PEOPLE — PRIDE LAB

The Psychology of Racism, Identity, Diversity, and Equity (PRIDE) Lab

Simon Howard, Ph. D.

simon.howard@miami.edu

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Simon Howard is the Director of the Psychology of Racism, Identity, Diversity, and Equity (PRIDE) lab and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami. He is a first-generation college graduate who completed his undergraduate degree at San Jose State University. Dr. Howard went on to earn his Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Tufts University. Using experimental methods drawn from cognitive, perceptual, and social investigations his research aims to understand and address contemporary racism. To this end he has conducted research on the interpersonal and contextual influences on racially biased perception, judgment, behavior, and mental health of both historically advantaged (e.g., White people) and disadvantaged group members (e.g., Black people). His recent work can be organized in three broad themes: 1) The role of religion in maintaining racial hierarchy; 2) the influence of race on perception, judgment, and behavior, and 3) The consequences of exposure to vicarious racism for racially stigmatized groups.

Outside the lab, Dr. Howard enjoys traveling, training capoeira, working on music (hip-hop), attending spoken word open mics, and eating good food.

Lisa Yuwen Hu

lyh11@miami.edu

GRADUATE STUDENT

Lisa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2021. Broadly, her research interests include prejudice, discrimination, and health disparities. Throughout her graduate career, she aims to examine how negative perceptions of marginalized groups impact both the health outcomes and access to health care in these populations. In her spare time, you can often find Lisa reading books, watching TV, playing with fidget toys, building 3D puzzles, and bullet journaling.

Mirka Dirzo

smd336@miami.edu

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Prior to joining the lab, Mirka was a Project Coordinator for the Center for Open Science and worked on the Open Scholarship Survey along with other projects relating to researcher’s attitudes and behaviors. She received her B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Chicano/a Studies along with a minor in Education from UC Davis.

Mirka has worked in labs investigating topics related to attitudes, behaviors/norms, executive functions, cognitive control and bilingualism. In her previous lab, she analyzed how students perceived visualizations of stereotypes which led to her current research interests which are focused on how stereotype threats/perceptions impact identity and social behavior.

Outside of the lab, Mirka enjoys reading and hanging out at the library or exploring new places for good food and even better coffee!

Meet the Research Assistants