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Lauren S. Hallion, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator Dr. Hallion is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Hallion joined the Pitt faculty in 2016 as a Research Assistant Professor, and began her tenure-stream Assistant Professor position in 2018. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, completed her predoctoral clinical psychology internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living. **I am not planning to accept a graduate student to begin Fall 2024.** |
Graduate Students and Postdocs
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Mary Blendermann, B.S.
Mary is a graduate student in the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Anxiety Lab pursuing her PhD in clinical psychology. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2018. Prior to joining the CNMA Lab, Mary worked as the lab manager of the Psychopathology and Emotion Processing Lab at the UC Davis Medical Center, where she studied cognitive control of emotion in individuals with early psychosis. Mary’s research interests include attentional control, perseverative thought, anxiety, mindfulness, and advanced quantitative methods. |
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Tracie Ebalu, B.S.
Tracie is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student in the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Anxiety Lab. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Vermont in 2013. Afterwards, she worked as a Research Technician at the National Center for PTSD in Boston and later on as a Student Research Grantee at the Central Institute of Mental Health (Zentral Institut für Seelische Gesundheit) in Mannheim, Germany. Her research interests are investigating transdiagnostic cognitive mechanism associated with emotional and stress-related disorders. In her free time, Tracie loves swimming, cooking, solo-travelling, and salsa dancing. |
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Cecilia Westbrook, M.D, Ph.D.
Research Fellow Ceci Westbrook, MD PhD is a fourth-year psychiatry resident at Western Psychiatric Hospital. She completed her Ph.D. in Psychology in 2017 with Dr. Richard Davidson, and her MD in 2019, both at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research interests are in understanding the role of stress-diathesis interactions in the development of depression and anxiety disorders, with a focus on the cognitive and neural mechanisms leading to worry and rumination in vulnerable individuals. In her free time she enjoys hiking, baking and creative writing. |
Research Assistants
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Brittany Alberts, B.S.
Lab Manager Brittany graduated from India University Bloomington with a BS in Psychology in 2020. She joined the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Anxiety Lab in 2021 as the lab manager/project coordinator. She previously worked as a research assistant in the Cognitive Developmental Lab at IU, where she studied how different types of cognition develop in infants and how different environments affect this development. Brittany is interested how maladaptive behaviors in parents, specifically emotional dysregulation, affects their children behaviors and their potential psychopathology. Katie Caulfield, M.A.
Katie graduated from the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Anxiety Lab with her Master's degree in 2022, and now works in the lab part-time as a data scientist. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Classics from the College of the Holy Cross in 2011, after which she worked as an ESL teacher for Kaplan International and began post-baccalaureate studies in Psychology. Prior to coming to the University of Pittsburgh, she worked as a research specialist and the lab manager in the Kable Neuroeconomics Lab at the University of Pennsylvania studying decision-making. Currently, Katie is pursuing formal graduate training in data science, and plans to pursue a career as a full-time data scientist. |
Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Yuwen (Ellen) Gong
Ellen is a grad student studying Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling at Pitt this coming fall. She is interested in doing some further research after graduate school. |
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Emma Honkola
Emma is a senior, majoring in Psychology and Art History with a minor in Italian. After graduation, she is planning to go to graduate school and eventually get a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in order to pursue a career in psychotherapy or as a clinical researcher. |
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MJ Lerma
MJ is a junior biology major at the University of Pittsburgh. After graduating, she plans on pursing a Master's degree in public health. |
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Ling Zhan
Ling is a junior psychology major at the University of Pittsburgh. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school and eventually pursue a career with a focus on research/clinical psychology. |
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Emma Kallet
Emma is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently studying Psychology with a minor in Chemistry and Neuroscience. In the future, she plans on attending medical school. |
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Joanna Wang
Joanna majored in Psychology at Pitt and studying Neuroscience and French studies as minors. Her long-term career goal is to become a clinical psychologist and help those in need through counseling and research because this has remained her purpose ever since middle school. In her spare time, she loves watching horror movies and doing water color paintings. |
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Zuling Quade
Zuling is a senior Psychology major with minors in Chemistry and Sociology who is pursuing a certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year and then attend medical school. |
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London Claridy
London is a senior majoring in psychology with a certificate in conceptual foundations of medicine as well as minors in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's and Italian. After graduation, she plans to attend nursing school with the goal of eventually becoming a nurse practitioner. |
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Rachel Lembeck-Edens
Rachel is a junior majoring in Psychology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. She hopes to become a clinical psychologist working with children and teens in the LGBTQ community. |
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Dylan LeCroy
Dylan is a junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh. He plans on entering a doctoral program in psychology after graduating so as to further pursue a career in neuropsychology. |
Lab Alumni
Paige DeGennaro
Paige graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Sociology. She currently works full-time as a project coordinator, and plans to attend graduate school and earn her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology to pursue a career as a clinical researcher/psychologist.
