Carmen Bango (she/hers)
Mentors: Amy Holley, Ph.D., Anna Wilson, Ph.D., and Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.

Carmen was born in Washington D.C. and grew up primarily in Vermont. She graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in psychology and a concentration in neuroscience. At Williams, she worked in the lab of Dr. Shivon Robinson researching neonatal opioid exposure in animal models. She also assisted on the EMPOWER (Effective Management of Pain and Opioid-Free Ways to Enhance Relief) project, a clinical trial directed by Dr. Beth Darnall at Stanford that compares different protocols for chronic pain treatment and opioid reduction. After graduation, she worked for two years at Dartmouth College in the lab of Dr. Tor D. Wager on projects investigating the neural and genetic correlates of pain and placebo. Her research interests include: Biopsychosocial predictors of chronic pain and their clinical translation, the effects of prolonged stress on nervous and immune systems, gut-brain axis influence on mood and health, and addressing research biases contributing to health disparities in medicine. In her free time, Carmen is an avid mountain adventurer, podcast-listener, short-story reader, and hot chocolate with whipped cream drinker.

Philip Bouleh (he/him)
Mentor: Christopher Stauffer, M.D.

Philip is currently a Clinical Psychology PhD student at OHSU under the mentorship of Dr. Chris Stauffer. He was born in Amman, Jordan and grew up in Lebanon before immigrating to the United States in 2004 with his family. He graduated in 2020 from Portland State University with a B.S. in philosophy/psychology. His passion is to help individuals who have experienced life in conflict-affected settings (e.g., Refugees, Veterans) build resilience and find healing. Philip is involved in multiple research projects such as MDMA-assisted group therapy for PTSD and psilocybin-enhanced psychotherapy for methamphetamine use disorder in Veterans. Broadly, Philip is interested in the role of epistemic trust, attachment security and spirituality/metaphysical beliefs in the context of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy — including how any changes in these domains may relate to psychological well-being and psychopathology.

Kate Pierce (she/they)
Mentors: Lauren Denneson, Ph.D.

Katie earned a B.S. in psychology from the University of Iowa in 2015. After graduating, she became a psychiatric nursing assistant at the University of Iowa Hospital working with children/adolescents in an inpatient setting, teaching dialectical behavioral therapy skills and providing compassionate direct patient care for patients of diverse psychiatric acuity. This experience inspired their journey towards graduate school and in 2018, Katie moved to Portland to work as a research coordinator at the Portland VA’s Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care. For the past five years she has been involved in suicide prevention research studying suicide risk and resilience factors and identifying gender differences to inform gender-tailored care. She has worked on various suicide prevention projects including a national, mixed-methods survey study, a suicide prevention trials database, and a randomized controlled trial for an experimental behavioral treatment. Katie is interested in suicide risk and resilience among women and folks who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community with the hope that her work can improve suicide prevention efforts, community mental health access, and evidence-based therapies for this unique population. In their spare time you can find Katie somewhere in nature with her Bernese Mountain Dog Riker, reading under a tree.

Daniel Schriemer (he/him)
Mentors: Benjamin Morasco, Ph.D. and Travis Lovejoy, Ph.D.

Daniel is from Michigan and graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and International Studies from Hope College in Holland, MI. Following his experience as a Community Health Worker in St. Paul, MN, he earned an MPH in Community Health Promotion from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where he subsequently worked for several years as a Research Coordinator. His research areas of interest include chronic pain, substance use, and program evaluation. He enjoys running, hiking, reading, and cooking in his free time.

Lea-Tereza Tenekedjieva (she/her)
Mentor: Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.

Lea received her B.S. in Human Biology with a focus in Brain Science and Psychopathology and minor in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University. For three years, Lea was the Research Lab Manager at a clinical neuroscience lab at Stanford University School of Medicine and VA Palo Alto, where she worked on defining the neural mechanisms of alcohol use disorder and investigating novel brain stimulation methods in addiction. Her past research has focused on transdiagnostic approaches to understanding trauma, mood, and anxiety symptoms in addiction and their neural correlates. Lea will be joining the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Bonnie Nagel. Lea is primarily interested in the neural mechanisms of traumatic stress and how it impacts the development of transdiagnostic psychopathology, specifically affective circuit dysfunction, emotion regulation and substance use. Lea’s ultimate goal is to contribute to precision psychiatry efforts and inform novel brain-based treatments and policies for individuals with trauma and substance use disorders.

