Jessica Flynn, Ph.D., was a graduate student in Dr. Coifman’s Lab and is currently a licensed psychologist at UCEBT, offering Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and other evidence-based treatments for complex mood and anxiety disorders across development. She completed her master's degree in developmental psychology at Queen's University, Canada, and her doctorate degree in clinical psychology at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. Jessica's research focuses on better understanding the moment-to-moment emotion dynamics that contribute to the development and maintenance of maladaptive emotional responding in individuals with anxiety and depressive disorders. Additionally, she practices and tests contemplative practices as a mechanism for changing potentially maladaptive emotion dynamics. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Primary Children's Hospital providing individual and family therapy and assessment for children and adolescents in outpatient, day treatment, and residential settings. Along with her training in psychopathology and emotional development, Jessica has specialized training in mindfulness and acceptance-based cognitive-behavioral therapies and studies the newest research on mindfulness and compassion-based meditations. With this background, she integrates knowledge of empirically-supported treatments and research on meditation, with her wide-ranging experience as a therapist and contemplative practitioner. Her goal is to use this approach to help children, adolescents, and adults suffering from chronic and complex emotional problems to begin living happy, fulfilling lives.

Lee Gilman Lee Gilman was a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Cofiman’s lab. She currently holds a postdoctoral position in the Daws lab at UT Health San Antonio. She is investigating the contributions of monoamine transporters in neuropsychiatric disorders and drug abuse. One project involves examining how age and sex influence functional changes in the dopamine transporter elicited by diet and exercise, to understand how these shifts influence vulnerability to drug abuse and eating disorders. Another is focused on investigating the role of the plasma membrane monoamine transporter in depression and antidepressant effectiveness. While in the Coifman lab, she genotyped 250 human saliva samples for over a dozen polymorphisms implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. Under Dr. Coifman’s guidance, she analyzed associations between specific polymorphisms, or polymorphism combinations, and differences in responses to emotionally evocative stimuli. Finally, she compared film stimuli for emotion evocation under laboratory and online settings, and compiled an index of validated film stimuli as a resource for the emotion research community. UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS Ashley Primm Ashley Primm received her B.A. in Psychology and is now attending John Carroll Unviersity’s School Psychology Ed.S program. She is also a graduate assistant for the Department of Education and School Psychology at JCU. Adam Wall Adam Walls graduated in December 2015 with a bachelors in Psychology. He is currently looking into graduate school programs with interest in getting his masters in Social Work or Counseling. Ashley Gorfido Ashley Gorfido currently working at FrontLine Service as a case manager in the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program. She is also attending Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences working on a master's of science in social administration. Brianne Collura Brianne Collura graduated in spring 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Photo Illustration. In fall of 2015 she will be attending the School Psychology M.Ed/Ed.S program at John Carroll University. She also hopes to start substitute teaching part time in order to gain experience in the school system. Cecily Piteo Cecily Piteo has been working at the law firm of Holland & Knight in the Tampa location. She is an Administrative Specialist to the Office Manager and the Senior Management Coordinator, who work under the Operations and Finance Partner. She plans to pursue a master's degree in the field of psychology or BSN. Corey Gates Corey Gates currently works full-time at Northeast Ohio Medical University working as the college’s Data Specialist. He uses his education garnered from the Psychology Department to clean and analyze data, enact research studies, and present information to stakeholders. He is also taking courses part-time for my PhD in the Department of Geography at Kent State University. He is interested in understanding how individuals perceive the health in their neighborhoods. Danielle Halachoff Danielle Halachoff graduated with her B.A. in Psychology and Justice Studies in spring 2013. She was lab manager of the ESR lab from 2013-2014. She is currently a law student at Akron University. David Strasshofer David Strasshofer is a graduate research assistant at The University of Missouri-St. Louis in their Clinical PhD program. He is working at the Center for Trauma Recovery, a university-associated clinic that specializes in Cognitive Processing Therapy for the treatment of PTSD. Fawn Gordon Fawn Gordon graduated in Spring 2014 with a bachelors in Psychology. She is currently attending the Clinical and Mental Health Counseling program at Akron University. She is also a Day Program Interventionist at Blick Clinic. Kalil Pearson Kalil Pearson graduated with a B.S. in psychology in spring 2015. He plans to get a job that will allow him to gain more experience in order to pursue a PH.D. in Neuropsychology. He hopes to study the relationship between gut flora in the human digestive system and cognition. Kayla Renicker Kayla Renicker is an undergraduate junior who was with the lab for two years. She is a psychology major and a public health minor, and she is also part of the Honors College here at Kent State. She will graduate in spring 2016 and plans to obtain her masters in Global Health. Melissa Bishop Melissa Bishop graduated from the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program with her M.Ed in Fall 2014. She currently has her LPC and is in the process of applying for her CDCA. She