EPIC-CARES Fellows and Research Assistants

Current EPIC-CARES Fellows and Research Assistants

Hannah Bogoian, M.A. is a fifth-year student in the Clinical-Neuropsychology PhD program. She was also a TIPPS fellow last year. Hannah is interested in addressing racial health disparities in aging through the use of telehealth, tele-assessment, and other strategies to reach rural populations and those with barriers to receiving care (e.g., transportation access or mobility concerns). I am particularly interested in studying exercise and other health interventions for older Black adults with vascular depression. 

 

Claudia A. Delbasso, M.A. is a fifth-year student in the Clinical-Community Psychology PhD program. She was also a TIPPS fellow for the previous two years. Her research focuses on individual and contextual factors that influence positive youth development and resilience among immigrants of color, with an emphasis on Latinx immigrant populations.

 

Donovan Ellis, M.A. is a fifth-year student in the Clinical-General Psychology PhD program. He was also a TIPPS fellow for the previous two years. His research interests can be found at the intersection of anxiety pathology/treatment efficacy, multicultural competencies, and the integration of novel digital technologies for improving treatment access for diverse and underrepresented communities. 

 

Jensi Gise, M.A. is a sixth-year student in the Clinical-General Psychology PhD program. She was also a TIPPS fellow last year. Jensi studies resilience in youth with pediatric conditions. She is interested in understanding factors that promote wellbeing and resilience in these youth and their families. 
 
 
Meghan S. Goyer, M.A. (Research Assistant) is a fifth-year student in the Clinical-Community Psychology PhD program. She was also a TIPPS fellow for the previous two years. Meghan is interested in the role of positive psychology (i.e. mindfulness, social connectedness, gratitude, grit) in interventions to prevent and mitigate the course of internalizing psychopathology across development, particularly in the context of systems (i.e. families, schools), and in minority populations. She is also interested in dissemination and advocacy, and hopes to contribute to reducing health disparities by working to improve access to social determinants of health for all people.  
 

Rella Kautiainen, M.A. is a fifth-year student in the Clinical-Neuropsychology PhD program. She is interested in developing research questions around the range in outcomes for children who undergo significant brain trauma. In line with the EPIC-CARES Fellowship, she strives to include underrepresented groups and find new methods for capturing the strength within each child and the communities that support their developmental trajectory.

 

Ciera Lewis, M.A. is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical-Community Psychology PhD program. She was also a TIPPS fellow for the previous two years. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Childhood and Adolescent Studies. Ciera’s research explores the utility of culturally specific constructs like Black racial identity and racial socialization as resilience factors in promoting psychological well-being among African American emerging adults. She is interested in improving recruitment, engagement, and retention of African Americans in research and mental health services. Ciera is also an evaluation strategist committed to disrupting systemic oppression through program evaluation, facilitation, and education. During her free time, Ciera enjoys yoga, meditation, hiking, napping, and creating art.

 

Isabella M. Palumbo, M.A. is a fifth-year student in the Clinical-Neuropsychology PhD program. She was also a TIPPS fellow last year. Her research takes a process approach and has two primary goals, focusing on development and individual differences: (1) to use a trait dimensional approach to more fully understand the unified, joint structural model of personality, personality disorders, and clinical disorders;​ (2) to characterize transdiagnostic neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying personality and broad dimensions of psychopathology (e.g., Research Domain Criteria; RDoC) in the context of empirically-derived, dimensional models (e.g., the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology; HiTOP). Of particular interest are neurobehavioral mechanisms of social affiliation & communication, cognitive control, and approach/avoidance. 

 

Eric Semmel, M.A.  is a sixth-year student in the Clinical-Neuropsychology PhD program. He was also a TIPPS fellow last year. Eric is interested in long-term neuropsychological outcomes for children with acquired neurological injuries or illnesses. Currently, my research focuses on cognitive outcomes in pediatric brain tumor survivors and corresponding functional brain network characteristics. 

 
 
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