Ph.D. Student Profiles in Clinical Psychology
Obianujunwa (Ujunwa) Anakwenze
(she/her/hers)
2018
Major Area of Study: Child and Adolescent
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Rasmussen
Area of Interest: Ujunwa's research and clinical interests include race and culture, global mental health, trauma, bipolar disorder, and interpersonal factors.
Rebeca Bayeh
(she/her)
2022
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Rasmussen
Area of Interest: My primary area of research is cultural-clinical psychology, and I'm specifically interested in understanding the experience of minoritized neurodivergent individuals through an intersectional, post-colonial framework. More broadly, I'm interested in the interplay between culture, sociopolitical factors and narratives on mental health.
Maggie Benda
(she/her)
2021
Major Area of Study: Child and Adolescent
Mentor: Dr. Amy Roy
Area of Interest: Maggie is interested in researching neurocognitive mechanisms underlying pediatric mental health disorders, such as anxiety and irritability. She is particularly interested in working with adolescents and understanding the development of affective processes (e.g. emotion perception, emotion regulation) in relation to social and cognitive development.
Andreas Bezahler
(he/him/his)
2022
Mentor: Dr. Dean McKay
Area of Interest: I am interested in the intersection of OCD and sexual minority health. Specifically, how minority stress may exacerbate and maintain OC symptoms.
Tatyana Bidopia
(she/her)
2021
Mentor: Dr. Natasha Burke
Area of Interest: I’m interested in understanding sociocultural risk and protective factors for disordered eating in underserved youth and applying intersectionality theory to better understand the etiology of eating disorders in multiply marginalized individuals.
Amanda Calcetas
(she/her)
2023
Major Area of Study: Neuropsychology
Mentor: Dr. Monica Rivera Mindt
Area of Interest: Hello! I’m Amanda :) I’m interested in investigating modifiable risk factors and early brain changes to address obstacles in preclinical identification of Alzheimer's and related dementia in diverse aging populations.
Bianca R. Campagna
(she/her/hers)
2019
Mentor: Dr. Rachel Annunziato
Area of Interest: Coping with chronic health conditions, substance use, medication adherence.
Julia Culhane
(she/her)
2023
Major Area of Study: Neuropsychology
Mentor: Dr. Monica Rivera Mindt
Area of Interest: I’m interested in studying early intervention for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in vulnerable and underrepresented populations.
2023
Major Area of Study: Neuropsychology
Mentor: Dr. Monica Rivera Mindt
Area of Interest: I’m interested in studying early intervention for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in vulnerable and underrepresented populations.
Ariana Davis
(she/they)
2022
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Raposa
Area of Interest: Under mentorship from Elizabeth Raposa, Ariana is investigating how interpersonal relationships and environmental factors serve as risk and protective factors towards mental health outcomes for marginalized youth groups.
Josh DeSon
(they/them)
2019
Mentor: Dr. Peggy Andover
Area of Interest: Their research interests include non-suicidal self injury, suicidal thoughts/behaviors, and resilience factors in sexual and gender minority youth and adolescents. Prior projects of theirs explore risk and resilience factors for NSSI in marginalized populations, gender role conflict and internalized sexual stigma in sexual minority men, and clinical outcomes of LGBTQ+ microaggressions.
Vinny Donofrio
(he/him/his)
2020
Mentor: Dr. Liz Raposa
Area of Interest: I am most interested in my clinical work and am passionate about providing psychotherapy to underserved populations, specifically in community mental health settings. While I am currently not aiming to specialize in a specific clinical area, I tend to really enjoy helping adults with anxiety and mood disorders using CBT and third-wave evidence-based methods (e.g., DBT).
Laís Granemann
(she/her/hers)
2020
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Rasmussen
Area of Interest: My research interests include acculturation within immigrant families, the impact of migration on mental health, and post-migration determinants of health for refugees and immigrants.
Serena Hu
(she/her/hers)
2023
Major Area of Study: Health
Mentor: Dr. Natasha Burke
Area of Interest: I am interested in understanding the sociocultural risk and protective factors of eating- and weight-related disorders, especially in marginalized communities.
Gabrielle (Gabs) Ilagan
(she/her)
2021
Mentor: Dr. Chris Conway
Area of Interest: My research interests broadly include short- and long-term changes in personality and personality disorder processes, self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, and access to care for people who are underserved by mental health professionals.
Area of Interest: My research interests broadly include short- and long-term changes in personality and personality disorder processes, self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, and access to care for people who are underserved by mental health professionals.
Yvette Karvay
(she/her/hers)
2020
Major Area of Study: Health
Mentor: Dr. Natasha Burke
Area of Interest: My current research interests are at the intersections of eating disorders, weight stigma, and diagnostic classification, especially as these areas impact populations that have been traditionally marginalized and underserved.
