Graduate Student Directory

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.).

(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.

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.

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.

 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.

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

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.

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.

My research interests overlap well with those of my mentors.

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).

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).