Research assistants are an essential and valued part of Chronos Lab and facilitate many aspects of the research process. Most team members are students in the School of Communication with varied areas of interest in the field of communication and technology.
If you are interested in applying to be a lab RA, please submit your application here.
CURRENT RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Owen Dennewitz
Owen joined the lab in AU25. He is a third year Communication Technology major with a minor in American Sign Language (ASL). Owen’s research interests involve user-avatar relationships in digital media like video games, and how people project their characteristics and salient identities onto the avatars they interact with. Outside of the lab, he is a Resident Advisor (RA) in Morrill Tower on Ohio State’s campus, and an orientation peer leader with OSU’s First Year Experience office.
Navika Kodali
Navika joined the lab in AU25. She is a junior studying Communication Technology and Psychology with a minor in Design Thinking set to graduate in Spring 2027. Her interests lie in computer-mediated-communication, focusing on studying how individuals interact with each other using technology. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time outside, and creating ceramics.
Floria Liu
Floria joined the lab in SP24. She will complete her studies in Marketing with a minor in Business Analytics and a second minor in Communication Technology in Fall 2025. Her research interests focus on how communication technologies influence consumer decision-making, with particular emphasis on data-driven analysis of social media, gaming, and digital storytelling. At Chronos Lab, she is involved in projects that apply statistical modeling to examine the relationship between media narratives and purchasing behavior. Outside of academics, she enjoys photography and design as creative outlets, and spending time with her cats, Wells and Fargo.
Yasmeen Masri
Yasmeen joined the lab in AU25.
Carman Ngai
Carman joined the lab in AU25. Carman will be completing her B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering with a minor in Game Studies in Spring 2026. Her research interests focuses on understanding interpersonal relationships mediated on virtual platforms like video games and how video games affect personal identity. Beyond academics, Carman will be starting a full-time software engineering position in Summer 2026 and she enjoys playing video games and learning how to make them on Unity.
Yihan (Lauren) Sun
Yihan joined the lab in AU25. Yihan joined Chronos Lab in AU25. She is an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University majoring in Communication Technology. Her research interests include social comparison theory, social identities, and emotional engagement with media. At Chronos Lab, she contributes to studies on media psychology by assisting with the design of research materials and examining how social contexts in video games shape identity, emotion, and audience engagement. Yihan plans to pursue graduate studies to further strengthen her research foundation and build a career in marketing within the gaming and entertainment industries.
Jiaxu (Elmer) Ye
Jiaxu joined the lab in AU25. Jiaxu Ye is an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University majoring in Communication Technology with a minor in Economics. His research interests center on media psychology, human-computer interaction, and the social impact of digital platforms and video games. At Chronos Lab, Jiaxu assists with the design and execution of both quantitative and qualitative studies, contributes to data coding and analysis, and supports the preparation of research for conferences and publications. He is also deeply engaged in student leadership, founding multiple organizations that bridge technology, communication, and community engagement.
LAB ALUMNI
T. Christina Ricci, class of 2025 (RA Spring 2024 – Spring 2025)
Tingxuan (Tiffany) Chen, class of 2025 (RA Autumn 2023 – Spring 2025)
Minyi Zhao, class of 2024 (RA Spring 2024)
Wendy Wang, class of 2024 (RA Spring 2024)
Lingxin Zhang, class of 2024 (RA Spring 2023 – Spring 2024)
Sophia Reeder, class of 2024 (RA Autumn 2022 – Spring 2024)
Donald Neidecker-Gonzales, class of 2024 (RA Autumn 2022 – Spring 2024)
Tian Jin, class of 2023 (RA Autumn 2022 – Autumn 2023)
Jack DiCesare, class of 2023 (RA Autumn 2023)
Alexis (Lexi) Moran, class of 2023 (RA Autumn 2022 – Spring 2023)
Maggie McManus, class of 2023 (RA Autumn 2022 – Spring 2023)
Alexandra (Lexi) M. Blouin, class of 2022 (RA Spring 2019 – Spring 2022)
Annie Chu, class of 2022 (RA Spring 2021 – Spring 2022)
Hayley Silbert, class of 2022 (RA Summer 2021 – Spring 2022)
Sanjana Srinivasan, class of 2022 (RA Summer 2021 – Spring 2022)
Joslyn Branham, class of 2021 (RA Spring 2021 – Autumn 2021)
Anaïs Cabello, class of 2021 (RA Spring 2020 – Spring 2021)
Justin Park, class of 2020 (RA Autumn 2019 – Spring 2021)
Lingxiao (Billy) Wang, class of 2020 (RA Spring 2019 – Spring 2021)
Andrew Traina, class of 2020 (RA Summer 2020 – Spring 2021)
Kunyi (Queenie) Xia, class of 2020 (RA Autumn 2020 – Spring 2021)
Alexis Burgett, class of 2019 (RA Summer 2018 – Autumn 2020)
Victoria Piper, class of 2020 (RA Spring 2019 – Summer 2019)
Suriya Farrow-Harris, class of 2020 (RA Autumn 2019 – Spring 2020)
Shelby Hewitt, class of 2019 (RA Autumn 2019 – Spring 2020)
Lindsey Archipley, class of 2019 (RA Autumn 2018 – Autumn 2019)
ShuXian (Jenny) Mai, class of 2019 (RA Spring 2018 – Summer 2019)
Diego Villares, class of 2019 (RA Summer 2018 – Spring 2019)
Alexa Jo Berry, class of 2018 (RA Spring 2018 – Autumn 2018)
Thomas (Thom) Ferguson, class of 2018 (RA Summer 2018 – Autumn 2018)
CHRONOS LAB 