Dr. Christine L. Larson

Professor, Department of Psychology

CV | Email | she/her/hers
I investigate how people regulate their emotions, how cognition and affect interact in this process, and how regulation goes awry in anxiety, depression, and disinhibitory psychopathology. One major current focus of our work is to prospectively predict posttraumatic stress using multilevel assessments of adult and youth acute trauma survivors. We also aim to understand socioenvironmental risk and resilience factors, such as neighborhood resources, racial discrimination, and social support, that may affect recovery following trauma and how these factors are related to brain structure and function. We use multimodal neuroimaging, electrophysiological, and behavioral techniques to address these questions. Together with Terri deRoon-Cassini of the Medical College of Wisconsin I co-founded the Milwaukee Trauma Outcomes Project, a collective of researchers at UWM, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, and the Milwaukee VA.

If you’re curious about my mentorship style and expectations for trainees in the lab and the mentor-trainee relationship, checkout our lab Mentoring Agreement.

Emily Albertina

CV | Email | she/her/hers
I am a fourth-year student in the clinical psychology doctoral program. My interests broadly involve looking at neurological (imaging and biology) predictors of adverse outcomes following stressful life experiences/adverse childhood experiences. Currently, I am working on my master’s thesis analyzing how the endocannabinoid system relates to resting state functional connectivity and the development of PTSD using data from a study the lab previously collected. I also am helping collect data for the lab’s study examining pediatric vulnerability to PTSD and depression after experiencing a traumatic injury.

Adriane Davis

Email | she/her/hers
Adriane is a second-year clinical student. Her interests involve trauma and resilience in minority youth and how trauma shapes adolescent neurodevelopmental outcomes as they transition into adulthood.

Farah Harb

CV | Email | she/her/hers
I am a fifth year in the clinical psychology doctoral program. I am interested in how childhood experiences of maltreatment may modulate the vulnerability to PTSD development following a subsequent trauma in adulthood. Additionally, I also aim to understand how youth’s experiences of discrimination influence the neurobiological threat circuitry to interact with experiences of trauma and psychopathology, both immediately and cumulatively. Currently, I am also analyzing data for the lab’s study examining pediatric vulnerability to PTSD after exposure to an acute trauma. Particularly, I am exploring how risk and resilience factors at several systems of the Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Theory framework (individual, family, neighborhood) individually and cumulatively predict PTSD a year after the youth’s trauma. I also study the intergenerational transmission of trauma, examining how parental maltreatment influenced parenting style and child psychopathology. I hope to utilize findings to inform the prevention and intervention of trauma in marginalized populations.

Michael Liuzzi

CV | Email | he/him/his
I am a sixth-year student in the clinical psychology doctoral program, currently on internship at Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University. Broadly, I am interested in investigating the underlying neural mechanisms (e.g., threat and reward processing) of psychopathology and (mal)adaptive functioning in childhood and throughout the lifespan. I am also interested in the role self-conscious emotions, such as shame, may play in the maintenance of psychopathology (e.g., PTSD, depression, anxiety). Currently, I am working on our lab’s grant investigating pediatric vulnerability for developing PTSD and depression following acute trauma.

Kevin Petranu

Email | he/him/his
I am a first year student in the Clinical Psychology program.

Alma Vazquez-Smith

Email | she/her/hers
I am a third-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology department. My research interests broadly lie in the intersection between neural mechanisms, their effects on behavior, and equity research. Additionally, I have a budding interest in neuropsychology. I am currently finishing my Master’s thesis under the supervision of Dr. Nagy, which focuses on developing novel feedback-gathering techniques from children and adolescents in the Latine community on a family-strengthening intervention.

Amy Wang

Email | she/her/hers
I am a fourth-year student in the clinical psychology doctoral program. My general research interests involve understanding the neural mechanisms underlying affective psychopathology (e.g., PTSD, depression, anxiety). More specifically, I have been working on understanding the interplay between cognitive attribution of trauma and neural underpinning in trauma recovery. In addition, I am curious about the factors that interact with psychological processes, such as socioenvironmental, cognitive, and cultural factors, and what contributes to resilience in trauma recovery.

Ciara Ayala

Undergraduate research assistant, Project Coordinator
Currently enrolled in medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Emily Belleau

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2016
Currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Ken Bennett

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2020
Currently a staff psychologist at the Montana VA.

Sebastiane Chen

MS, Health Psychology, 2024

Sarah Damiano

Research Associate and Project Coordinator
Sarah is currently a doctoral student at the University of California at Irvine.

Jacklynn Fitzgerald

Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Fitzgerald is now an Assistant Professor at Marquette University.

Lauren Ehret

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2015
Currently a psychologist at the DBT Institute of Michigan.

Alexandra Gonzalez-Van Wart

Project Coordinator
Currently enrolled in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Marquette University.

Kevin Haworth

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2018
Currently a psychologist at the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Milwaukee and an Assistant Clinical Professor at UWM.

Ashley Huggins

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2021
Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona.

Kate Isely

Undergraduate research assistant, Project Coordinator
Currently a nurse at Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee.

Jessica Krukowski

Undergraduate research assistant, Project Coordinator
Currently enrolled in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Marquette University.

Ellie Kuhlmann

Project Coordinator
Currently enrolled in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Marquette University.

Bo Malames

Project Coordinator
Currently enrolled in the School Psychology graduate program at UWM.

Tara Miskovich

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2018
Currently a psychologist with Kaiser Permanente.

Liz Parisi

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2023
Currently a psychologist at the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Milwaukee.

Walker Pedersen

PhD, Neuroscience, 2017
Currently Senior Statistician, Professional Data Analysts.

Jordan Robinson

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2012
Currently a neuropsychologist at Healtheast St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Jonathan Santiago

MS, Health Psychology, 2023
Currently a student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Concordia University.

Kyrie Sellnow

MS, Neuroscience, 2021
Currently a Rape Prevention & Education Research Analyst for the Oregon Health Authority.

Danny Stout

PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2016
Currently a Research Health Scientist the VA San Diego Health Care System.

Carissa Tomas (previously Weis)

PhD, Neuroscience, 2020
Currently an Assistant Professor in the Comprehensive Injury Center and Epidemiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Richard Ward

PhD, Neuroscience, 2021
Currently Lead GPS Data Reporting and Analytics, Deloitte, Tampa, FL.

Kate Webb

PhD, Neuroscience, 2021
Currently a postdoctoral fellow at McLean Hospital with Nate Harnett and Kerry Ressler.

Youcai Yang

PhD, Experimental Psychology, 2018
Currently an Associate Professor in the School of Physical Education and Health at East China Normal University.