2026 Strumpf Scholar Award Recipients Announced

The Strumpf Scholar Award, provided by the Linda Brodsky Strumpf Liberal Arts Centennial Graduate Endowment, recognizes outstanding achievement and promise in areas of research supported by the Child Study Center. Students who receive the Strumpf Scholar Award show innovation and promise in their own research, often have multiple lines of research, and have begun the process of sharing this work with the child psychology research community via presentations and often publications.  Selected graduate students are provided with two years of funding for summer support, as well as additional funds for research-related costs.

We are pleased to announce the 2026 Strumpf Scholars: Katherine (Kat) All, a Child Clinical Psychology graduate student and Metzli Lombera, a Child Clinical Psychology graduate student.

Kat is a third-year Child Clinical Psychology doctoral student interested in improving the assessment of pediatric psychopathology. Her primary mentor is Cynthia Huang-Pollock, Ph.D. Kat graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a minor in Hispanic studies. At Penn State, Kat has investigated the nuances of assessment and how they can inform clinical work. Her master’s thesis was titled, Evaluating joint models of psychopathology and personality. Findings from her research suggest that assessing personality factors such as positive affectivity aids in the assessment of depressive disorders. As a Strumpf Scholar, Kat plans to initiate a new study which will form the basis for her dissertation. Funding from the award will provide the opportunity for data collection, coding, analysis, and writing. The Strumpf Scholar Award will help Kat lay the groundwork for an academic career examining the intersections of parenting behaviors, children’s temperament factors, and child psychopathology.

Metzli’s research in the Child Clinical Psychology program broadly focuses on improving the assessment of childhood trauma. Her primary mentor is Martha E. Wadsworth, Ph.D. Metzli has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of California Berkeley and is currently a predoctoral fellow on Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network T32 training grant. Findings from her master’s project showed that the way child maltreatment is measured impacts its relation to mental health outcomes. As a recipient of the Strumpf Scholar Award, Metzli will receive the support necessary to begin work on her dissertation. She plans to expand her research to focus on better measurement of traumatic experiences, including trauma experienced by members of the Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) community. Metzli’s long-term goal is to have an impactful career in academia producing science that improves lives.

Please join us in congratulating Kat and Metzli!