Current Graduate Students

Danielle Cooke, M.S.

Danielle (Dani) is a fifth-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. McNamara in the Florida Exposure and Anxiety Research (FEAR) Lab. Prior to graduate school, Dani graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology and cum laude with a Bachelor’s of Art in English. During her graduate training thus far, her research has examined perinatal mental health conditions, the utilization of cognitive-behavioral therapy with exposure response prevention in treating OCD and anxiety disorders, and the improvement of clinical understandings of hoarding disorder. Dani completed her master’s thesis examining objective and parent-reported executive functioning impairments among children with anxiety disorders and ADHD. She is a 2018 recipient of the TL1 predoctoral training grant from UF’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which is funding her dissertation research on perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Cooke

Lacie Lazaroe, M.S.

Lacie is a fifth-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. McNamara in the Florida Exposure and Anxiety Research (FEAR) Lab. Prior to graduate school, Lacie graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology. During her graduate training thus far, her primary research and clinical interests have included the utilization of cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure response prevention in treating OCD and anxiety disorders. Lacie completed her master’s thesis examining the role of empathy in sub-clinical obsessive-compulsive features, and she is currently working on her dissertation project where she will be examining the efficacy of a week-long summer camp intervention on youth with OCD and anxiety disorders. Additionally, Lacie serves as the Outreach Director for Fear Facers Summer Camp, a week-long full-day summer therapeutic camp aimed at reducing OCD and anxiety symptoms. She is also the graduate coordinator of an undergraduate Physician Shadowing course, MDU4004.

Lazaroe

Molly Basch, M.S.

Molly is a fourth-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Janicke in the Pediatric Psychology Lab. She graduated from Austin Peay State University in 2014 where she received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Pre-Professional Health. After graduation, Molly worked as a research assistant for the Biobehavioral Pediatric Pain Lab within Boston Children’s Hospital. In that position, she worked across multiple studies examining the role of psychological variables in the experience of chronic pain syndromes in children and adolescents. Molly’s current interests include psychological and behavioral factors that influence the development of overweight and obesity in youth as well as weight stigmatization.  Molly Basch CV

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Andrea Fidler, M.S.

Andrea is a fourth-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Fedele in the Pediatric Behavioral Health Lab. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and minors in mathematics and childhood studies. After graduation, she worked on a research project examining sleep habits and treatment adherence in adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes and served as a surveillance / evaluation coordinator for a study that evaluated behavioral interventions targeting childhood obesity. She also received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China. Andrea’s current research interests include psychosocial aspects of childhood chronic illnesses, particularly the sharing of treatment responsibility between child-parent dyads, the role of sleep in illness-specific outcomes and adherence, and applications of mHealth technology. Andrea Fidler CV

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Rachel Sweenie, M.S.

Rachel is a fourth-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Fedele in the Pediatric Behavioral Health Lab. She earned her BA in human biology and psychology from the University of Kansas where she was also an undergraduate research assistant in the Clinical Child Psychology Program. After graduating she worked as a clinical research assistant at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC on a variety of studies examining psychosocial issues in children, families, and young adults with type 1 diabetes. Rachel also spent two years in the Peace Corps as a community health volunteer in the Kingdom of Swaziland, where she worked with children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS. Rachel is broadly interested in psychosocial issues in pediatric chronic illness, with a current focus on health inequities, treatment adherence, and the use of mobile health technology. Rachel Sweenie CV

Ke Ding, M.S.

Ke is a third-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Janicke in the Pediatric Psychology Lab. She attended University of California, San Diego where she received bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Management Science. In June 2017, Ke graduated from Drexel University’s master program in psychology where she completed her master’s thesis examining the moderation effects of cognitive functioning, academic functioning, and academic needs on the relationship between adherence behaviors and health-related quality of life among youth with Sickle Cell Disease. Ke is looking forward to helping with the lab’s research projects. She is broadly interested in treatment adherence in pediatric populations and factors that impact the development and quality of life among youth with weight issues. Ke Ding CV

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Stefania Pinto, B.A.

Stefania is a third-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Janicke in the Pediatric Psychology Lab. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Art History from the University of Miami in 2015. After graduating, Stefania worked as the research coordinator for the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment (CAMAT) program at the University of Miami. There she obtained clinical and research experiences conducting diagnostic assessments and facilitating research studies implementing evidence-based treatments for anxiety and related disorders in youth. She also collaborated with Dr. Jill Ehrenreich-May and colleagues in the development of a children’s workbook for the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children. Her current research interests include the development of behavioral treatments for pediatric chronic illness, specifically for youth with weight-related issues. Stefania Pinto CV

Pinto

Sara Voorhees, M.S.

Sara is a third-year graduate student in the Pediatric Behavioral Health Lab, primarily mentored by Dr. Fedele. She graduated from Tulane University with a BS in psychology, where she worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Translational Psychological Science Laboratory. Her main project investigated social support preferences among patients with cancer. Sara then went on to earn her MS in psychology from Drexel University where she worked as a graduate research assistant in the Nezu Stress and Coping Laboratory. Her master’s thesis project examined psychological predictors of medication adherence in adult patients with asthma. Sara is broadly interested in family adjustment to pediatric chronic illness, specifically food allergy and asthma. Sara Voorhees CV

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Erin Moorman, B.S.

