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Researcher Spotlights
ABCT’s Spotlight on a Researcher seeks to enhance understanding of the process of research involvement among ABCT members by sharing the perspectives of established researchers. Our Spotlight highlights the diversity of research being conducted by ABCT members by including perspectives across varied backgrounds, settings, paradigms, and populations. If you’d like to nominate yourself or a colleague to be our Featured Researcher, click here to access our ABCT Spotlight on a Research Nomination.
Featured Researcher
Kelsie H. Okamura - Kelsie Okamura (she/her) is an Implementation Researcher at the Baker Center for Children and Families, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, and a licensed psychologist. Researcher Spotlights
Spotlights are listed from most to least recent.
Kelsie H. Okamura - Kelsie Okamura (she/her) is an Implementation Researcher at the Baker Center for Children and Families, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, and a licensed psychologist. 
Emily Bibby - Emily Bibby is a doctoral student in the Relationship Development Center at Stony Brook University. 
Richard Liu - Richard Liu, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Suicide Research in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Henry A. Willis - Henry A. Willis, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and is originally from Jackson, Mississippi. He received his B.S. in psychology from Howard University and his M.A. in clinical psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. 
Evan J. White - Evan White, PhD, is an enrolled member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. He belongs to the Shawnee Chapter of the Native American Church of Oklahoma and the Whiteoak Shawnee Ceremonial Grounds. 
Alexa M. Raudales - Alexa M. Raudales, M.A. (she/her/hers) is a doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island and a member of Dr. Nicole H. Weiss’ STRESS Lab. She was the 2023 recipient of the ABCT Research Facilitation Committee’s Student Research Grant.
Ana Bridges - Ana Bridges, PhD, is a Professor, Director of Clinical Training, and licensed psychologist whose research focuses on understanding and ameliorating factors that interfere with mental health help-seeking in historically marginalized and oppressed groups. 
Taylor A. Burke - Dr. Taylor A. Burke is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. The primary aim of her research is to improve the prediction and prevention of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) among adolescents and young adults. 
Gabrielle Ilagan - We study whether daily fluctuations in invalidation are associated with fluctuations in BPD symptoms, and whether identity-related invalidation and self-validation may serve as a risk and protective factors, respectively, for Black and Latinx people with BPD symptoms.
Shannon Sauer-Zavala - Shannon Sauer-Zavala is a co-developer of the Unified Protocol and is currently developing and testing a novel treatment for borderline personality disorder – BPD Compass.
Hannah Levy - Hannah Levy is a staff psychologist at the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. 
Quyen A. Do - Quyen A. Do, M.Ed., is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a member of Dr. Shelby Scott's Promoting Resilience in DiversE (PRIDE) Family Studies Lab
Omar Gudiño - Gudiño directs the Services for At-Risk Youth & Families (SAYF) Lab, which conducts research on patterns of risk and resilience in ethnic minority youth exposed to trauma; the development and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for maltreated youth; and ethnic disparities in unmet need for mental health services
Kelsey Pritchard - Pritchard's dissertation, “Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Mood Disorders: Contextual, Biological, and Social Processes,” is a series of projects aimed to advance our understanding of intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation by examining biological and behavioral processes as mechanisms in affective change, emotional disorder risk, and negative interpersonal outcomes. 
Christine Cha - Christine Cha is an Associate Professor (effective Fall 2021) in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she directs the Laboratory for Clinical and Developmental Studies (LCDS). Her research program aims to refine our understanding of suicide and self-injury among youth.
Jenna Carl - My role is VP of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs at Big Health, a developer of digital therapeutics for mental health. 
Sara Becker - Dr. Becker is a clinical researcher and licensed clinical psychologist dedicated to improving the quality and utilization of behavioral treatments for individuals with substance use disorders.
Anu Asnaani - Anu Asnaani, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor and licensed psychologist who has established the Treatment Mechanisms, Community Empowerment, and Technology Innovations laboratory in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT.
Colin Bosma - Every year, ABCT's Research Facilitation committee awards a Graduate Student Research Grant to provide financial support for a student whose research shows great innovation, creativity, and broader significance.
Keith Renshaw - Starting up a research lab and an independent program of research can feel daunting!
Shawn Jones - I actually have the "Pre-med" convert narrative to my career as a psychologist, so I did not have my first research experience until the summer of my junior year in undergrad.
Ken Weingardt - Given this year's conference theme Cognitive Behavioral Science, Treatment, and Technology, we are excited to present for this inaugural feature a researcher who has spent his career evaluating and promoting technology-based enhancements for mental health.
Laurel Sarfan - Laurel is a fifth-year clinical psychology Ph.D. student at Miami University, where she is mentored by Dr. Elise Clerkin.