Seanna Leath
Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Seanna (Shawna) Leath (Leeth) directs the Fostering Healthy Identities and Resilience (FHIRE) Lab, which focuses on the holistic development and wellbeing of Black girls and women within their families, schools, and communities. Her research expertise includes identity development, gendered racial bias and discrimination, and cultural socialization processes in Black families. Seanna has hosted workshops on Black women's health and wellness, racial and gender inequities in higher education, and family-school partnerships for Black youth. Prior to joining WashU, Dr. Leath was an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. She received her PhD in Education & Psychology from the University of Michigan.
In her free time, Seanna enjoys reading, volleyball, gardening, and adventures with her kids.
Emily Willroth
Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Director of the WELLab
Dr. Emily Willroth grew up in St. Louis and is thrilled to return to her hometown as a new faculty member at WashU. Emily’s current research examines how different components of wellbeing (e.g., emotion, life satisfaction, sense of purpose) vary and change across time, both in the short-term from moment-to-moment and in the long-term across the adult lifespan. She applies insights from this research to examine links between wellbeing and important health outcomes, such as chronic illness, dementia risk, and longevity. Prior to joining WashU, Emily completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of California Berkeley, MA in Experimental Psychology from the College of William in Mary, and BA in Psychology at the University of Missouri.
In her free time, Emily enjoys hosting board game nights, reading fiction, and hiking in the Smoky Mountains.
Jessie Sun
Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Dr. Jessie Sun is focused on two fundamental aspects of the good life—well-being and morality—in real-world contexts. Jessie’s lab has three main lines of research: (1) Social Experiences and Well-Being (e.g.. What kinds of social interactions feel more rewarding?), (2) Morality and Well-Being (e.g., Are moral people happier?), and (3) Moral Improvement (e.g., What inspires people to be more moral?). To study people “in the wild,” she uses a diverse methodological toolkit, including experience sampling, naturalistic audio recordings, informant reports, and personality change interventions. Prior to joining WashU, Jessie was a MindCORE Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and received her Ph.D. from UC Davis and BA (Honors) from the University of Melbourne.
In her free time, Jessie enjoys Brazilian Zouk dancing, rock-climbing, handstands, and music-making (singing, violin, piano, and more recently, ukelele).