-Gainey, K., Canning, E. A., Koefler, N., Panlilio, Z., Vessels, V., & Pascuzzi, G. (in press). Perceptions of safety and threat in the environment: The STEP scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
  • Park, L. E., Ward, D. E., Moore-Russo, D., Rickard, B., Vessels, V., & Hundley, J. (2026). Positive feedback as a lever to boost students’ STEM outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52(1), 176-197.
  • Park, L. E., Naidu, E., Lemay, E., Canning, E., Ward, D. E., Panlilio, Z., & Vessels, V. (2023). Social evaluative threat across individual, relational, and collective selves. In B. Gawronski (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol.68, pp.139-199). Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.
  • Park, L. E., Italiano, A., & Vessels, V. (2023). Managers’ frequent displays of busyness predict employees’ job disengagement, burnout, and turnover intentions. International Journal of Social Psychology, 1-48.