Faculty Research, Teaching and Professional Interests

Cheryl A. Armstead, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Associate Professor
Emotion and physiological response, particularly cardiovascular functioning; racism and hypertension; health psychology.

Meeta Banerjee, Ph.D., Michigan State University, Assistant Professor
Dr. Banerjee’s research examines the interaction between ecological contexts (e.g., schools, families, neighborhoods, communities and racial discrimination) and parenting practices and how these processes directly and indirectly influence psychosocial and educational outcomes. She is particularly interested how race-related processes in the family (e.g., parental ethnic-racial socialization, parents’ racial identities) influence adjustment in ethnic minority youth. Dr. Banerjee is particularly interested how race-related processes in the family (e.g., parental ethnic-racial socialization, parents’ racial identities) influence adjustment in ethnic minority youth.

Kimberly D. Becker, Ph.D., University of Arizona, Associate Professor
Child and adolescent mental health and school-based preventive interventions targeting disruptive behaviors and substance abuse.

Jessica Bradshaw, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, Assistant Professor
Autism spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities, early intervention, education for parents and siblings of young children with autism.

Michelle Brown, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Assistant Professor
Michelle Brown uses a developmental psychopathology framework to: (1) understand how interpersonal relationships influence victimized children’s risk for developing adverse socioemotional outcomes and (2) elucidate biopsychosocial factors that influence treatment outcomes for victimized children.

Dan Cooper, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Assistant Professor
The goal of Dr. Cooper’s research is to use innovative methods to improve the health and resilience of minoritized children affected by adversity (e.g., racism, traumatic events). Specifically, his program of research focuses on (a) using secondary data analysis to identify malleable risk and protective factors that can be targeted using prevention interventions and (b) evaluating the implementation of family-based prevention programs for minoritized children exposed to adversity. He is also beginning a new line of research that will focus on creating integrated prevention programs to jointly prevent child physical and mental health problems.

Sarah Edmunds, Ph.D., University of Washington, Assistant Professor 
Community implementation of evidence-based interventions for impairments that are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including social communication, social skills, flexibility, externalizing behaviors, emotion regulation, and anxiety; Equitable community access to interventions; Implementation science; Family quality of life & ASD; Individual differences in intervention efficacy; Mechanisms of intervention efficacy. 

Kate Flory, Ph.D., University of Kentucky, Professor and Associate Chair
Dr. Flory's primary research focuses on: (1) understanding the mechanisms that may explain why children with ADHD are at greater risk than peers for cigarette smoking and use/abuse of other substances, (2) understanding the social and academic impairment of children with ADHD, (3) understanding other negative health outcomes associated with ADHD, including risky sexual behavior and unintentional injuries, and (4) the epidemiologCy of child and adolescent emotional and behavioral health concerns.

Nada Goodrum, Ph.D., Georgia State University, Assistant Professor
Parenting, family relationships, and child health among families affected by major stressors; community context and its influence on children and families; the intersection of trauma, HIV, and substance use and the intergenerational transmission of risk; family-based child health promotion and prevention of socioemotional and physical health problems

Bret Kloos, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Professor 
Community psychology; recovery from serious mental illness; mutual support and self-help; meaning-making after major life disruptions; transactional models of risk and protection; qualitative methods.

Ron Prinz, Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook, Carolina Distinguished Professor 
Child clinical psychology; prevention and treatment of conduct disorders; family intervention; clinical research methodology.

Jane Roberts, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Professor
Etiology of cognitive and behavioral functioning in children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism; fragile X syndrome; and AD/HD.

Jeffrey C. Schatz, Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, Professor 
Pediatric neuropsychology, cognitive development in children with chronic health conditions (especially sickle cell disease), functional impact of neuropsychological deficits in children.

Suzanne Swan, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Professor 
Intimate partner violence, with a current emphasis on women's use of violence against male intimate partners; the role of race/class/culture in intimate partner violence; predictors of men's violence against women; women's use of resources to deal with domestic violence.

Mark D. Weist, Ph.D., Virginia Tech, Professor and Director of Clinical-Community Training
Children, adolescents and families; school mental health; positive behavior intervention and support; evidence-based practice; cognitive behavioral therapy; trauma focused intervention; systems analysis and change; policy influence.

Dawn Wilson, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, Professor 
Research on understanding family dynamics/interactions in promoting healthy diet and physical activity in underserved adolescents; ecological and social cognitive theoretical models for understanding family connectedness, social support and role modeling in promoting health behavior change in youth; family-based interventions for promoting healthy diet and physical activity among underserved adolescents.

Guillermo Wippold, Ph.D., University of Florida, Assistant Professor
Health psychology, health disparities, community-based participatory research (CBPR), resilience, perceived stress, health-related quality of life, and healthcare.

Nicole Zarrett, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Associate Professor 
Developmental Systems models and pattern-centered approaches to the study of youth in context; Processes within the individual and between the individual and their multiple environments (family, school, peer, and neighborhood); The relation between youth participation in constructive (e.g., sports, school clubs) and unconstructive (e.g., television) extracurricular activities and healthy developmental pathways; Promoting healthy diet and physical activity in underserved adolescence; Motivational development in adolescents.

Affiliated Faculty

Rosemarie Booze, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Professor
Dopaminergic/Parkinsonian-type deficits in HIV-1 and drugs of abuse; neurochemical and neuroanatomical basis of dementia and other neurocognitive disorders.

Shauna M. Cooper, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Associate Professor
African American family processes; Father involvement and engagement; Positive development among African American youth; Race-related Experiences (e.g., racial socialization; racial discrimination) and youth well-being; Developmental transitions and school/psychological adjustment; Family-, school- and community-level risk and protective factors; the interplay between education and health.

Amanda Fairchild, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Professor 
Intersection of mediation and moderation models and how the integration of these models aids in program evaluation; effect size measures for mediation; measurement and evaluation of programs and outcomes; and statistical pedagogy.

Steven Harrod, Ph.D., Kent State University, Professor
Processes by which prenatal nicotine exposure alters drug motivated behavior in offspring; novel drugs’ potential ability to decrease drug taking behaviors; whether the sex of the animal influences various drug effects.

Kimberly Hills, Ph.D., University of South Carolina, Clinical Professor
Autism diagnosis, psychological assessment, prevention and intervention for at-risk youth, and positive psychology.

Matt Sanders, Ph.D., University of Queensland, Professor
Parenting and Family Support Center; prevention and treatment of psychopathology in children and adolescents; parent training and family intervention.

Allison Sweeney, Ph.D. Stony Brook University, Assistant Professor
Community-based health promotion intervention development; Social environmental supports for health behavior change; Mechanisms of health behavior change (social, cognitive, environmental); Motivation (individual differences and tailoring approaches)

Abraham H. Wandersman, Ph.D., Cornell University, Professor Emeritus
Community psychology; environmental and ecological psychology; citizen participation; community coalitions; program evaluation.

Douglas Wedell, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Professor
Representations and consequences of affect; context effects on music memory and preference; bias in spatial memory; judgment and choice; probability judgment.

Sara Wilcox, Ph.D., Washington University, Professor, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina