Clinical Psychology Resident Blurbs 2015
Natasha L. Burke graduated from New York University Stern School of Business in 1997 with a BS in marketing and international business and a minor in psychology. After working in business for several years, she pursued her dream of becoming a clinical psychologist by enrolling in the Psychology Master’s program at NYU in 2006. She graduated with a MA in psychology from NYU in 2009 and enrolled in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program at The University of South Florida that same year to continue her research interests on the complex interplay among weight status, demographic characteristics, psychological comorbidities, and associated risk factors. During her tenure, she secured three competitive fellowships from The Ford Foundation, The McKnight Doctoral Fellowship Program, and The University of South Florida. She was also awarded the Clinical Alumni Award for Citizenship by the USF Department of Psychology in 2014. She feels very grateful and blessed to have had the opportunity to work with wonderful mentors throughout her graduate training and clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship year and sends a special thanks to her fantastic clinical supervisors at the Hasbro Children’s Hospital and Bradley Hospital, her research mentor, Dr. Jelalian, and her advisor and mentor, Dr. Lobato. Natasha is very excited to continue her line of research in pediatric obesity and disordered eating behaviors as a postdoctoral fellow at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Marian Tanofsky-Kraff and wishes her fellow clinical psychology residents continued success in all of their endeavors.
Christine B. Cha graduated from Wellesley College in 2007 with a BA in psychology and Spanish. She pursued her doctoral studies in clinical psychology at Harvard University under the mentorship of Dr. Matthew Nock. She received her MA from Harvard in 2011 and will graduate with a PhD in clinical psychology. Her work has focused on translational research across social, cognitive, and clinical science to understand psychological risk factors of suicide and self-injury. Christine has received a number of awards including the Elsie Ramos Memorial Student Research Award by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (2013), Merit Fellowship awarded by Harvard University (2013), and Distinguished Contribution Poster Award by the Society of Clinical Psychology (APA Div 12) at the annual Association of Psychological Science convention (2010). After completing the clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, she will continue her line of research as Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University starting Fall of 2015. Christine is extremely grateful to her graduate school advisor, Dr. Nock. She would also like to thank her research mentors at Brown, Drs. Spirito, Liu, and Wolff, who have provided an exceptionally innovative and collaborative learning environment. Christine would also like to recognize and thank the many clinical supervisors who have truly inspired her throughout this year. Finally, Christine thanks her family and her fiancé, Dustin, for their tremendous patience, love, and encouragement. She wishes all the best to her fellow class of clinical psychology residents.
Ateka Contractor graduated from Mithibai College, India with a BA in psychology. With an interest to advance her training in psychology, she chose to pursue further education in the U.S. She obtained a MA in clinical psychology from Eastern Illinois University in 2007 and received the “Distinguished Graduate Student Award.” Subsequently, she worked as a mental health counselor in Indiana until 2010. She will graduate from University of Toledo (UT) with a PhD in clinical psychology upon completion of her clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her research interests address heterogeneity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder’s symptomatology, PTSD’s comorbidity with other disorders, and cultural influences. Ateka is Senior Editor for Europe’s Journal of Psychology and an editorial board member of Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. She was awarded the “Whiteford Memorial Scholarship” at UT and a Clinical Psychology Internship Grant. Ateka expresses sincere gratitude to her clinical supervisors especially Drs. Metrik, Keitner, Mansfield, Wincze, Lambert, Crozier, Unger, Costello, and Eriseman; and research mentor Dr. Shea for their outstanding mentorship. Ateka will continue to look up to her graduate school mentor, Dr. Elhai. Ateka would have never been able to undertake this journey without the love and support from her family in India, her husband Waseem, daughter Zoya, and her friends. Next year, Ateka will be a postdoctoral fellow at the Boston VA Research Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Brett Litz, with the ultimate aim to inform trauma treatment within a cross-cultural framework.
Elena Goetz Davis graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 2006 with an AB in neurobiology and a certificate in mind, brain, and behavior studies. She then worked as a research assistant in the Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Harvard with Diego Pizzagalli before pursuing her graduate education in clinical psychology at Duke University. At Duke, under the mentorship of Drs. Timothy Strauman and Ahmad Hariri, she earned her MA in 2012 and successfully defended her dissertation in 2014. Her research focused on self-regulation failure and vulnerability to depression using a candidate gene approach. She was awarded a James B. Duke Fellowship for outstanding scholars and received a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation in 2009. During her clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, she furthered her training in adult psychology and behavioral medicine, and continued research in the area of psychiatric genetics and neuroimaging with Drs. John McGeary and Tara White. In September 2015, she will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University under the co-mentorship of Drs. Ian Gotlib and Alan Schatzberg as part of a T32 training grant on biobehavioral research. Elena would like to thank her clinical and research mentors at Brown, particularly Drs. John McGeary and Shannon Erisman, for their valuable insight, guidance, and genuine caring. She is also grateful for having experienced this year alongside such talented and supportive classmates.
