Graduate Student Directory

If you would like to update your information, please email Kerrie Jenkins at KerrieJ1@umbc.edu.

Full Name Admit Term Plan Track Mentor Research Interest

Li-Wen Wu

Fall 2022 ADPS PHD Cheah

Alexa Martino

Fall 2022 HSPS
PHD
Waldstein

Julia Potter

Fall 2022 HSPS
PHD
Yoon

Emma Archibald

Fall 2022 HSPS
PHD
Franz

Aidan Flynn

Fall 2022 HSPS
PHD
Yoon

Amelia Meman

Fall 2022 HSPS
PHD
Murphy

Xuehua (Shirley) Zhao

Fall 2022 ADPS PHD Cengher

Joy Clayborne

Fall 2021 ADPS PHD Dr. Mirela Cengher

Tianjiao Li

Fall 2021

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Mirela Cengher

Dr. Cengher and I are currently working on identifying the optimal procedure to teach languages for bilingual children with ASD by examining the impact of the order of language learning. In the future, I am hoping to develop culturally sensitive learning procedures that can be applied in a diverse population across countries, so children with different backgrounds can learn multiple languages efficiently.

Diane Placide

Fall 2021

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Susan Sonnenschein

Matthew Spann

Fall 2021

ADPS
PHD

Dr. John Borrero

Yao Sun

Fall 2021

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

Freya Kaur

Fall 2021

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Karrie Godwin

Samantha Berg

Fall 2021

HSPS
PHD

Clincal

Schacht

My research interests include posttraumatic stress (PTSD) interventions, PTSD and substance use disorder (SUD) comorbidity, sexual assault risk reduction, violence exposure and PTSD, and neurobiological correlates of addiction. On the applied side, I am interested in researching effective PTSD and PTSD-SUDs interventions. On the basic side, I am interested in understanding how people’s brains are impacted and change as a result of addiction to drugs/alcohol, as well as the role that traumatic experiences play in addiction risk.

Danielle Black

Fall 2021

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/Community

Brodsky

Ethan Fischer

Fall 2021

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

Yoon

Clarice Hampton

Fall 2021

HSPS
PHD

Community

Nnawulezi

Ellia Khan

Fall 2021

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/Community

Murphy

Rebecca Nguyen

Fall 2021

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/Bmed

Franz

Bianka Onwumbiko

Fall 2021

HSPS PHD

Bmed

Waldstein

Bonnie Woodward

Fall 2021

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

Dr. Molly Franz

between trauma and PTSD and family relationships, both intimate partner and parent-child relationships. I am also interested in the construct of social support more generally as it relates to trauma-related psychopathology. Interventions targeting social support or family relationship level variables aimed at improving psychological and social outcomes for individuals and families exposed to trauma are of great interest to me.

Samantha Galczyk

Fall 2020

ADPS
PHD

Hatice Gursoy

Fall 2020

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

Christa Schmidt

Fall 2020

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

acculturation, biculturalism, culture, parenting, socialization, well-being. Generally, I’m very interested in anything related to culture and how we interact with it and how it may shape our cognition and behavior. Specifically, I am interested in better understanding how individuals become healthy bicultural individuals, to understand this process, I examine different factors like family ethnic-cultural socialization, parental biculturalism, societal macro influences (like macro policies, racism/discrimination, societal perceptions of bilingualism/biculturalism), children acquisition and learning of cultural knowledge, adolescent cultural negotiation processes, and well-being, and parental/children cultural competency.

Bumo Zhang

Fall 2020

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

Carly Berger

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Dr.Lynnda Dahlquist

and am particularly interested in studying psychosocial outcomes in children with chronic health conditions. I have experience doing clinical research/working with a number of different medical populations including children with cancer, Neurofibromatosis type 1, brain tumor, ALL, and sickle cell disease; however, I am always open to working with new populations and expanding my clinical and research skills. I am currently working in Dr. Dahlquist’s pediatric psychology lab, where we study VR technology as a potential distractor to the experience of acute pain.

