Sofia Taylor
Main Research Area
Live vs. Recorded musical performance
Musical child prodigies
Emotional regulation and dysregulation
Dopaminergic relation to positive emotion and musical performance
Integrative treatments (acupressure, diet, and music therapy) for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors
Vita
Education
2024 | Bachelors of Science in Psychology and double minors in music and neuroscience from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Thesis about musical child prodigies and their connection to neurodivergence, utilizing Mozart as a case study |
Career
2025–2026 | Fulbright Research Award recipient conducting a study at the Max Planck Institute of Empirical Aesthetics on the effect of live vs recorded musical performance on dopamine emission and positive emotion. |
2024–2025 | Research Project Coordinator at Michigan Medicine Hospital coordinating one study examining the impact of diet on fatigue in Adult Lymphoma survivors. |
2024–2025 | Research Project Coordinator at the University of Michigan School of Nursing coordinating two studies: 1) the impact of acupressure on fatigue in AYA cancer survivors, 2) the impact of music therapy on anxiety in AYA cancer survivors. |
2022–2024 | Community Service Learning Coordinator assisting with connecting students to psychological volunteering opportunities in the local Fredericksburg community. |
Publications
Publications
Michelle Colder Carras, Sofia Taylor, Ariana Colder, Jing Shi, June Kim, Stephanie Carras. 2024. Health and wellbeing effects of loot box use: An overview of reviews. PROSPERO. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024566258
2023 Journal Article in Columns: The Mary Washington Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, “The effect of background music on reading comprehension”
Projects
2025 “Bridging music and dopamine emission: the positive reward of musical performance”, The Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
2025 “Living Well with Lymphoma: A randomized trial improving diet quality to improve energy, sleep, and quality of life”, Michigan Medicine
2024-2025 “Determining the feasibility of virtual, tailored, music-based relaxation for anxiety in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors”
2024-2025 “A pilot study of self-administered acupressure for fatigue among adolescent and young adult (AYA) Cancer Survivors”, University of Michigan School of Nursing
2023-2024 “In the wake of Mozart: Examining musical child prodigies through a neuropsychological lens”, University of Mary Washington Senior Thesis
2023-2024 “The relationship between sleepiness, dopamine, and food impulsivity”, University of Mary Washington, examining how ones sleepiness and dopamine levels could predict levels of food impulsivity.
2023-2024 “Social jet lag and chronic sleep reduction as mediators of the relationship between chronotype and procrastination”, University of Mary Washington, examining students chronotype, sleep patterns, and procrastination tendencies.
2022 “The effect of background music on reading comprehension”, University of Mary Washington, examining the effects of LoFi music vs Lyrical pop music on the ability to take the GMAT reading exam.
2021 “The Relationship Between Pedagogy and Cheating”, University of Mary Washington, examining the effects of different teaching styles on the likelihood of student academic dishonesty.
2021 “Does Student Engagement Have a Dark Side”, University of Mary Washington, examining the effects of various campus engagement behaviors on the likelihood of student academic dishonesty.
Awards & Grants
Awards and Grants
| 2025 | Fulbright U.S. Student program Research Grant, Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board |
| 2020 | Justin and Helen Piscopo-Alvey Scholarship, University of Mary Washington, an award dedicated to female, out-of-state students studying the sciences in the university’s honor program. |