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Weather Alert

Due to the winter weather forecast, all classes that begin at 6 p.m. or later at Kean’s main campus in Union will be conducted remotely today, Tuesday, February 11. Classes that begin before 6 p.m. will operate as normal.

Only essential personnel should report to work as required after 6 p.m. today. Employees with questions about their status should consult their supervisors. Kean Ocean will follow the Ocean County College schedule. All students and employees at Kean Ocean are encouraged to visit the OCC website for updates.

Welcome to Teen Experiences, Emotions and Neuroendocrinology (TEEN) Lab!

Adolescence is the transitional period from childhood to adulthood, characterized as a period of growth and resilience. Paradoxically, morbidity and mortality increase markedly over the transition to adolescence making it also a period of risk and vulnerability. To resolve this paradox, TEEN Lab examines cognitive-affective processes supported by frontal-striatal brain circuits by taking interdisciplinary approaches.  

Teen lab logo

To this end, we use publicly accessible big data and multi-modal neuroimaging methods including electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), along with clinical, behavioral and hormone methods. Our research program seeks to address two primary questions. First, we seek to characterize normal developmental trajectories of the frontal-striatal brain regions supporting cognitive-affective processes from childhood to adolescence as a function of pubertal development. Second, we use such knowledge gained from the first line of research as a template to elucidate how individual differences (e.g., reward sensitivity) and psychosocial factors (e.g., urbanicity, stressful life events, social media use) may lead to adolescents’ risky behavior (e.g., substance use) and the development of psychopathology in adolescence. 

Mission Statement

We are dedicated to advancing children’s well-being by understanding and supporting diverse children through scientific innovation. 

 

Contact Us

Dr. Chung is committed to engaging underrepresented students in her interdisciplinary research programs. She is seeking highly motivated undergraduate/graduate students interested in significantly enhancing neuroscience and/or data science research experiences through various fellowship programs offered at Kean University: 

NIH Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-Rise) Program

McNair Scholars program 

Spring 2025 – Spring 2026: We are seeking highly motivated undergraduate and/or graduate students interested in collecting and analyzing behavioral data and/or hormone data. If interested, please send your C.V. to Dr. Chung at ychung@kean.edu.