is still working at KSU as John Dunlosky's lab manager while looking for employment at an agency or hospital in the area. Morgan Shields Morgan Shields is now attending Harvard University. There she is working on her Masters of Science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. She has a concentration in "Children, Youth, and Families." She will graduate in spring of 2016. She is also conducting research at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry with the advisement of Sara Singer who is in the department of Health and Policy management at Harvard. Her research collaborators are Dr. Christina Borba and Dr. Nhi-Ha Trinh. Nathan Bruss Nathan Bruss has been working at the Emergency/Trauma center at Cleveland Clinic Emergency department, and is currently a Physician Assistant Student at Lake Erie College. Upon graduation from the program, he plans to practice in trauma surgery or emergency medicine. Razan Shaheen Razan Shaheen graduated with a Masters in Applied Social Science from the Mandel School of Applied Social Science at Case Western Reserve University. After graduation, plans on continuing my focus on direct practice with adults with severe mental illness. Sean Burridge Sean Burridge graduated in spring 2015. He would like to move on to study cognition, education, and statistics in graduate school. Kelly Baker Kelly was a high school student in Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) at Kent State. She interned the Emotion, Stress and Relationship lab, hoping to get a feel for the field of Psychology. Her future plans were to go on to college and receive a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Maddy Bartz Maddy graduated from Kent State with a B.A. in psychology. Her interests included adolescent psychopathology as well as mood and personality disorders. She attended graduate school for Clinical Counseling. Her goal was to eventually work in a juvenile detention center. Meredith Harvey Meredith obtained her BA in Psychology and Religion from the University of Rochester in 2007 and spent a year in NE Ohio obtaining additional research experience. Research interests included both behavioral and physiological expressions of emotion, emotion awareness, and emotion regulation and control. She was especially interested in the efficacy of mindfulness based practices on depression and anxiety disorders, and maintained an active meditation and yoga practice of her own. Additional interests included the relationship between nutrition and mental health, cultural influences, and social and environmental justice. She planned to obtain her PhD in Clinical Psychology. Veronica Huber Veronica graduated in May 2012 majoring in biology and psychology. Her research interests included learning more about the field of psychology as a whole and the research process. She was also interested in children with chronic pain and illness. Veronica planned on earning her doctorate in clinical child psychology in order to ultimately work in a hospital setting. Jenny Meinwald Jenny was an undergraduate senior psychology major with a minor in applied conflict management, and was a member of the honors college. Her main interests included personality disorders, emotion regulation, and how they are correlated. She planned to attend graduate school to further her education in the field of psychology. Nathan Rogers Nathan majored in Music Tech at Kent State Stark. With this he hoped to study the physiological effects of music in the brain, as well as the regulation of emotions using music. Andrea Vretas Andrea was an undergraduate senior majoring in psychology and minoring in Spanish. Her research interests were vast, but included emotion, stress, personality and mood disorders. She planned to attend graduate school and obtain a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Lisa Zimmerman Lisa graduated from Kent State with her B.A. in psychology. Her research interests included emotion and mood disorders particularly related to the geriatric population. She planned to attend a graduate program in counseling. Kristin Grimm Kristin is a recent graduate from Kent State University. She recieved her B.A. in Psychology May 2011. She was interested in adolescent psychopathology and its development. She was also interested in the role that a parent's psychopathology plays in a child's life and how that effects the child's own potential future psychopathology. Her future plans were to attend graduate school and earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Erin McKay Erin was a senior undergraduate Honors student pursuing a psychology and biology double major. She is especially interested in mood and anxiety disorders. Her future plans included continuing her education with post-baccalaureate work aimed at becoming a clinical psychologist or a crisis counselor. Lindsey Steenburg Lindsey was a senior psychology major who has been an active research assistant in several labs at Kent State University. Her research interests included anxiety and mood disorders, mindfulness, and emotion regulation. She was also employed at Townhall II as a Victim Outreach Specialist. She planned to continue her education by getting a Masters degree and eventually specializing in Crisis Intervention or Addiction Counseling. Cory Platt Cory has a BA in Applied Mathematics at KSU. On top of working in the ESR Lab he was also employed at the Kent State University Main Library and was a member of the GSS. He continued his education by going for his Masters in Information Architecture Knowledge Management and Library Science. Gabriela Mance Gabriela was a senior psychology major who had been an active research assistant in numerous labs at Kent State University. Her research interests specifically included anxiety and mood disorders, stress, and emotion regulation. She was also very interested in FACS and the research done behind it. Gabi hoped to continue to graduate school to receive her PhD in a Clinical Psychology. Aleksey Lavrinenko Aleksey graduated with his BA in Psychology from Kent State University. He has worked as a research assistant in a few labs with interests including emotion regulation and cognitive development. His plans are to attend graduate school in counseling next fall.