Ayanna Bell (she/her)
Mentor: Kathleen Carlson, Ph.D.

Ayanna was born in Hawai’i and raised in Georgia. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Artificial Intelligence at Agnes Scott College. There she was an undergraduate research assistant in numerous labs exploring novel methods to treat neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. Her research interests include providing culturally competent care to those seeking psychiatric treatment, sociobehavioral impacts on human health, innovative initiatives for health, and exploring psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and tv shows, trying new foods, and cuddling with her furbaby Pluto.

Aaron Brah
Mentor: Suzanne Mitchell, Ph.D.

Aaron received his Bachelors of Psychological Science in 2016 from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and went on to work as a therapist and lecturer at Australia’s Malvern Private Hospital specializing in substance use interventions for individuals and families. In 2018, Aaron moved to Seattle where he pursued a Masters in Psychology at Seattle University. He was trained as an existential-phenomenological psychotherapist, worked at a residential substance use treatment facility and also as a research assistant at University of Washington’s (UW) Harm Reduction Research and Training (HaRRT) laboratory. There he studied patient-driven goal selection processes for individuals with alcohol use disorder in Seattle’s housing-crisis population. 

Aaron then spent 2 years as a Research Coordinator at UW’s Department of Medicine, coordinating a multi-site, international R01 grant between Seattle, Atlanta, and Kenya. Aaron worked alongside a team of health economists, clinical psychologists, and epidemiologists to perform a Discrete Choice Experiment which sought to understand medical decision-making processes for people living with HIV (PLWH). Aaron will be conducting research on how past temporal discounting processes may impact impulsivity in those recovering from severe substance and alcohol use disorders. 

In his free time, Aaron enjoys skateboarding, meditation, and playing with his Rottweiler-German Shepherd puppy.

Maria D. Hayes (she/her)
Mentor: Elinor Sullivan, Ph.D.

Maria D. Hayes (she/her) graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Portland State University in June of 2019. During her time at Portland State she was recognized with an Academic Achievement Excellence and Leadership Award, and served as the President of the Black Student Union during the 2018-2019 academic year. Her background includes investigating discrimination as a social stressor in African Americans as an undergraduate McNair scholar, and applied clinical work administering TMS therapy. Prior to joining the Clinical Psychology Program, Maria was a Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) scholar at OHSU where she conducted an independent study examining the relationship between maternal perceived discrimination and infant negative affect behavioral outcomes. She has deep interest in further investigating the mechanisms by which social-emotional adversity transmits intergenerationally, and affects child behavior, affect and development. Her professional goals include using her unique perspective and voice to advocate for and provide mental health resources to underrepresented communities, and to conduct empirically-based research that is informed by patient care to address the adversity faced by those with marginalized identities, and to understand factors that protect some members of these communities from the consequences of the adversity that they face. In her free time Maria enjoys reading/writing poetry, traveling, concerts and a good suspenseful series.

Kristen Torres (she/her)
Mentor: David Wagner, Ph.D. 

Kristen is from Colorado and received her B.S. in Clinical/Counseling Psychology at Colorado State University. During her undergraduate career, she was a research assistant at Children’s Hospital Colorado in several labs examining underlying mechanisms in childhood behavioral health. During her post-baccalaureate studies, Kristen worked in the Pulmonary Sciences & Critical Care Medicine Department at University of Colorado researching psychological distress in ICU survivors and creative arts therapy for healthcare worker burnout. Kristen’s interests include pediatric health psychology and health disparities in children with chronic illness. Under mentorship from Dr. David Wagner, Kristen will be a part of the Novel Interventions in Children’s Healthcare project focused on pediatric health psychology. In her free time, you can usually find Kristen spending time with friends and family, running, listening to Taylor Swift, or training her rescue dog, Scout.  

Joren Adams
Mentors: Maya O'Neil, Ph.D. and Dr. Lauren Denneson, Ph.D.

Joren received his B.S. in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2017. During his time as an undergraduate, Joren was awarded a University Award of Distinction for his contributions to campus mental health in relation to his work as a mental health peer counselor. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Joren moved on to the University of California, Irvine where he worked as a research specialist in a neuroimaging lab. At UCI, Joren primarily worked on two studies exploring major depressive disorder and enduring maternal grief. These experiences cemented Joren’s interest in clinical work and led him to develop broad research interests in neuropsychology, affective disorders, and the relationship between emotional dysregulation and cognitive functioning. At OHSU Joren works with his advisors Dr. Maya O’Neil and Dr. Lauren Denneson on a variety of projects related to suicide prevention, evidence synthesis, and cognitive rehabilitation in Veteran populations. His dissertation work focuses on Compensatory Cognitive Training for Veterans with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)-related cognitive functioning deficits. In his spare time, Joren enjoys movie nights, board games, and cuddling his two cats.