Thomas J. Farrer graduated from Brigham Young University-Idahoin 2008 with a BA in psychology. He began his graduate training in neuropsychology at Brigham Young University, completing a master’s in 2010. Following completion of his clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Thomas will graduate from Brigham Young University with a PhD in clinical psychology, specializing in neuropsychology. His primary research interests are in TBI, dementia, and neuroimaging. During his time at BYU, Thomas co-authored more than 15 articles and was the recipient of the BYU’s Mary Lou Fulton graduate student research award for his work in TBI. This summer, he will begin a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology with the Duke University Medical Center. Thomas would like to thank his graduate advisors, Drs. Erin D. Bigler, Michael J. Larson, and Dawson W. Hedges, for their outstanding mentorship and support. He would also like to thank his supervisors at Brown, Drs. Stephen Correia, Megan Spencer, Laura Messier, Geoffrey Tremont, and Jennifer Davis, who contributed greatly to his clinical and research development. Most of all, Thomas would like to thank his family - Loralee, Evelyn, and Vivian - for their constant love and support.
Rachel Galioto graduated from the Ohio State University in 2009 with a BS in psychology. She began graduate school at Kent State University in 2010 and received her MA in clinical psychology in 2013. Rachel will be awarded a PhD in clinical psychology, with a concentration in neuropsychology, following the completion of her clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Rachel's primary research interests involve the cognitive effects of chronic medical conditions and the relationships among cognition, obesity, and successful weight loss. Rachel will remain at Brown as an APA-accredited postdoctoral fellow in neuropsychology at Rhode Island Hospital/The Miriam Hospital. She plans to develop a line of research examining neuropsychological predictors of weight loss and maintenance among individuals in a behavioral weight loss program at The Miriam Hospital. She would like to thank her graduate advisors, Drs. John Gunstad and Mary Beth Spitznagel, for their support and guidance throughout her training, as well as Drs. Geoffrey Tremont, Karen Holler, Jennifer Davis, Paul Malloy, Judy DePue, and Justin Nash for their outstanding mentorship during internship. Rachel would also like to give a special thanks to her family and friends for their continuous support and encouragement.
Carly Michelle Goldstein graduated with honors from Skidmore College with a BA in psychology and dance performance choreography and minors in women’s studies and public health. She earned her MAin clinical psychology from Kent State University with concentrations in behavioral medicine and neuropsychology, and will graduate with a PhD. Her research targets the prevention, secondary prevention, and intervention of cardiovascular disease and obesity using novel technologies. Her Master’s Thesis was a randomized controlled feasibility trial of two telemedicine medication reminder systems in heart failure, and dissertation examined moderating factors of the relationship between depressive symptoms and electronically-measured medication adherence. Carly served on the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Student Special Interest Group executive board twice. She was awarded the Judie Fall Lasser Graduate Psychology Research Grant for work on the development and assessment of a plate designed to improve food portion accuracy, and won a Most Outstanding Poster Presentation Award presenting the findings. Carly was awarded a Clinical Psychology Internship Grant for her development of a mHealth intervention targeting poor dietary selection. After completion of her clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Carly willcontinue at Brown as a postdoctoral fellow on the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine T32. She thanks the mentors that have shaped her experience at Brown, namely Drs. Thomas, Wing, McCaffery, DePue, Bond, Oliver, and Buckley. She thanks her fellow clinical psychology residents for their invaluable perspectives. Carly is grateful to her friends and family for their interminable support.
Amy Hughes Lansing graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles with a BS in psychobiology in 2007. Following her undergraduate studies, she worked as a research coordinator for UCLA’s Pediatric Pain Program and then began her graduate studies in clinical child and family health psychology with Dr. Cynthia Berg at the University of Utah. Her research takes a developmental and psychobiological approach to the examination of how children and adolescents develop and apply self-regulatory and co-regulatory skill, in the context of their family and social environments. Her current work examines these questions in the context of adolescent chronic illness management and health risk behaviors. Amy was named both a Rosalind Alcott and Katherine W. and Ezekiel R. Dumke, Jr. Scholar, granted membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and received numerous awards for her research from the Society of Behavioral Medicine and Society of Pediatric Psychology, as well as departmental commendations for her research and teaching at the University of Utah. Following completion of her clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Amy has accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship position in Adolescent Health Behavior Intervention at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University. Amy would like to express tremendous gratitude to her graduate mentors and supervisors and mentors from her internship training, namely Drs. Houck and Hadley. Amy would like to especially recognize her husband and family for their continued support of her academic journey.
William V. Lechner graduated from College of Charleston in 2008 with a BS in psychology. He worked as a research assistant at the Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs at Medical University of South Carolina prior to further study at Oklahoma State University where he received his MS in clinical psychology in 2011. William will graduate with a PhD in clinical psychology from the same institution upon completion of his clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Hisresearch interests include identification and treatment of trans-disease processes contributing to the comorbidity between addiction and psychopathology. Following internship, William will serve as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction studies at Brown University. William’s graduate education was impacted heavily by several key mentors including Robert J. Malcolm, DeMond M. Grant, and Carl W. Lejuez.
Douglas Long graduated from the University of Iowa in 2007 with a BA in philosophy and a BS in psychology with honors. Doug was awarded the Gustav Bergmann Philosophy Prize from University of Iowa. After completion of his clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, he will graduate with a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada in Reno (UNR) and will continue at Brown as an APA-accredited postdoctoral fellow at the the Providence VA. Doug’s work has examined how pragmatism and evolutionary science can systematically guide methods of treatment development and the formation of scientific communities - such as in Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS). His research has evaluated the dissemination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in novel settings, with particular focus on ACT’s transdiagnostic model of psychological flexibility. Doug’s dissertation piloted a new web-based assessment of therapist ability to identify psychological flexibility processes occurring in therapy sessions. He is grateful to the CBS community for showing him that psychology can address global problems through peace, love, understanding, and empirical science - especially his mentor Dr. Stephen Hayes and fellow UNR labbies. He has grown intellectually and personally with the generous guidance of many others - especially Drs. Follette, Fruzzetti, Pistorello, Coyne, and Dalrymple. Finally, Doug is eternally grateful to all of his clients and fellow therapists, who remind him that every moment offers a choice and that in the end, the love you get is equal to the love you give.
Joseph Meyergraduatedmagna cum laudefrom University of Richmond in 2002 with a BA in psychology. He went on to earn his AM in experimental psychology from The College of William & Mary in 2005, where he published research with Dr. Glenn Shean on social cognition in the schizophrenia spectrum. After receiving an MA in clinical psychology from Columbia University in 2007, Joe spent two years in the clinical PhD program at Boston University learning CBT and conducting research in psychometrics with Dr. Timothy Brown. Upon learning that one of his most admired luminaries in psychology was still involved in research, Joe decided to transfer to University of Rhode Island to finish his doctorate under Dr. David Faust, a close colleague of the late Dr. Paul Meehl with a special focus on clinical decision making and meta-science. Joe has received numerous awards and honors over the years, including an international Critical Thinking Scholarship Award from the James Randi Educational Foundation, a competitive neuroscience fellowship, the Boston University Presidential Graduate Fellowship, and a URI Enhancement of Graduate Research Award. He will receive a PhD in clinical psychology upon completion of his clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Joe would like to express his sincere gratitude to Drs. David Faust, Robert Laforge, Glenn Shean, Timothy Brown, and Mark Zimmerman for their generous support. He would also like to extend his most heartfelt thanks to his family and close friends for their forbearance and warm encouragement.
Mary Beth Miller graduated from Westminster College in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish and a minor in music. After working at an adolescent substance abuse center for a year, she returned to school at Oklahoma State University to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Thad Leffingwell. During that time, she collaborated on projects targeting high-risk drinking, tobacco use, medication non-adherence among individuals living with HIV, and MI training for healthcare providers. Collectively, her research aims to identify the types of feedback that motivate change in a variety of health behaviors. Mary Beth has been blessed with a number of invaluable relationships during her year as a clinical psychology resident at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and wishes to express gratitude to all her mentors and supervisors at the VA and Butler. In particular, she would like to thank Dr. Elizabeth McQuaid for making trainees feel heard and supported, Dr. Brian Borsari for his fantastic support and guidance in both her research and clinical training, Dr. Mary Carskadon for her good-natured help navigating the field of sleep research, and Dr. Kate Carey for agreeing to adopt her as a postdoctoral research fellow next year at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. She has sincerely enjoyed working and commiserating with the outstanding clinical psychology residents and postdoctoral fellows in the Brown training program, and she looks forward to hearing about all the amazing things they do in their future careers.