Area of Interest: My current research interests are at the intersections of eating disorders, weight stigma, and diagnostic classification, especially as these areas impact populations that have been traditionally marginalized and underserved.
Joanna Kramer
(she/her/hers)
2023
Major Area of Study: Forensic
Mentor: Dr. Keith Cruise
Area of Interest: I am interested in investigating the clinical utility of mental health and substance use screening assessments to better understand how to best address the needs of, and treat, adolescents who come into contact with the justice system.
Theresa Lin
(she/her)
2021
Major Area of Study: Neuropsychology
Mentor: Dr. Molly Zimmerman
Area of Interest: Research-wise, I’m interested in the cognitive effects of sleep disordered breathing in a young adult population. Clinically, I’m interested in the cognition of individuals with neurodegenerative diseases.
Reed M Morgan
(he/him)
2023
Mentor: Dr. Chris Conway
Area of Interest: I am interested in cognitive risk and resilience factors—particularly distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and anxiety sensitivity—as they relate to anxiety and other related disorders.
Cristina Nardini
(she/her/hers)
2021
Major Area of Study: Child and Adolescent
Mentor: Dr. Liz Raposa
Area of Interest: Cristina is interested in the ways supportive relationships, namely mentors and parents, buffer the impact of stress on biopsychosocial development in underrepresented youth. Cristina's goal is to apply this knowledge to improve the effectiveness and advance the dissemination of community-based interventions.
Area of Interest: Cristina is interested in the ways supportive relationships, namely mentors and parents, buffer the impact of stress on biopsychosocial development in underrepresented youth. Cristina's goal is to apply this knowledge to improve the effectiveness and advance the dissemination of community-based interventions.
Denise S. Oleas
(she/her/ella)
2020
Major Area of Study: Neuropsychology
Mentor: Dr. Monica Rivera Mindt
Area of Interest: I am a clinical neuropsychology student interested in culturally competent and humble care for all thus I study the relationship between sociocultural factors and brain health in underserved populations. In particular, my research interests include: the impact of immigration-related factors and cognitive health.
Bri Pastro
(she/her)
2021
Mentor: Dr. Peggy Andover
Area of Interest: Bri's research interests generally lie in self injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs). Specifically, Bri is interested in the treatment of non-suicidal self injury as well as the social components of SITBs broadly, such as investigating the role of belongingness and online interactions.
Fiya Rivers
(she/her)
2023
Major Area of Study: Forensic
Mentor: Dr. Barry Rosenfeld
Area of Interest: Hello! I have a deep interest in research related to violence, aggression, and intimate partner violence (IPV). Additionally, I am broadly fascinated by the etiology behind adults who come into contact with the legal system.
Meryl Rueppel
(she/her/hers)
2023
Major Area of Study: Child and Adolescent
Mentor: Dr. Amy Roy
Area of Interest: Meryl is currently interested in the cognitive underpinnings of emotional and behavioral dysregulation in youth, particularly in the context of parent-child interactions. She hopes to translate this research to refine treatment strategies that are relevant and accessible to underserved communities.
Rebecca Tutino
(she/her)
2020
Mentor: Dr. Rachel Annunziato
Area of Interest: Rebecca has strong research and clinical interests in Health Psychology, with particular interests in psycho-oncology and transplant psychology. She also has a long-standing interest in women's health, including perinatal psychology.
Leah Walsh
(she/her)
2018
Major Area of Study: Health
Mentor: Dr. Barry Rosenfeld
Area of Interest: Within the broader field of psycho-oncology, I study how patients and their caregivers understand their prognosis and how this impacts treatment decisions. I am also interested in adapting psychotherapy for this population.
Emily Weinberger
(she/her)
2018
Major Area of Study: Forensic
Mentor: Dr. Keith Cruise
Area of Interest: Emily is currently a pre-doctoral intern at Denver Health Medical Center. Broadly, Emily aims to combine research and clinical practice to promote positive outcomes for children/adolescents and families in historically marginalized communities. Her research focuses on the development and implementation of trauma-responsive screening, assessment, and treatment for system-involved youth (e.g., juvenile justice, child welfare, immigration).
Sara Wilkerson
(she/her)
2020
Mentor: Dr. Dean McKay
Area of Interest: My research interests lie in understanding individual differences that predict treatment response to various cognitive-behavioral therapies for individuals with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, with the goal of advancing the practice of empirically-driven treatment matching.
Julia Yermash
(she/her)
2022
Mentor: Dr. Natasha Burke
Area of Interest: My research interests include disordered eating behaviors among first, second, and third-generation individuals, the relationship between food insecurity and eating pathology, and sociocultural influences on eating behaviors in marginalized populations.