Telli D.
5.0
Expert PhD Mentor | Princeton & Gallup Researcher | 18 PhD Mentees
Studied at Boston University
Works at Gallup
Available Monday at 8:00 PM UTC
Usually responds within 1 hour
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Telli’s PhD Qualifications
10+ people coached for PhD
Telli has helped clients get into these schools:
With a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Boston University and extensive research experience at institutions like Boston University, Princeton University, and Gallup, I bring a wealth of knowledge about developing research skills, applying these skills to real-world problems and scientific discovery, and building a successful research portfolio. Over the years, I have successfully guided 18 individuals through the rigorous PhD application process, helping them secure spots at top-tier programs and following up with them to advise on difficult problems during their PhD programs. My expertise spans experimental design in psychology, data analysis, and scientific writing, ensuring you present a compelling and well-rounded application if you are applying for PhD programs. If you are already in a PhD program and need guidance, I can help you too! I look forward to mentoring you to achieve your goals. Relying on my personal experiences, I especially enjoy working with first-generation students, international students, and students from a low income background.
Telli can help with:
Defense Preparation
Editing
Data Analysis
Interviews
Research
School Selection
Secondary Review
Application Strategy
Dissertation Proposal
Resume
Letters of Recommendation
Data Collection
About Telli
I am a researcher with a lot of experience in experimental and survey research, in academic and industry settings. I have come a long way myself and have travelled a long and wavy path before figuring out my passions, strengths, and career preferences. I started with a plan to complete a pre-med curriculum in college and go to medical school. In my second year as an undergrad, I fell in love with philosophy and decided to pursue philosophy of language and mind rather than medical school. I got into a PhD program in Philosophy at Brown University but decided to get a master's degree and leave philosophy for a field that is more focused on understanding people. I interned at a few developmental psychology experimental labs and figured out that I love experimentation, working with data, and figuring out how children learn. I prepared my application to graduate programs in developmental psychology and the rest is history! My path to figuring out academia was not straightforward because I am a first-generation immigrant and a first-generation college student, and had to rely on my own experiences. I am empowered by these experiences to help others figure out their paths more quickly and efficiently! Another challenge for me was when I had to figure out how to develop a career outside of academia. I know how hard it can be to decide to leave academia for recent PhDs and postdocs. And once you have made the decision, a new marathon starts to figure out your options, network, tailor your resume, apply, do successful interviews, and land a job that you are excited about. I have gone through it all and can help you go through it too!
Work Experience
Social Scientist
Gallup
January 2023 - Present
I direct and lead research activities on social science projects, including projects that focus on social connections around the world, inclusive definitions of subjective well-being, global analysis of religious and spiritual connection in relation to well-being, and artificial social intelligence in teaming contexts.
Senior Research Science Manager
Gallup
September 2021 - December 2022
Research consulting on a number of social science projects, working with multifunctional teams to understand clients' research questions, design research activities, analyze and model data, produce customized reports for the public's consumptions and for peer-reviewed journals. Communicate actionable insights to clients, the media, and internal colleagues. Scientific Writing, Data Analytics and +3 skills
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Princeton University
September 2019 - September 2021
I defined, operationalized, and led novel experimental research projects on the cognitive science of religion and scientific thinking. My research addressed the following questions: what psychological roles do scientific and religious explanations for life and death questions play for different people? How do we deal with the unknown in different knowledge domains (e.g., science vs. religion)? What kind of knowledge or explanation do we expect from experts in different knowledge domains? When does "not knowing" present a threat to our beliefs? My research has been published in high impact psychology journals including Journal of Experimental Psychology: General and the journal Cognitive Science. Experimental Design, Quantitative Research and +4 skills
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Boston University
January 2018 - August 2019
I led cross-cultural projects collaborating with international researchers and managing research teams locally and internationally to study how children learn about unobservable phenomena (e.g., photosynthesis) and causal processes in different contexts. I designed experimental studies and surveys and used statistical modeling to answer questions about the role of the environment in children's learning as well as their social and moral development. I communicated patterns and results in scientific, peer-reviewed publications, at conferences, and for general audiences in blogs and pop-eds. My research is published in high impact developmental journals including Child Development, Child Development Perspectives, and Developmental Psychology. My pop-ed writing is featured in Psychology Today and Templeton Ideas. Quantitative Research, Data Modeling and +4 skills
Research Fellow
Boston University
September 2013 - January 2018
I independently identified important questions in cognitive development and designed experimental and survey-based studies to investigate children's moral, social, and cognitive development in different cultural contexts. I managed all aspects of projects including design, data collection, data analysis, team management, writing, publishing and communication. I completed five projects during this time while also mentoring undergraduate research assistants and teaching undergraduate discussion sections for various courses.
Teaching Fellow
Boston University
September 2013 - January 2018
I was responsible for leading lab and discussion sections in Research Methods, Developmental Psychology, Statistics for Behavioral Sciences, Social Psychology, and General Psychology.
Team Coordinator
World Bank
May 2017 - September 2017
I worked with MICS dataset on early childhood development indices in the domains of learning, physical development, socio-emotional development, and early literacy/numeracy in the state of Qatar. I analyzed data and defined constructs for preparation of a report to be presented to Qatari officials.
Telli was also given offers to work at
Meta (Facebook)
Education
Boston University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Developmental Psychology, Psychology
2013 - 2018
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Master of Education (MEd), Human Development and Psychology
2012 - 2013
Brown University
MA, Philosophy
2009 - 2013
University of California, Los Angeles
BA, Philosophy
2005 - 2008
7 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Telli has helped clients get into these schools:
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