Peter MacIver
Area of Doctoral Study: Human Services Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
Undergraduate Institute: American University
Research Advisor: Shari Waldstein, Ph.D.
Description of Research
My research exists at the intersection of neuropsychological performance, cardiovascular health, and neurophysiological structure. My current projects revolve around the impact that psychosocial factors, particularly stress, influence cognitive functioning and brain structure. Within this, I also explore how race and socioeconomic status play into these interactions.
Selima Jumarali
Area of Doctoral Study: Clinical and Community Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: University of Miami
Graduate Institute: New York University
Research Advisor: Nkiru Nnawulezi, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Selima Jumarali (she/hers) is a queer, Indo-Caribbean, Muslim educator, scholar, and healing practitioner committed to abolitionist and anti-carceral practice within the mental health field and beyond. She is a PhD candidate in the Clinical-Community Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Her research focuses on the mental health experiences of queer and trans communities of color. Her thesis study was an inductive qualitative study that explored the expectations and experiences of LGBTQ people of color (POC) in identity-based matched psychotherapy arrangements with LGBTQ therapists of color. Her dissertation study investigated how perceived coercion, institutional betrayal, and needs satisfaction influenced the traumatic impact and future help-seeking of LGBTQ POC psychiatrically hospitalized for suicidality. Selima previously co-led diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts during her 9+ year career in student affairs at NYU. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Biology from the University of Miami, her Master of Arts in Student Affairs from NYU, and her Master of Arts in Human Services Psychology from UMBC.
Ana Katrina Aquino
Area of Doctoral Study: Applied and Developmental Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: The Catholic University of America
Research Advisor: Charissa Cheah, Ph.D.
Description of Research
I am interested in early childhood care and education experiences, particularly among immigrant families and families of color. Specifically, I focus on unique processes that occur within these communities, such as acculturation, enculturation, racial-ethnic socialization, and bicultural development. I wish to apply my work and translate research to develop resources for young children and their families. I also aim to develop, implement, and/or evaluate culturally responsive and competent prevention programs for immigrant families and families of color that promote resilience and protect them from adverse experiences such as racism, discrimination, and acculturative stress.
Fran Alfonzo
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Marquette University
Research Advisor: Shari Waldstein, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Fran‘s research interests broadly lie at the intersection of minority identity and health outcomes. She is interested in exploring the effects of chronic illness that can begin at preclinical and subclinical stages, such as the effects of prediabetes on cognitive functioning, especially among racial minorities. Clinically, Fran is interested in working in primary care settings providing integrated and holistic mental health care to patients across the life span.
Geoffrey Harrison
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: University of Maryland, College Park
Graduate Institute: University of Maryland, Baltimore
Research Advisor: Bronwyn Hunter, Ph.D.
Description of Research
I am studying the effect of criminal record discrimination on future orientation and how general and specific social support can hinder the negative effect of criminal record discrimination on future orientation. Ultimately, I hope to do research and clinical work in the halfway house sector. Additionally, I am interested in how trauma, substance use, and incarceration intersect.
Jordan Lankford
Area of Doctoral Study: Clinical Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: University of Washington, Tacoma
Research Advisor: Steve Pitts, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Jordan’s research examines the role of race, sexual orientation, and severity of hate crime on attributions of victim blame, perpetrator blame and recommended sentence duration. Jordan also has interests in examining the role of sexual orientation and gender identity on neuropsychological normative data.
Jabarey Wells
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Morehouse College
Research Advisor: Nkiru Nnawulezi, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Reentry, Black geographies, and incarceration’s impact on black communities.
Shaline Escarfulleri
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Florida State University
Research Advisor: Shari Waldstein, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Shaline’s research interests broadly address the role of emotion processing skills in the biopsychosocial determinants of health. She is particularly interested in how stress exposure and negative affect relate to cardiometabolic risk factors and neurocognition as a function of socioeconomic status. Clinically, she is interested in neuropsychological assessment, and looks forward to working with a diverse array of adult clinical populations.
