Meredith Pecukonis (CARE lab) is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, and is conducting her research at the Center for Autism Research Excellence under the mentorship of Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg. Currently, she is interested in using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to identify the neural underpinnings of social communication differences in children with autism spectrum disorder. She previously received her B.S. in psychology with a minor in neuroscience from the University of Maryland, College Park. She expects to graduate in 2022 with a Ph.D. in Developmental Science.