Jenna Kachmarik (she/her)
Mentors: Christopher Stauffer, M.D. and Jennifer Loftis, Ph.D.

Jenna is from North Carolina and earned her B.A. in Chemistry and B.S. in Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. There, she was also a research associate in the StressWAVES Biobehavioral Research Lab, which explored relationships between stress and health. She also has several years of experience as a pharmacy technician. Her interests broadly include health psychology and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She is deeply curious about the potential of psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin, MDMA) to improve chronic mental and physical health conditions and mechanisms therein. Guided by Dr. Chris Stauffer and Dr. Jennifer Loftis, she will investigate outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy from a psychoneuroimmunological lens. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, hula hoop dancing, and snuggling with her 11-year old dog, Luca.

Taylor Levine
Mentor: Travis Lovejoy, Ph.D.

Originally from Arizona, Taylor moved to Pennsylvania where she earned a B.S. in psychology and neuroscience from Haverford College in 2018. Following graduation, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, studying novel interventions for treatment-resistant depression. In her most recent role, as field guide for a psychiatric residential treatment center, Taylor guided groups of teens through a 3-month wilderness therapy program in the backcountry of Vermont. Taylor is thrilled to be mentored by Dr. Travis Lovejoy and explore comorbid chronic illness, substance use disorders, and mood disorders. She is passionate about creating broad scale treatment plans and implementing practices that better serve those who might otherwise fall through the cracks in our healthcare system. In her free time, Taylor loves to cook, spend time in the woods, and watch YouTube videos to learn how to build her future tiny home.

Deborah  Sevigny-Resetco (she/her)
Mentors: Suzanne H. Mitchell, Ph.D.

Deborah was born and raised in San Diego, California. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a B.A. in Psychology, with an emphasis in Neuroscience. As an undergraduate student and in the years to follow, she pursued a career in mental health services in various settings, including an acute psychiatric rehabilitation facility, a board and care center, and within the juvenile dependency system. In 2017 she moved to Oregon, where she worked as a domestic violence advocate for the YWCA of Greater Portland and took on a role as a research assistant working with abuse cases for vulnerable adults. Prior to entering OHSU’s Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, she worked as a research assistant in the Translational Neuroeconomics Lab with Dr. Suzanne Mitchell on two projects focused on decision-making: a translational rodent model for delay discounting and a cognitive effort discounting study in an ADHD adolescent population. Her research interests include the cognitive and neurobiological impacts of trauma on decision-making, with a particular interest in the role of neuroplasticity in trauma-centered recovery.

Diana Vazquez Duque
Mentors: Elinor Sullivan Ph.D. and Joel Nigg Ph.D.

Diana received her B.A. in Psychology and Political Science at Linfield College in 2019. She graduated from Pacific University with an M.A. in Applied Psychological Science in 2021. Her clinical background includes providing individual and group therapy to children with ADHD, Autism, trauma, and behavioral challenges, as well as leading psychoeducational groups and delivering individual counseling to Spanish-speaking survivors of domestic violence. Her research experiences include assisting with a study on the interaction between emotions and racial biases, as an interviewer on a longitudinal study about media and child identity formation, and as first author on a project exploring advertisements and self-objectification in young women which was presented at the 2019 WPA conference. Diana's clinical and research interests include developmental disorders such as Autism and ADHD, as well as the development of culturally adaptive treatments for historically underserved populations, primarily Latinos. 

David Cameron
Mentor: Maya O'Neil, Ph.D.

David was born in Seattle and grew up in Portland before attending Macalester College in St. Paul, MN where he received a B.A. in Anthropology. After graduating David moved back to Portland and joined OHSU’s Department of Family Medicine as a Qualitative Senior Research Assistant. In 2017, David moved to Cambridge, MA and went back to school to obtain a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health. After graduating from BU, he again returned to Portland and joined the Portland VA Center to Improve Veterans Involvement in Care working with Dr. Maya O’Neil as a study coordinator and research associate. David is excited to continuing building on his experiencing studying PTSD and TBI with Dr. O’Neil and begin learning to provide evidence-based holistic mental health care. David has played competitive soccer his entire life and has been a youth soccer coach with the Portland Timbers. He is a diehard Timbers and Blazers fan and enjoys watching sports, working on restoring his 1986 BMW, and playing with his new English Bulldog puppy Franklin in his free time.