Sumaiya DeLane
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Vanderbilt University
Research Advisor: Tasneem Khambaty, Ph.D
Participating through IMSD
Description of Research
Sumaiya’s primary research interests lie in the biopsychosocial factors underlying cardiometabolic health and disease, including the interface of cardiometabolism, stress and mood disorders, cognition, and health disparities.
Sarah Peralta
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate: Western Connecticut State University
Graduate Institute: : New York University
Research Advisor: Erika Fountain, Ph.D. ; Bronwyn Hunter, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Sarah is pursuing her PhD in Child-Clinical Psychology (Dual Track with Community Psych), studying the impact of grief and bereavement on the mental health of children. She earned her M.A. in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness at New York University in 2018. She has a specific interest in the numerous ways that grief expressions in marginalized communities can become pathologized/penalized. Her goals are to address the need for grief-informed services through collaborative research that is not only community-driven but also critically focused on institutional power and actionable change.
Clarice Hampton
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: SUNY Binghamton
Graduate Institute: Russell Sage College
Research Advisor: Nkiru Nnawulezi , Ph.D.
Description of Research
Clarice‘s research aims to improve the social conditions of black women living with HIV who are disproportionately burdened by the HIV epidemic. She conducts studies from an ecological perspective to transform how society understands HIV-related stigma. Through community-based participatory research methods, Clarice centers the voices of black women living with HIV and uses multilevel approaches to advocate for transformative change. Ultimately, her goal is to shift the national dialogue on dismantling structural stigma from placing individual blame to supporting collective action, specifically as it relates to black women living with HIV.
Danielle Black
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Clark University
Research Advisor: Anne Brodsky, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Everyday Resistance in the Lives of Black Women. My research explores resistance within Black communities, mental health, intergenerational connections, and liberation.
Bianka Onwumbiko
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Penn State University
Research Advisor: Shari Waldstein, Ph.D.
Description of Research
I am studying the multilevel biopsychosocial mechanisms that are involved in brain aging and cardiometabolic health across the lifespan. Further, I am working to apply this understanding to the development of health technologies that help to support equity in healthy aging.
Raven Ross
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Virginia Commonwealth University
Research Advisor: Janelle Billingsley, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Raven’s research interests involve how families and other important contexts, such as schools, may help promote Black youth’s well-being and healthy development. More specifically, she is interested in how these contexts engage with youth about race, racial identity, and race-related experiences (i.e., racial socialization), and how youth understand these racial socialization messages. Additionally, Raven is interested in how Black youth understand and process race-related stressors, such as racial discrimination.
Jordyn Beschel
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: Central Connecticut State University
Graduate Institute: University of New Haven
Research Advisor: Janelle Billingsley, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Jordyn Beschel is a graduate student in the community track of the Human Services Psychology PhD program. Her research broadly focuses on promoting resilience in marginalized communities in response to social injustice and collective trauma. She is especially interested in the psychological well-being of youth with intersecting marginalized identities (e.g., race and gender identity). She has experience engaging youth in photovoice and seeks to conduct transformative and participatory mixed-methods research and evaluations.
Dennis Carter-Deen
Area of Doctoral Study: Community Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: University of Maryland University College
Research Advisor: Anne Brodsky, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Maia Crumbie
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: North Carolina Central University
Graduate Institute: North Carolina Central University
Research Advisor: Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Broadly focuses on psychosis-spectrum experiences, with an emphasis on psychosocial factors and access to care. Specifically, I am interested in addressing the unmet treatment needs of Black individuals experiencing psychosis-spectrum symptoms and improving their lives through education, outreach, and care provision.
Erika McMillan
Area of Doctoral Study: Psychology
Undergraduate Institute: George Mason University
Research Advisor: Shari Waldstein, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Research foci on the links between cardiometabolic risk factors, neurocognitive function, and subclinical brain pathology, biopsychosocial factors tied to cardiometabolic risks, vascular disease, and stress responses; and variations and disparities in these relationships across sociodemographic groups.