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Who is Joscelin?

Profile picture from Joscelin sitting at a courtyard smiling

Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo, Ph.D. is an Assistant Research Professor at Penn State University whose work integrates developmental psychology, neuroscience, and data science to uncover how children’s social worlds shape their brains and behavior. At Penn State’s CAT Lab, she is investigating how parent–child interactions shape brain synchrony and regulation under stress, combining cutting-edge methods like fNIRS hyperscanning, EEG, ECG, and eye tracking with advanced analytic pipelines.

Her expertise extends beyond research design to advanced data science solutions. Joscelin builds scalable, reproducible pipelines in R and Python, creates automated reporting systems, and develops innovative workflows that make complex multimodal data accessible to scientists and practitioners alike.

A recognized leader in equity and inclusion, she co-founded Black in Psych and serves as a DEI representative for the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, where she spearheads initiatives to broaden access to scientific training and careers.

Joscelin earned her B.A. from Berea College and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience from Georgetown University. At Penn State, she combines rigorous science with a commitment to mentorship and community, advancing research that is as impactful in the lab as it is in the world.