Miranda Bridgwater

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

n/a: transferring to UC Irvine fall 2021

Sumaiya Delane

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/Bmed

Khambaty

Christina Ducat

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Community

Fountain

Shaline Escarfulleri

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Dr. Shari Waldstein

processing and emotion regulation, and how this affects both physical and mental health. I’m especially interested in the link between cardiovascular risk factors (like chronic blood pressure dysregulation), negative affect, and emotion processing skills, and mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety.

Danielle Farrell

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Danielle Griffin

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/BMed

Dr. Lynnda Dahlquist

in children and adolescents with chronic illnesses. Matching with Dr. Dahlquist’s current research, I am interested in the impact of food allergy on the lives of children and parents, as well as being interested in pain management in children and adolescents. Deviating from Dr. Dahlquist’s current research, I am interested in neuropsychological research with children and adolescents (including assessment and fMRI), cognitive and behavioral interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and working with other pediatric populations (such as children with cancer and blood disorders, children with cystic fibrosis, etc.).

Jenny Hwang

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/Community

Brodsky

Allie Lloyd

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Community

Fountain

Wyatt Marshall

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/BMed

Waldstein

Meghan Mette

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

Schacht

Laurel Meyer

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

Schacht

Ayla Novruz

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/BMed

Beatty Moody/Waldstein

Sarah Peralta

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Clinical

/Community

Fountain

Chelsea Taylor

Fall 2020

HSPS
PHD

Dr. Steve Pitts

(body image, body awareness, body boundaries), eating disorders, emotion regulation, and sexual assault. Specifically, I am interested in the relationship individuals have with their bodies after experiencing physical or physiological disruptions that may impact levels of perceived bodily control (i.e., sexual assault). I am interested in individuals cognitive (distorted body boundaries, negative body perceptions, fat talk, self disgust, self-criticism, internalized blame) and behavioral (purging, binging, restricting food intake, self harm, changes to sexual behaviors) emotion dysregulation following these physiological and bodily interactions. I am also interested in self-identity related to individuals body weight (and the impact of significant weight loss/gain and how weight fluctuation influences how individuals perceive their self-identity). Mentor overlap: Steve and I are both interested in body image Nonoverlap with a mentor: Steve is supportive of any topics that I am interested in; however, my interests in specific eating disorders and sexual assault are not his primary focus of research/research interests.

Huiguang Ren

Fall 2019

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

Suqing Wang

Fall 2019

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

social-emotional development. I am particularly interested in examining the associations between parenting practices, socio-cultural factors and children’s emotion regulation. I am also interested in emotional self-regulation in adolescents and emerging adults.

Fran Alfonzo

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Dr. Tasneem Khambaty

cognition, culture, and overall health outcomes Overlap with Advisor: Dr. Khambaty’s research interests are in diabetes (and other metabolic diseases) and cognition in racial minorities mostly. I suppose I have a lot of that interest, only I am less interested in diabetes or metabolic diseases specifically. She takes a disease specific approach, but I am interested in keeping a broader perspective. Non-Overlap with Advisor: I am more interested in neurocognition than Dr . Khambaty is. I also am more interested in working with specific minority groups (Latinos, LGBT+) than Dr. Khambaty. She also really only works with older adults whereas I would like experience working across the lifespan. So for example, I have a background in neuropsychological assessment with children that I don’t use as much here, but I would like more experience working in.

Daliah Altal

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Community

Brodsky

Meghan Flynn

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Community

Pitts

Geoffrey Harrison

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Community

Pitts

Jordan Lankford

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Dr. Steven Pitts

 towards LGBTQ individuals (homonegativity). Ideally, I would like to do research with LGBTQ populations that examine their own social attitudes towards themselves or others in the community, also known as internalized homonegatvity/homophoba, as well as examining the impact that gay social media/dating apps have on psychopathology of gay men. My research interests don’t really overlap with Dr. Pitts,’ as he currently is looking at eating disorder research.

Samantha Redman

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

Pitts

Ashley Splain

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Community

Khambaty

Ruichen Sun

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Dr. Shari Waldstein

personality, childhood adversity, loneliness) influence disease risk (esp. cardiovascular risk); integrated healthcare; interaction with healthcare system (e.g. access to care; healthcare management).

