Yuri-Grace graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology and a secondary in Classics. During her undergraduate career, she conducted research under the guidance of Dr. Matthew K. Nock, doctoral candidate Shirley B. Wang, and Dr. Rebecca Shingleton, which largely covered themes of self-harm, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction with a focus on adolescent and athletic populations.

In completion of her honors thesis, Yuri-Grace investigated identity, social norms, and body image in the development of disordered eating among pre-professional adolescent ballet dancers. Through this endeavor, she served as principal investigator for the Discerning Attitudes towards Norms, Control, & Eating (DANCE) Study and was awarded Highest Honors and the 2021 Psychology Faculty Prize. Formerly, she worked as a research assistant with Project EMBODY headed by Shirley Wang, for which she completed independent analyses on the control functions of disordered eating. Thus far, Yuri-Grace has virtually presented at the ABCT and APS annual conferences, as well as AED’s International Conference on Eating Disorders. She has received institutional grants including a 2019 summer fellowship with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Decision Science Laboratory and has been invited to speak on panels hosted by the Harvard FAS Science Education Office and Department of Psychology. 

With the Stress & Development Lab, Yuri-Grace has further explored her interests spanning social and affective factors that influence the relationship between life stress and psychopathology among adolescents and young adults. She is currently conducting an independent analysis on the mediating and moderating role of within-person fluctuations in emotion regulation on stress and internalizing symptoms, advised by Drs. Katie McLaughlin and Alexandra Rodman. She intends to continue working with intensive, longitudinal methods and pursue a doctoral program in clinical psychology for Fall 2023 matriculation. Ultimately, she sees a path forward to use her experiences in research and advocacy to influence policy on mental health care and access. Outside of the lab, Yuri-Grace enjoys dancing, cooking, painting, and adventuring outdoors!