Paige graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Sociology. She currently works full-time as a project coordinator, and plans to attend graduate school and earn her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology to pursue a career as a clinical researcher/psychologist.
Rachel Sadeh
Rachel is a Senior Psychology major and Computer Science minor, also pursuing a Children's Literature and Studies Certificate.
Rachel is a Senior Psychology major and Computer Science minor, also pursuing a Children's Literature and Studies Certificate.
Immanuela Obisie-Orlu
Immanuela graduated the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. She is currently a clinical psychology PhD student at Northwestern University following her interests in OCD, anxiety, and perseverative thought.
Immanuela graduated the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. She is currently a clinical psychology PhD student at Northwestern University following her interests in OCD, anxiety, and perseverative thought.
Danielle Nebril
Danielle graduated the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. She is currently a research specialist at UPMC for the clinical application of neuroscience lab and hopes to continue to pursue research in the future.
Danielle graduated the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. She is currently a research specialist at UPMC for the clinical application of neuroscience lab and hopes to continue to pursue research in the future.
Tanner Miller
Tanner is a Senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying microbiology and psychology, with a minor in chemistry. After graduating, he plans to attend medical school to eventually practice as an endocrinologist with special focus on psycho-neuro-endocrinology.
Tanner is a Senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying microbiology and psychology, with a minor in chemistry. After graduating, he plans to attend medical school to eventually practice as an endocrinologist with special focus on psycho-neuro-endocrinology.
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Alissa Buck
Alissa graduated University of Pittsburgh in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is currently a research assistant with the geriatric psychiatric neuroimaging lab at UPMC. |
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Essang Akpan
Essang is currently working in analytics at PNC and in pursuit of a master's degree in data analytics. |
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Julianne Ali
Julianne graduated from University of Pittsburgh in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Administration of Justice. Julianne now works at Alvis Inc. as a Case Manager at an all-female halfway house to help women reintegrate back into the community. |
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Emine Ayman
Emmy Ayman is a fourth year student at the University of Pittsburgh, pursuing degrees in Psychology and Political Science with a minor in Administration of Justice. After graduating, she plans to attend law school. She hopes to incorporate psychology into her career. |
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James Cotton
James Cotton is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying Psychology with a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. In the future, he hopes to further his education into graduate school and follow the path of clinical psychology. |
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Alyssa Chomitzky
Alyssa is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Applied Statistics and a certificate in Global Health. She hopes to attend graduate school to pursue a career in psychiatric epidemiology. |
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Yasmine Crawley
Yasmine graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in spring 2021 with a double major in Psychology and Africana Studies and a creative writing minor. She is currently a Pediatric Research Technician at John Hopkins University. She plans on going to graduate school to become a therapist and also wants to pursue a career in screenwriting. |
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Katina Demarchi
Katina is currently a graduate student of physical therapy school at Pitt. As she learns more about the encompassing features of being a good physical therapist, she is finding new ways to apply her psychology background into her field. She plans to pursue psychologically informed physical therapy after graduation. |
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Isabella Demo
Isabella is a fourth year student at the University of Pittsburgh. She plans to double majoring in Psychology and Sociology. |
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Karlie Gambino
Karlie is a fourth year student at the University of Pittsburgh. She majoring in Psychology, minoring in Chemistry, and receiving a certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine. After graduating, she plans on attending medical school to study Psychiatry. |
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Molly Hundertmark
Molly is a junior at Pitt studying psychology. After graduating, she ultimately hopes to enroll in a clinical psychology Ph.D. program. |
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Sam Jenkins
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Nikita Karulkar
Nikita graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018 and remains actively involved in ongoing research in the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Anxiety Lab. She is currently a Masters of Health Psychology student at the University of Auckland focusing on digital health. |
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Susan Kusmierski
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Kylie Manuppelli
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Kate O'Brien
Kate currently a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Psy.D program at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. |
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Segun Ogundayo
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Morgan Pedersen
Morgan Pedersen graduated from John Jay with my Master’s in Forensic Psychology this past May, and is currently working at the Center for Community Alternatives as a Mitigation Specialist. She is working closely with people who are charged with criminal offenses and am conducting psychosocial history investigations to tell the client’s story in order to advocate for a more favorable sentence/plea. |
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Naara Ramirez-Estevez
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Jordan Shanesy
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Shutian Shen
Shutian Shen is a doctoral student at the University of Houston in their Developmental, Cognitive, and Behavioral Neuroscience program. |
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Justine Thompson
Justine is currently a clinical research assistant at Rhode Island Hospital/Brown Medical School in Providence, RI. |
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Grace Wilson
Grace graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 and remains actively involved in ongoing research in the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Anxiety Lab. She is currently working on a meta-analysis on the relationship between worry, rumination, and cognition. |
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Jan Yang
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