Jui Baliga (’26)

Jui Baliga is a Penn State junior majoring in Psychology. Growing up, Jui was always surrounded by children and was intrigued by their behaviors. Her curiosity deepened during her time at Penn State when she discovered child clinical psychology and began participating in research. After completing her undergraduate degree, Jui plans to pursue a master’s degree in counseling psychology or a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. She aims to gain practical experience in the field to deepen her understanding of the real-world applications of child psychology.

Jui works as an undergraduate research assistant in the Parent-Child Dynamics Lab with Dr. Erika Lunkenheimer. The Parent-Child Dynamics Lab examines real-time parent-child interactions, focusing on behavioral patterns, emotional regulation, and co-regulation processes that influence child development. Jui aides the lab’s efforts by conducting behavioral video coding of parent-child interactions and analyzing patterns in communication and regulation. She also participates in data collection for the lab’s ongoing project, the Parent Regulation, Engagement, Stress, and Health (PRESH) project, which examines explicitly how parents’ beliefs, behaviors, and interactions shape children’s self-regulation and well-being, with an emphasis on early childhood development. Jui administers individual cognitive tasks and collects biological samples, including saliva and hair, to support research on developmental and physiological processes. Additionally, she is working on her honors thesis, guided by Dr. Lunkenheimer, which examines transitional codes in parent directives and teaching behaviors. Jui explores how these patterns differ between a child’s parents and how they influence child engagement and developmental outcomes. Using dynamic systems analysis and behavioral coding, her study seeks to contribute to the understanding of how parental structuring and responsiveness shape early childhood development.

Outside of research, Jui is an active member of Psi Chi and serves as the president of Lift the Mask, a club dedicated to raising mental health awareness on campus. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels and painting, which allow her to express creativity and unwind.

The CSC wishes Jui all the best in her future academic pursuits!