About me

Hello! My name is Bella Fascendini. I'm a PhD student at Princeton University, working with Prof. Natalia Vélez in the Psychology Department. I'm interested in studying how children reason and learn about themselves and the world around them. I'm particularly interested in children's causal reasoning and learning, and how they use it to make sense of the world.

Before joining Princeton, I worked with Prof. Kalanit Grill-Spector at Stanford University, where I studied how infants' brains develop in the first year of life. I also worked with Prof. Henrike Moll at USC, where I studied children's theory of mind development and causal reasoning. I received my BA in Psychology from Boston University.

Outside of research, I enjoy spending time in nature (I LOVE camping!), reading, doing soothing art projects and hanging out with my furrends (check out their photos in "For Fun"!). From 2021 to 2023, I also served as a co-host for the Stanford Psychology Podcast – it was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had! If you are interested, check it out here!

CV

Education

  1. Princeton University

    2024 — Present

    PhD in Psychology

  2. Pepperdine University

    2019 — 2021

    M.A. in Psychology

  3. Boston University

    2012 — 2016

    B.A. in Psychology

Experience

  1. Inaugural Lab Manager

    2023 — 2024

    Princeton University, The Computational Cognitive Science of Collaboration Lab
    PI: Prof. Natalia Vélez, Ph.D.

  2. Research Coordinator

    2021 — 2023

    Stanford University, Vision & Perception Neuroscience Lab
    PI: Prof. Kalanit Grill-Spector, Ph.D.

  3. Podcast Co-Host

    2021 — 2023

    Stanford Psychology Podcast

  4. Research Assistant

    2021 — 2023

    University of Southern California, Minds in Development Lab
    PI: Prof. Henrike Moll, Ph.D.

Invited Talks

  1. Cognitive Research Seminar
    Department of Psychology, Princeton University

    April 2025

  2. Causal Cognition Lab, UCL

    July 2024

    PI: Dave Lagnado

Conference Presentations

  1. Cognitive Science Society Annual Conference

    2025 (accepted as a talk)

    "Are toddlers curious to learn about their own competence?"
    Fascendini, B., Zhao, B., Vélez, N.
    San Francisco, CA

  3. The Cognitive Development Society

    2024 (accepted as a poster presentation)

    "Are toddlers curious to learn about their own competence?"
    Fascendini, B., Zhao, B., Vélez, N.
    Pasadena, CA

  4. Cognitive Science Society Annual Conference

    2023 (accepted as a poster presentation)

    "The relation between the development of counterfactual thinking and piagetian conservation"
    Fascendini, B., Ni, Q., & Moll, H.
    Virtual

  5. Society for Research in Child Development

    2023

    "The relation between the development of counterfactual thinking and Piagetian conservation"
    Fascendini, B., Ni, Q., & Moll, H.
    Salt Lake City, UT

  6. Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development

    2023

    "The relation between the development of counterfactual thinking and Piagetian conservation"
    Fascendini, B., Ni, Q., & Moll, H.
    Budapest, Hungary

  7. Vision Science Society Annual Conference

    2022

    "The temporal dynamics of rapid visual categorization in infancy and adulthood"
    Yan, X., Chen, Y. D., Tung, S. S., Fascendini, B., Norcia, A. M., & Grill-Spector, K.
    St. Pete Beach, FL

  8. Cognitive Development Society Conference

    2022

    "No signs of automatic perspective-taking in an object retrieval task for toddlers"
    Ni, Q., Fascendini, B., Shoyer, J., & Moll, H.
    Madison, WI

Skills

Research Methods

  • Behavioral Research
  • Neuroimaging (MRI, fMRI, EEG)
  • Experimental Design
  • Data Analysis

Programming & Technical

  • R
  • Python
  • Matlab
  • JavaScript
  • HTML/CSS
  • LaTeX

Neuroimaging Tools

  • ITK-SNAP
  • FreeSurfer
  • FSL
  • Docker

Communication & Outreach

  • Science Communication
  • Podcast Production

Mentoring Experience

  • Grad Connect Mentorship Program, Princeton (2025-present)
  • Senior Thesis & Junior Paper Supervision (2024)
  • PNI Summer Internship Program (2024)
  • OURSIP Program Mentor (2024)
  • Path2PhD Mentor, Stanford University (2021)

Publications

Journal Articles & Proceedings

Kubota, E., Yan, X., Tung, S., Fascendini, B., Tyagi, C., Duhameau, S., Ortiz, D., Grotheer, M., Natu, V.S., Keil, B., Grill-Spector, K. (2025)

White matter connections of human ventral temporal cortex are organized by cytoarchitecture, eccentricity and category-selectivity from birth

Nature Human Behaviour

DOI

Yan, X., Fascendini, B., Tung, S., Chen, Y.D., Norcia, A.M., Grill-Spector, K. (2024)

When do category representations emerge in infants' brains?

eLife, 13

DOI

Fascendini, B., Ni, Q., Moll, H. (2023)

The relation between the development of counterfactual thinking and piagetian conservation

Proceedings of the 45th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society

Ni, Q., Fascendini, B., Shoyer, J., Moll, H. (2022)

No signs of automatic perspective-taking or its modulation by joint attention in toddlers using an object retrieval task

Royal Society Open Science, 9(8), 220347

DOI

Manuscripts in Preparation/Under Review

Fascendini, B., Zhao, B., Vélez, N. (in prep)

Toddlers' intrinsic motivation to explore their own competence

Ni, Q., Fascendini, B., Miao, L., Chen, J., Moll, H. (under review)

The role of experiential records in toddlers' false belief understanding

For Fun

Furrends!

Cat and Woody cuddling
Woody showing belly
Puppy at the beach
Cat selfie
Kitty on chair
Dog camping
Cat and Woody on chair
Dog in car
Puppy by bridge
Woody selfie
Woody camping
Cat and dog together

Camping & Outdoor Adventures

When I'm not in the lab, you'll find me exploring nature with my furry companions! I love hiking, camping, and discovering new scenic spots.

Contact

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