Katherine Zambrana, M.S.Ed.

Katherine A. Zambrana, M.S.Ed. is a student in the Clinical Science Ph.D. program at Florida International University. Katherine completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Master of Science degree in Statistics at the University of Miami. During her time at UM, Katherine had the opportunity to work under the mentorship of: Dr. Rebecca Bulotsky-Shearer, as an undergraduate research assistant in her School Readiness lab; Dr. Daniel Messinger, as the research coordinator for his Infant Development lab; and Dr. Marie Guerda Nicolas, serving as a statistical consultant for Breakthrough Miami’s mentoring program in partnership with the CRECER research team.

Katherine’s research interest broadly focuses on the identification and understanding of early relational and contextual factors that may influence young children’s socioemotional development and academic achievement. Her primary interest is in promoting school readiness in young children at risk for early learning and disruptive behavior problems, specifically for ethnically and linguistically diverse children and families. She’s also interested in translating research to practice through the implementation and evaluation of school-based interventions.

Relevant Publication/Presentations/Posters:

Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K. C., Maharaj, A., Cheatham-Johnson, R., Waguespack, A. (in press). Latino Parent Involvement and Associations with Home Literacy and Oral Reading Fluency. School Psychology Quarterly.

 Poznanski, B., Zambrana, K. A., Crawley, M., Hart, K. C., Graziano, P. A. (under review). Promoting Early Literacy Skills Within Behavioral Parent Training for Preschool Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems: Impact of a Brief Dialogic Reading Intervention on Parents’ Shared-Book Reading Skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K. C., Gregg, D., Cheatham-Johnson, R., Waguespack, A., & Graziano, P. (submitted). Examining executive functioning and early literacy skills for young children at-risk for reading failure. Society of Research in Child Development. Baltimore, MD.

McNew, M., Todd, J., Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K. C., Bahrick, L. (submitted). Individual differences in intersensory processing predicts executive functioning and preliteracy skills. Society of Research in Child Development. Baltimore, MD.

Maldonado, A., Gregg, D., Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K. C., & Waguespack, A. (2018, May). The effects of a Tier 2 summer reading intervention program on literacy skills development for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Delays. American Psychological Association. San Francisco, CA.

Puerta, K., Poznanski, B., Wilmot, M., Alvarez, C., Zambrana, K. A., Graziano, P., & Hart, K. (2018, March). STP-PreK: Examining academic school readiness outcomes for children across program settings. Miami International Child & Adolescent Mental Health. Miami, FL.

Maldonado, A., Gregg, D., Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K. C., & Waguespack, A. (2018, March). Summer Reading Explorers Program: Response to intervention for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Delays. Miami International Child & Adolescent Mental Health. Miami, FL.

Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K. C. (2017, November). Getting Latino parents involved: Parental perceptions of involvement and their implications for early intervention in literacy. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. San Diego, CA.

Page, J., Constantino, J.N., Zambrana, K. A., Martin, E. R., Zhang, Y., Abbacchi, A., Tunc, I., & Messinger, D. S.  (2016). Quantitative Autistic Trait Measurements Index Background Genetic Risk for ASD in Hispanic Families. Molecular Autism.

Martin, K. B., Zambrana, K. A., Gangi, D.N., Cuccaro, M., & Messinger, D.S. (2016, May). Dopamine and looking patterns in the Face-to-Face/Still-Face. International Conference in Infant Studies. New Orleans, Louisiana.

Zambrana, K. A., Bouza, J., Shearer, R., & Gaona, P. (2015, May). Buffering the effects of poverty on Head Start children: Family engagement and approaches to learning. Presented at the Child Cross-University Collaborative Mentoring Conference, Coral Gables, Florida, USA.

Zambrana, K. A., Mattson, W. I., Gangi, D. N., Geng, S., & Messinger, D. S. (2014, May). Examining non-expert ratings of emotional valence in the Face-to-Face/Still-Face Paradigm. Presented at the Child Cross-University Collaborative Mentoring Conference, Coral Gables, Florida, USA.

Abbachi, A., Zhang, Y., Zambrana, K.A., Messiner, D.S., & Constantino, J.N. (2015, May). Intergenerational Patterns of Quantitative Autistic Traits in Hispanic Families. International Society for Autism Research. Salt Lake City, UT.

Zambrana, K. A., Bouza, J., Shearer, R., & Gaona, P. (2015, March). Buffering the effects of poverty on Head Start children: Dimensions of family involvement and Approaches to learning. Society of Research in Child Development. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bouza, J., Zambrana, K. A., Fernandez, V., Carter, T., Shearer, R., Gaona, P., & Bichay, K. (2015, March). Examining the role of family involvement domains in Head Start children’s peer social competence and behavioral maladjustment. Society for Research in Child Development. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Martin, K. B., Zambrana, K. A., Haltigan, J.D., Jia, R., Beebe, B., Messinger, D.S (2015, March). More is not always better: Gaze patterns and later attachment security. Society for Research in Child Development. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bouza, J., Shearer, R., & Zambrana, K. A. (2014, November) Multidimensional assessment of family involvement for English speaking urban, low-income families in the southeast. Head Start 12th National Research Conference on Early Childhood. Washington, D.C.

Bouza, J., Zambrana, K., & Shearer, R. (2013, November) The Relationship between Family Involvement and Peer Social Competence in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Head Start Children. 8th Biennial Society for the study of Human Development Conference. Fort Lauderdale, FL.