In addition to being an Honors student, George Emory is a junior Psychology major with a minor in Statistics and Data Science. Under the guidance of Associate Professor Deborah Drabick, he is a Research Assistant in the Child Health and Behavior Lab. Emory assists with conducting literature searches, data analysis, creating project materials and problem-solving in research protocol development.

One aspect of the lab's work is the Coping Power program, which evaluates potential treatment moderators of an intervention for youth with conduct problems. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 limitations, Emory has not yet been able to work directly with research participants or be involved in intervention sessions, but he looks forward to these possibilities in the fall.

To date, Emory has been the first author on one conference presentation and a co-author on three more. He is also a co-author on a manuscript to be published in Fall 2021 in an issue of the journal Development and Psychopathology. He was recently awarded a Diamond Research Scholar award to conduct his own research project with Dr. Drabick. He will investigate whether positive or negative parenting behaviors interact with child temperament to confer risk or resilience in the development of externalizing or internalizing problems. 

Upon graduating from Temple University, Emory plans on obtaining a PhD so that he can conduct research and work with children with various behavioral disorders. He is most excited about contributing to research involving trauma and attachment theory. Through an experience at community college, Emory spent time in Romania, where he learned about the effects of institutionalization on children. He attributes this experience to his passion for the field of child development, specifically attachment theory. When Emory transferred to Temple, he knew he wanted to get involved in research. He had a very clear picture of the type of work he wanted to do, and he credits joining Dr. Drabick's lab with helping him visualize his future goals more clearly. Emory also attributes Adjunct Instructor Jill Swirsky's Careers in Psychology course for helping him understand that obtaining a doctorate is an attainable goal. He believes that when it comes time to graduate, he will be well-prepared to enter a PhD program and eventually apply his passion for child development.