Jabarey Wells

Fall 2019

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Community

Hunter

Anika Aquino

Fall 2018

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

and education, especially among immigrant families and families of color. Salient processes that occur within these families are acculturation, enculturation, and racial and ethnic socialization. These processes specifically respond to individuals’ interactions with the dominant culture, which may include adverse experiences of racism, prejudice, xenophobia, and discrimination. I want my research to support families who are vulnerable to these experiences, especially the parents that navigate these processes for themselves and their children. More broadly, I am interested in the cultural aspects of human development.

Marissa Davila

Fall 2018

ADPS
PHD

Munazza Abraham

Fall 2018

HSPS
PHD

 

Dr. Bronwyn Hunter

spanning from transformative
justice and abolition frameworks in legal systems and polices to reforms and abolition of Western clinical and academic practices. Specifically, my community interests align with Dr. Hunter’s: the health and well-being of individuals and communities directly impacted by the criminal legal system. We explore stigma and discrimination barriers associated with having a criminal record. Within and beyond my mentor’s work, I am especially interested in Black community wellness and empowerment independent of police and harmful legal systems. Further, I hope to use research as an advocacy tool to inform harm reductionist, anti discriminatory and anti oppression policy changes that support the equity of individuals with a criminal record and Black and low-income communities that are disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system. Although I am fully supported and properly advised, my clinical interests are outside the scope of my mentors’. I am interested in integrating social justice frameworks into clinical practices. I am also interested in developing curriculum and educational interventions for clinicians and faculty on how to implement social justice practices that address oppression, power, privilege, and healing as they relate to having inclusive challenging dialogues, equitable accommodations for diverse learners, and advocacy in classrooms, curricula/grading,
supervision/mentorship, and therapies with community members.

LeeAnn Akouri-Shan

Fall 2018

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Dr.Jason Schiffman

Dr. Steve Pitts

My research interests overlap well with those of my mentors.

Samantha Jay

Fall 2018

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Dr.Jason Schiffman

Dr. Steve Pitts

and behaviors in adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis and other high risk populations. Within this context, I am interested in studying psychosocial and risk factors that contribute to the elevated prevalence rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in this population. I also hope to translate this research into the development and evaluation of suicide-specific assessments and interventions with children, adolescents, and young adults with psychosis spectrum experiences. Population of interest: Children and adolescents Setting: I hope to eventually work in an academic medical setting (perhaps in an inpatient unit, partial hospitalization program, or day program; mostly research, some clinical work).

Brianna Jehl

Fall 2018

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

Dahlquist

Selima Jumarali

Fall 2018

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinial

/Community

Nnawulezi

Hyun Su Cho

Fall 2017

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

Allison French

Fall 2017

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Shuyan Sun

in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM). I am particularly interested in college students and the factors that impact student’s participation in STEM. Intersectionality is central to my work and I often approach research topics through a feminist lens. My research interests overlap with my mentor’s (Shuyan) in that we both are interested in STEM education and student achievement. Our research interests differ in that I study student motivation in STEM and am broadly interested in gender development and how that intersects with educational psychology (which overlaps more with Nicole’s interests).

Xiaoli Zong

Fall 2017

ADPS
PHD

Dr. Charissa Cheah

Jason Ashe

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD BEME CON

Community

/Bmed

Waldstein

John Fitzgerald

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

Pitts

Sarah Jung

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Community

Waldstein/Cheah

Christa Lewis

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Bmed

Schacht

Peter MacIver

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Bmed

Waldstein

Elaina McWilliams

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Community

Murphy

Tali Rasooly

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

Dahlquist

 

Danielle Weiss

Fall 2017

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

 

Dahlquist

Ishita Arora

Fall 2016

HSPS
PHD CASP CON

Clinical

/Community

Murphy

Eduardo Alsina

Fall 2016

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Bmed

Waldstein

Taylor Darden

Fall 2016

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Community

Maton

Caroline Hinkle

Fall 2016

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/BMed

Quiton

Ana Maldonado

Fall 2016

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Community

Murphy

Aliya Webermann

Fall 2016

HSPS
PHD CLPS CON

Clinical

/Bmed

Murphy