Dr. Makeba Wilbourn, Director
Makeba Wilbourn completed her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in the Department of Human Development at Cornell University in 2008. Before moving to Ithaca, NY, she completed her BA and MA at California State University, Fullerton. In the fall of 2008, she continued her research studying the relations between gesture, thought, and language throughout development in the Wilbourn Infant Laboratory at Duke (WILD).
Lindsey Shi, Lab Manager
Lab Coordinator
Sam is the Research Lab Coordinator for the WILD Lab. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Duke University in 2025.
Research Assistants
Annika Johnson
A junior from Mercer Island, Washington, studying Psychology and French with a minor in Economics.
Ariana Oñate
A second-year student at Duke University majoring in Psychology and Global Health. Originally from Houston, Texas, she is interested in understanding psychological and social factors that influence health and development.
Jacqueline (Jackie) Palmer
A senior in the Class of 2026 majoring in Psychology with a minor in Education. She is particularly interested in Black maternal health and reproductive justice.
Kai Cooper
Born and raised in New York City. I’m the middle of three brothers—shoutout to all the middle children out there! I’m currently a junior at Duke University, double majoring in Psychology and English. In my free time I enjoy playing basketball, spending time with friends (especially my girlfriend, who’s also my best friend), cooking, and exploring anything related to fashion. I joined WILD because of my love for working with kids and my deep interest in child development—something that really took off after taking Dr. Wilbourn’s Developmental Psychology class.
Sanoe Rapozo
A third-year undergraduate student double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. She has conducted research in infant-directed speech and linguistics, spinal cord injury, higher-order motor neurons, and mental health in native college student populations. She hopes to pursue a PhD or PsyD in clinical psychology and is particularly interested in mental health in Indigenous communities, especially the Native Hawaiian population.
Sia Medina
A sophomore from Houston, Texas majoring in Cultural Anthropology on the pre-med track.
Sierra Fontenot
I am a senior double majoring in Psychology and Computer Science. My research interests lie in AI overreliance and social development, and I am excited to be joining the WILD lab to learn from everyone!
Sophia Becraft
A sophomore at Duke University studying Neuroscience and Psychology on the pre-health track. She is a research assistant in the Wilbourn Infant Lab (WILD) and works on the IDMorph and EmoMorph studies examining infant identity and emotion perception. She is particularly interested in how early social and perceptual processes shape development and influence long-term outcomes.
Alumni
Kristin Johnson, Ph.D. (2016)
Kelsey Lucca, Ph.D. (2016)
Annika Agrawal
Class of 2023
Anu Aggarwal
Class of 2024
Carley Genser
Class of 2025
Isabela Agi Maluli
Class of 2025
If interested in an undergraduate RA position, please complete and this form, or email your resume and a brief statement of interest to wilbournlab@gmail.com.
