My main research interests lie in the hormonal and genetic modulation of social behavior. I am particularly fascinated with uncovering how early life experience, through interaction with genetic and hormonal physiology, can impact the processing of social cues in infants and their mothers. I am currently investigating how epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene impacts infant neural response to emotional expressions.

2016 Ph.D. in Psychology (Summa Cum Laude)
International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication
(IMPRS NeuroCom), degree awarded by Heidelberg University, Germany
 
2012 M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience (Distinction)
University College London, UK
 
2009 B.A. in Psychology
University of Wisconsin- Madison

PUBLICATIONS

Rajhans, P., Missana, M., Krol, K.M., & Grossmann, T. (2015). The association of temperament and maternal empathy with individual differences in infants' neural responses to emotional body expressions. Development and Psychopathology 27(4), 1205-1216.

Krol, K.M., Monakhov, M., Lai, P.S., Ebstein, R.P., & Grossmann, T. (2015). Genetic variation in CD38 and breastfeeding experience interact to impact infants' attention to social eye cues. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112(39), E5435-E5442.

Kamboj, S.K., Krol, K.M., & Curran, H.V. (2015). A specific association between facial disgust recognition and estradiol levels in naturally cycling women. PLoS ONE 10(4).

Krol, K.M., Rajhans, P., Missana, M., & Grossmann, T. (2015). Duration of exclusive breastfeeding is associated with differences in infants' brain responses to emotional body expressions. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 8, 459.

Krol, K.M., Kamboj, S.K., Curran, H.V., & Grossmann, T. (2014). Breastfeeding experience differentially impacts recognition of happiness and anger in mothers. Scientific Reports 4, 7006.

AWARDS

09.2016 Top Oral Presentation in Life Sciences
Travel Award received at the Postdoctoral Research Symposium, University of Virginia, USA

05.2015 Top Poster Award Finalist
70th Annual Society of Biological Psychiatry Meeting, Toronto, ON, Canada

05.2015 Travel Award to attend the 70th Annual Society of Biological Psychiatry Meeting, Toronto, ON, Canada
Research Academy Leipzig

07.2014 Poster Prize (Audience Choice)
4th Annual IMPRS NeuroCom Summer School, London, UK

10.2012 International Max Planck Research School Stipend
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany