For a summary of my some current and past research projects, please see below
Directed by Professor Noah Chase Berman
As Director of the HOPE Lab, I aim to improve our understanding of the development, maintenance, and treatment of fear-based conditions, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Current Study (2020 - Present): Impact of COVID-19 on College Students' Development and Mental Health.
Study Purpose: In a collaboration with Bowdoin College, Swarthmore College, Barnard College, University of Miami, and University of Washington, the HOPE Lab is conducting a longitudinal study to identify the risk (e.g., loneliness) and resilience (e.g., emotion regulation abilities) factors that moderate the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on college students' development and mental health outcomes.
In 2012, I started at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) as a pre-doctoral intern (a one-year clinical post that is a requirement for a PhD in Clinical Psychology) on the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Track. In 2013, I was fortunate to secure funding for a post-doctoral fellowship within the OCD and Related Disorders Program at MGH. In 2014, I obtained a faculty position within MGH and at Harvard Medical School. In this post, I conducted my own independent research and contributed to the mentorship of trainees within the OCD and Related Disorders Program. During my 5 years at MGH, I was awarded multiple grants and fellowships (see below) to further our understanding of OCD and related processes.
Title: Biases in Clinical Decision Making Related to Suicide Risk (2013-2014)
Sponsor: Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative at Harvard University
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Co-Investigators: Sabine Wilhelm, Ph.D. and I. Glenn Cohen, J.D.
Purpose: Examine biases that underlie mental health professionals’ clinical decision-making regarding suicide risk.
Title: Risk and Resilience Factors Associated with Cognitive Biases in OCD (2013-2016)
Sponsor: Livingston Award for Young Investigator at Harvard Medical School
Role: Principal Investigator
Purpose: Examine how theoretically-relevant risk and resilience factors predict OC-related attentional and interpretation biases in children and adolescents at-risk for developing OCD.
Title: Cognitive Biases in OCD: Mechanisms of Generational Transmission (2013-2017)
Sponsor: International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
Purpose: Examine how OCD-related information processing styles (e.g., attention and interpretation biases) are generationally transmitted from parents to children.
Title: Cognitive Biases in Offspring at Risk for OCD: Role of Physiological Arousal (2014-2016)
Sponsor: William F. Milton Fund at Harvard University
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigator: Jamie Micco, Ph.D.
Purpose: Examine the physiological dysregulation that characterizes information processing biases in youth at risk of developing OCD.
Title: Differential Effect of Positive and Negative Mood on OCD Treatment (2014-2016)
Sponsor: Charles A. King Postdoctoral Fellowship and Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust
Role: Principal Investigator
Purpose: Examine the effects of positive mood on threat perception, emotional processing, and physiological reactivity in adults with OCD.
Title: Effect of Depression on Exposure Response in OCD: Mechanisms Underlying Threat Perception and Habituation (2014-2016)
Sponsor: Kaplen Fellowship on Depression at Harvard Medical School
Role: Principal Investigator
Purpose: Examine how depression affects subjective and objective measures of exposure processes in individuals with OCD.
Title: Reactivity and Regulation in Response to Intrusive Thoughts (2019)
Sponsor: Batchelor Ford Summer Fellowship
Role: Principal Investigator
Purpose: Examine how the content of an intrusive thought impacts emotional reactivity and emotion dysregulation.