Olivia Doyle
Mentor: Kristen Mackiewicz-Seghete, Ph.D.

Olivia is currently enrolled in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from Lewis and Clark College. Most recently she worked as a research assistant in the DCAN lab where she helped coordinate multiple clinical trials on maternal well-being and infant brain development. Her research interests include the impacts of trauma on development of psychopathology and emotional well-being during periods of high neural plasticity. When not at work she is usually training her cat, bouldering, or making homemade pasta.

Kate Shirley (she/her)
Mentors: Maya O'Neil, Ph.D. and Jennifer Loftis, Ph.D.

Kate received a B.A. in psychology and gender/sexuality studies from the University of North Carolina Asheville and a M.A. in counseling psychology from Lewis & Clark College. Prior to entering OHSU’s CPP, Kate was active in research and clinical work at OHSU and the Portland VA within the ADHD Lab, Compensatory Cognitive Training Research Program, and the Psychoneuroimmunology Lab. Kate’s research and clinical interests include normal aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia; substance use and addiction; social determinants of health and health disparities; and psychotherapy processes and outcomes. As a student, Kate will work with Dr. Maya O'Neil and Dr. Jennifer Loftis in the Compensatory Cognitive Training Research Program and the Psychoneuroimmunology Lab. Kate is a runner, biker, dog enthusiast, and coffee drinker. Her dog, Dodger, is very happy to have her at home so much right now.

Kat Selah (they/them)
Mentor: Joel Nigg, Ph.D.

Kat was born and raised in New York City, and has lived in beautiful Oregon for the past six years. They did their undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California, and their master's degree at Columbia University, studying Clinical Psychology. They started their professional career at New York State Psychiatric Institute, working under Dr. Yuval Neria at the PTSD and Trauma Lab, working as the research coordinator on both MRI and Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) studies. Before joining the team at OHSU, they worked as a private consultant as part of a PTSD expert witness team. In 2019, they began working at the ADHD lab with Dr. Joel Nigg, who will be their mentor for the program. Kat's research interests include expressed emotion and criticism as predictors of ADHD and adolescent self-perception, as well as improving diagnostics and assessment of ADHD for late adolescents to young adults. Outside of their work and studies, Kat is a parent to two young children, and enjoys hiking, reading, making visual art, advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community, and playing really terrible guitar.

Madeleine Allen (she/her)
Mentor: Alice Graham, Ph.D.

Madeleine’s research broadly focuses on how the gestational environment and parental history influences fetal brain development, under the mentorship of Alice Graham, Ph.D. Specifically, she is interested in the mechanisms by which stress and substance use during pregnancy and parental early life trauma may affect offspring brain development. She is currently assisting in comprehensive child evaluations with an emphasis on ADHD and learning disorders under the supervision of Darren Janzen, Psy.D. at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center. Before beginning in the CPP program, Madeleine worked as a research assistant in the Moghaddam Lab at OHSU after graduating from Oberlin College in 2017 with a B.A. in neuroscience.

Eleanor Battison, MS, LPC (she/her)
Mentors: Amy Holley, Ph.D. and Anna Wilson, Ph.D.

Eleanor Battison grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, and received her BA in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, Canada. She earned her MS in Counseling Psychology from Lewis and Clark College. She has several years of experience working in both direct clinical service and research in Portland, OR. She is a doctoral student in the Advancing Research in Pediatric Pain lab (ARPP), under the guidance of Amy Holley, Ph.D. and Anna Wilson, Ph.D. Her current interests include health and pain psychology, with an emphasis on trauma, health disparities and underserved populations.

Amanda Del Giacco (she/her)
Mentor: Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.

Amanda Del Giacco received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. After completing her bachelor's, she worked as a registered behavioral technician assisting children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Amanda then completed a two-year post-baccalaureate fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health working on fMRI/MEG studies investigating visual perception and affective processing. She is a doctoral student in the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab (DBIL) under the guidance of Dr. Bonnie Nagel. Amanda is interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms and behavioral implications for identifying early risk factors of psychopathology in children and adolescents.