LAB MEMBERS

Graduate Student on Internship

Kevin is currently on internship at Hershey Medical Center. One of his primary research goals is to better understand the etiology of social anxiety. In particular, Kevin is interested in investigating how perfectionism and related constructs confer risk for social anxiety. Additionally, Kevin is interested in better understanding the multidimensionality of the depression syndrome, and the onset of depression symptoms. In conjunction with these research interests, Kevin is interested in using multiple units of analysis, particularly physiological measures, to investigate the relations between constructs related to mood and anxiety disorders. In his free time Kevin enjoys playing soccer, going on hikes, and watching movies.

4th year doctoral student with M.S.

Ann graduated from Iowa State University Honors College with a B.S. in Psychology with minors in English and Biology. At Iowa State, she worked as a research assistant in the Temporal Dynamics: Thinking and Decision Making Lab under Dr. Robert West. Along with this, Ann also played a fundamental role in the re-establishment and use of the Neuro Lab within the College of Business under the supervision of Dr. Todd Thornock. Ann is currently a fourth year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Ohio University. Her research interests lie in the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety disorders, with a concentration on the relations between ERP components, within-person and between-person daily variability, and emotional regulation.

5th year doctoral student with M.S.

Caroline is a fifth year doctoral student. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Penn State University in 2017. She is interested in psychotherapy process and outcome research, particularly evidence-based psychotherapy personalization. Caroline is also interested in borderline personality pathology and risk factors for suicidality and self-harm including emotion regulation and distress tolerance.

5th year doctoral student with M.S.

Kate is a fifth year graduate student of the Clinical Program. She is interested in the risk factors and factor structure of anxiety disorders and in improvement of treatments for these disorders. Kate is currently working on projects that involve brief in-person and computerized treatments targeting transdiagnostic risk factors of anxiety disorders. She is interested in implementing ecological momentary assessment and treatment for anxiety and mood disorders. In addition, Kate is interested in disentangling common and specific factors of PTSD symptom clusters and in reducing suicidal ideation and behavior in people with PTSD. She combines neurophysiological and behavioral measurements in her research. In her free time, Kate enjoys having conversations with people, listening to audiobooks, dancing, and travelin

5th year doctoral student with M.S.

Shahrzad graduated from The Florida State University with a B.S. in psychology and two minors in statistics and child development. There, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Christopher Patrick, studying psychopathy, impulse control, and anxiety and mood disorders, and Dr. Jesse Cougle, studying the biological, cognitive and behavioral aspects of anxiety disorders. Currently, Shahrzad is a fifth year graduate student in the clinical psychology PhD program at the Ohio University, under the mentorship of Dr. Nicholas Allan. Her research interests include the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders in the child/adolescent and adult populations. She is particularly interested in neurophysiological investigation, with a concentration on biobehavioral risk factors and their relation to developmental psychopathology.

3rd year doctoral student with M.A.

Brandon is a third year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student working in the fear lab. As an undergraduate and Master’s student, Brandon focused on cognitive risk factors that predispose individuals to depressive disorders, particularly in the realm of autobiographical memory deficits (i.e., overgeneral memory) at the University at Buffalo. He is interested in understanding the shared and unique risk factors for anxiety and depressive disorders, particularly through the use of hierarchical models that incorporate affective and cognitive components to better encapsulate risk for anxiety and depression. Additionally, Brandon is interested in further understanding how maladaptive cognitive processes (e.g., rumination and worry) confer risk to psychopathology on a day-to-day basis through the use of methodologies such as ecological momentary assessment or daily diary studies. When he is not doing work, Brandon enjoys playing video games, watching sports, and reading books.

3rd year doctoral student with M.A.

Catherine recently received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from The College at Brockport – SUNY where she worked with Dr. Janet Gillespie studying depression and resilience qualities. She also graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in Psychology and English and a minor in Italian Studies. At Notre Dame, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Scott Monroe, studying stress, depression, and personality, and Dr. Anne Simons, studying Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, therapist competence, and client outcome. Catherine is a third year graduate student in the clinical psychology PhD program at Ohio University. Her research interests include the etiology, treatment, and prevention of mood disorders. She is particularly interested in the interplay between grit and the experience of stress and the development of depressive symptoms. In her spare time she enjoys reading and practicing yoga.

1st year doctoral student

Troy is a product of the California State University, Fresno undergraduate psychology honors program where he received a B.A. and worked closely with Dr. Jennifer Isom-Schmidtke investigating the influence of Big Five personality traits on the development of interpersonal closeness in dyads. As an Alumnus, he worked closely with Dr. Matthew Sharps in his cognitive research lab exploring the impact of schizotypy, trait dissociation, and prior frameworks of understanding on the interpretation of climate change related stimuli. One of his primary research interests is the role of metacognition in the etiological pathway between transdiagnostic risk factors and the development of mood and anxiety disorders. Additionally, Troy is interested in the development and utilization of statistical approaches that integrate data from multiple levels of analysis to explore the nature of these disorders more effectively.

1st year graduate student with M.S.

Brittany is a first year graduate student at Ohio University under the direction of Nicholas Allan. She earned her B.A. in History and Psychology at Lake Erie College and her M. A. in Clinical Psychology at Cleveland State University. After graduating she worked on an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry unit, where she further focused both her research and clinical interests. Brittany is primarily interested in understanding the bidirectional relationship between stress and emerging mood and anxiety disorders, especially within adolescents and young adults. In her free time Brittany enjoys hiking, gardening, reading, crocheting, and, most of all, playing with her dog Copper.

1st year masters student

Sierra is a first year M.S. student studying experimental psychology in the FEAR Lab. She received her B.A. from Ohio University in spring 2021, majoring in Psychology & Sociology with minors in Communication Studies & Philosophy. Sierra’s research interests are broad, including resilience, vulnerability, trauma, and substance use. She is currently involved in multiple studies under the guidance of Dr. Allan and is the project coordinator for three. After graduating, she plans to begin a hands-on career in psychiatric care before either pursuing her doctorate in Psychology or her clinical counseling license. In her spare time, Sierra enjoys hiking, true crime, and coloring.