Erin is a second-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Janicke in the Pediatric Psychology Lab. She graduated in 2016 from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. At Purdue, she assisted in personality assessment research and completed an honors thesis on schizotypal thinking and perception. After graduation, Erin worked as a research coordinator in the Pediatric Pain Laboratory at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In her role, she worked across multiple studies including cognitive-behavioral intervention studies for the treatment of pediatric functional abdominal pain and lupus, and a functional imaging study of pediatric functional abdominal pain. Erin’s research interests include the impact of childhood trauma on coping and disease management in pediatric populations and the development of family-based interventions for youth with chronic illness. Erin Moorman CV

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Natalie Koskela-Staples, B.A.

Natalie is a graduate student mentored by Dr. Fedele in the Pediatric Behavior Health Lab. She will complete her internship at Nemours Children’s Health in the Pediatric Psychology Track during the 2023-2024 academic year. Natalie graduated Azusa Pacific University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in English. During her time at the University of Florida, Natalie completed her master’s thesis examining caregiver coping in pediatric sickle cell disease. She also received a TL1 pre-doctoral training grant, which allowed her to complete a qualitative study examining systems-level barriers and facilitators to physical activity engagement among youth with comorbid asthma and overweight and obesity. Natalie is currently working on her dissertation, which is examining family communication in pediatric asthma and its relationship to asthma self-management behaviors and outcomes. Natalie Koskelo-Staples CV

NKoskela Staples Headshot

Ryan McCarty, B.S.

Ryan is a second-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. McNamara in the Florida Exposure and Anxiety Research (FEAR) Lab. Ryan graduated from the University of Florida in 2016 with his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He is interested in researching the factors that maintain Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and anxiety disorders, as well as discovering potential augments to cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure and response prevention. Ryan is also very interested in bettering our understanding of and combating mental illness stigma.

McCarty Headshot

Rachel Gonzalez-Louis, B.S.

Rachel is a first-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Janicke in the Pediatric Psychology Lab. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Florida with a major in Psychology and a minor in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance. After earning her Bachelor’s degree she began working for as a research coordinator for the Center of Cognitive Aging and Memory under the supervision of Dr. Ron Cohen. She primarily worked on the WISE Brain Study, which aims to explore the neurocognitive effects of  weight loss in a population of Bariatric Surgery patients. Rachel’s current research interests are in the area of pediatric obesity.

Rachel Gonzalez-Louis Headshot

Seth Downing, B.S.

Seth is a first-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. McNamara in the Florida Exposure and Anxiety Research (FEAR) Lab. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and a minor in Spanish. His research and clinical interests are informed by clinical and research experiences as an undergraduate student and post-baccalaureate​ volunteer in the FEAR lab, involvement with the Fear Facers summer camp, and his experience as a middle school science teacher. He is interested in investigating the use of behavior reinforcement tools in cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure-response prevention treatment for youths with obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders, and how it affects therapeutic alliance and outcome. He is also interested in studying insight in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders and its impact on treatment adherence and outcome. Seth Downing CV

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Cheyenne Reynolds, B.S.

Cheyenne is a 2nd-year graduate student in the Diabetes Behavioral Science Lab. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Florida in 2017. Following graduation, Cheyenne worked as a Lab Coordinator in the Pediatric Psychology Lab at UF, where she was involved in multiple studies focusing on the relationship between health promotion, health behavior change, and psychosocial functioning in children with chronic illness, including obesity and type 1 diabetes. She also volunteered in the Treatment of Oppositional Youth lab at UF, where she gained clinical exposure to Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and related research. Cheyenne is currently interested in factors that impact treatment adherence, including the sharing of treatment responsibility in child-parent dyads, executive dysfunction, and the use of mHealth technology in pediatric type 1 diabetes.

Cheyenne Reynolds Headshot

Alicia (Allie) Pardon, B.S.

Alicia (Allie) is a 2nd year graduate student in the Diabetes Behavioral Science Lab. Allie graduated from the University of Michigan in 2016, with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Following graduation, she worked as a lab manager in the Michigan Neurogenetics and Developmental Psychopathology Laboratory, assisting with a twin study, which focused on gene-environment interactions and risk and resilience among children. Allie also served as a research assistant at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital where she worked on multiple projects with pediatric patients including a psychosocial screening study aiming to identify patients in need of psychological support earlier in their hospital admission. Allie’s research interests include treatment adherence and psychosocial functioning in children with type 1 diabetes.

Allie Pardon Headshot

Erin Corcoran, B.A.

Erin is a ​first-year graduate student primarily mentored by Dr. Gabrielli in the Youth Risk and Resilience Lab. Erin received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Harvard University in 2016. While at Harvard, she volunteered in the Behavioral Health Partial Hospital Program at McLean Hospital, assisting on studies evaluating the effectiveness of CBT for the treatment of various affective disorders. After graduation, Erin worked as a ​research ​assistant in the Residential Marijuana Laboratory at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In her role, she conducted inpatient studies with non-treatment seeking ​cannabis-dependent individuals aiming to identify medications that could help marijuana users stop smoking and remain abstinent, as well as outpatient studies evaluating the potential therapeutic and palliative effects of cannabis on a range of conditions including OCD, PTSD, and glioblastoma.

Erin Corcoran Headshot

Sara Wetter, B.A.

Sara is a 1st year graduate student in the Diabetes Behavioral Science Lab. She graduated from Anderson University in 2016, with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and completed her Masters of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Dayton in 2018. Following graduation, Sara worked as a clinical research coordinator for Dr. Avani Modi in the Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology department at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In this role, she worked on numerous NIH-funded studies which sought to improve medication adherence in pediatric epilepsy and type 1 diabetes populations via mobile health interventions (e.g., social norms, adherence feedback reports, automated medication reminders). Sara’s research interests include pain, family functioning, mobile health interventions, and economic and social disparities in treatment of pediatric conditions.

Wetter