The EDEN Lab is a compassionate, dedicated, and inclusive community of scholars who study development and behavior from multiple perspectives to inform interventions and treatments that improve the lives of children and families.
Our exceptional and interdisciplinary team includes members with different backgrounds and experiences, from undergraduate and graduate students to postdoctoral researchers and research staff.
Penn students
Undergraduate Student Applications
First- and second-year students from the University of Pennsylvania who are interested in joining the EDEN Lab should submit an application form. Applications are considered on a rolling basis.
Third-year students who are planning a Psychology independent project or senior honors thesis should be aware that we receive many more applications than there are places available. Strong preference is therefore given to students who have already completed at least one semester as an undergraduate research assistant in the EDEN Lab, and we only consider two-semester-long projects.
For more information about the Psychology honors program, please see the department website or email Dr. John Trueswell at johntrueswell@gmail.com
Research team
Research Staff
Opportunities for research staff depend on current projects and available funding in the EDEN Lab.
Our research team works across a range of projects focused on child development, antisocial behavior, parenting and family relationships, developmental psychopathology, physiology and attention, and computational approaches to understanding social interaction and behavior.
When we are actively recruiting for funded research positions, details about specific opportunities and how to apply will be posted here.
Doctoral training
Graduate Student Applicants
Whether Dr. Waller is accepting a new graduate student varies by admissions cycle and availability of funding in any year. We will update this page with information about availability for application for admission in Fall 2027 in late October 2026.
When recruiting graduate students, we particularly prioritize applicants with interests and research experience in areas that closely overlap with current work in the EDEN Lab.
Current areas of particular interest include:
- Computational linguistics, computer vision, and AI methods in psychiatry, including applications to externalizing psychopathology.
- Physiological and attentional systems underpinning externalizing psychopathology.
Prospective students whose interests and research experience fall outside these areas should strongly consider alternative PhD supervisors whose programs of research are more closely matched to their goals.
Learn about Penn Psychology graduate study →Advanced training
Postdoctoral Applicants
Researchers who are approaching completion of their PhD are encouraged to email Dr. Waller at rwaller@sas.upenn.edu to inquire about specific availability for postdoctoral research positions in the EDEN Lab or at Penn, including the MindCORE Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Scholars.
Typically, postdoctoral applicants who would be a good match to work in the lab study youth antisocial behavior, parenting and neighborhood context, developmental neuroscience, and developmental psychopathology.
Researchers with a particular interest or experience in the study of callous-unemotional traits, psychopathy, personality assessment, substance use and misuse, computational linguistics and computer vision methods, criminal justice, early-years intervention, social work, or multimodal assessment methods are also encouraged to get in touch about specific projects that might intersect with ongoing research and funded grants in the EDEN Lab.
Contact Dr. Waller →Questions?
Get in touch.
For general questions about joining the EDEN Lab, contact us at eden-lab@sas.upenn.edu.