Lily Jensen, BPhill

Lily (she/her) graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022 with a Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) in Psychology and minors in Applied Statistics and Studio Arts. While in undergrad, she started her research career interning for a small startup called Biomotivate. During her internship, Lily created a novel way to visualize participant physiological data in conjunction with what they were seeing in a stress-inducing virtual reality video and developed skills in thematic coding from EMA data. Her skill set led her to join Dr. Aidan Wright's Personality Processes and Outcomes Laboratory during the early stages of a study investigating alcohol consumption patterns in young adults. The time working in Dr. Wright’s Lab cultivated Lily’s deep appreciation for examining psychopathology and personality from a dimensional perspective, as their expressions constantly changes across time, environments, and interpersonal relationships. This appreciation is what underscored her to pursue an honors thesis on the dimensionality of narcissism as seen in the interpersonal context.

After graduating, Lily worked under Dr. Erika Forbes and Dr. Kristen Eckstrand on studies investigating the impacts of social factors on sexual and gender minority young adults at risk for suicide and adolescents at risk for depression. While her role in both studies extended towards systematically improving participant study flow procedures, she gained an enriching understanding of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and representation of underrepresented and minoritized populations that is ever evolving.

In the future, Lily hopes to matriculate into a Clinical Psychology PhD program where she can investigate the individualistic variability and dimensionality of how personality and mood are expressed and influenced by social environments. If Lily is not researching in the lab, she is probably rock climbing, fencing, thrifting, or at an art museum.