Lab Members

GRADUATE ASSISTANT & MEMBER

Anjum completed her undergraduate studies at Loyola University in Chicago, where she studied French Language and Literature, and Psychology. During her time at Loyola, Anjum developed research interests in race and intergroup dynamics, global disparities in access to education, and community access to educational resources/opportunities. Currently, Anjum is a student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at SLU and hopes to combine her research and educational interests to contribute to interventions focused on diversifying clinical practice as well as educational approaches for underserved communities. Anjum hopes to obtain licensure as a clinical psychologist and work as a psychotherapist for pediatric populations, focusing specifically on refugee children.

GRADUATE ASSISTANT & MEMBER

Irelan is a doctoral student in the clinical psychology Ph.D. program at Saint Louis University. She received her B.A. in Psychology at Siena College (2022) with minors in biology and human resources development as well as a certificate in community development. Her undergraduate research focused on building community development partnerships with nonprofit organizations serving individuals with developmental delays, complex learning disorders, and autism spectrum disorder. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Irelan served two terms in the AmeriCorps VISTA Program conducting community engaged participatory action research. Her current research, teaching, and clinical interests are broadly in community psychology, psychosocial support and rehabilitation, and community-based approaches.

LAB MEMBER

Payton Adams is a PhD student in clinical neuropsychology for the Cognitive and Affective Psychophysiology (CAP) Lab at Saint Louis University. Her work will examine caregiver burden within neurological disorders, aging, and neuropsychological assessment processes across diverse populations. As a recent graduate from the University of California Santa Barbara, she double majored in Psychological and Brain Sciences and Communication with a minor in Applied Psychology. Payton looks forward to connecting her interests in neuropsychology and health equity in order to examine community interventions and the intersectionality of demographic variables. Payton’s current career goal is to become a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and focus her research/clinical work in a specialty of dementia-related disorders.

GRADUATE ASSISTANT & LAB MEMBER

Samantha is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Saint Louis University. She received both her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Business (2020) and her M.S. in Clinical Psychology (2023) from Missouri State University. Samantha’s research interests broadly focus on health disparities in historically marginalized populations, with specific interest in emotion dysregulation, personality development, discrimination, violence prevention, and the criminal legal system in LGBTQ+ communities. Currently, Samantha hopes to obtain licensure as a clinical psychologist and work in community-based research and clinical practice.

GRADUATE ASSISTANT & LAB MEMBER

Christina is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Saint Louis University. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown University with a minor in Justice and Peace Studies. After her undergraduate studies, she spent time working in short-term housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness. From this experience, she developed in program development and evaluation with an aim to improve the experiences of both program clients and employees. Other research interests include trauma treatments accessibility, social-emotional learning, societal attitudes towards emotions and mental health, and the psychology of human rights. For fun non-psychology time, Christina is an avid knitter, moderately avid baker, and semi-occasionally walk in the Botanical Gardens-er. She’s also a huge animal person and will often be found talking about her cat, Freya.

LAB MEMBER

Kaevyn is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Saint Louis University. She has also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Global studies at Texas Tech University and a Master of Science in clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Tyler where she developed her enthusiasm for psychological research and clinical practice. Her research interest focuses on the lived experiences of Black individuals and communities. She is most passionate about understanding and quantifying the daily life and struggles of Black people through the lens of systemic oppression, historical contexts, and generational or cultural trauma. Kaevyn aims to understand the long-term effects of slavery and civil rights on the Black community to inform the development of culturally sensitive evidenced based practices and clinical assessments, in addition to providing statistical significance for policy change. Her ultimate goal is to become licensed as a clinical psychologist specializing in generational trauma, community mental health, and the impact of discrimination and systemic racism on minority mental health.

LAB MEMBER & GRADUATE ASSISTANT

Zoe is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Saint Louis University.  She received her B.A. in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Grand Valley State University, with a minor in Spanish.  During her undergraduate studies, Zoe conducted research investigating family characteristics within child maltreatment court cases, and how campus law enforcement officials view their role in aiding student mental health.  She looks forward to advancing her research interests, with a focus on community-based research and interventions.  Zoe’s current career goal is to teach the next generation of researchers and learners as a professor of psychology.                

LAB MEMBER

LAB MEMBER

Alex Peddie is an undergraduate student studying psychology and criminal justice. Her research interests span from criminal behavior to personality disorders to policy change and intervention in the criminal justice system. In addition to doing research with the CHEER Lab, she is performing research regarding how incarceration impacts relationships and taking part in an internship program about understanding wrongful convictions. Alex aims to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on forensic psychology. She aspires to work as a Clinical Psychologist in the correctional system or conduct research to promote rehabilitation within the criminal justice system.

LAB MEMBER

Shyla is a senior undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. degree in Psychology and a B.A. degree in Spanish. During her undergraduate years, she has facilitated support groups for bereaved children, advocated for South Asian mental health challenges, and assisted at-risk youth in conflict-resolution interventions. Shyla’s research interests include international and multicultural psychology, specifically exploring how community-based interventions can promote culturally competent care. Her current career goals are to become a bilingual psychologist and work with English-speaking and Spanish-speaking populations. After graduating, she plans to attend a postgraduate program in clinical psychology in order to become a licensed psychologist. 

LAB MEMBER

Hayley is an undergraduate senior pursuing a B.A. in Psychology and English. Their research interests pertain to the intersection between substance use and trauma in LGBTQIA+ individuals, with specific interest in alcohol use disorders and opioid use disorders. They plan to pursue an M.A. in Psychology with an emphasis on Counseling Psychology. Their career goals involve obtaining licensure to provide care as a psychotherapist and working with LGBTQIA+ populations that are disproportionately impacted by substance use issues.

LAB MEMBER (Fall 2022 - Spring 2023)

Margaret R. Grundy (Meg) graduated from Saint Louis University in Spring 2023 with Bachelors degrees in Criminal Justice and Psychology. She is currently a Clinical Psychology PhD student at Tulsa University in Oklahoma. Her research interests include: a) perceptions of victim behavior, b) victimization risk assessment, and c) the experiences of people who identify as LGBTQ+ in the criminal legal system. Recently, as part of her work in the Community Health Equity and Justice Lab she has worked on a study that explores whether state-provisions, designed to protect transgender and gender diverse people in prison, impact the rate of sexual assault experienced among the population. Meg aspires to become a forensic psychologist who works within marginalized populations and disseminates her research into the populations she studies.

LAB MEMBER (Spring 2023)

Srushti obtained her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Visual Communication in December 2022 and is currently a Research Coordinator at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Prior to her new position she has worked in pediatric hospitals, tutored children with hearing disabilities, and those with learning disabilities struggling with English. Her current interests lie in studying suicide risk and resilience factors in emerging adults, community health-based interventions and a general passion for working with the youth. She is also interested in making research and its results more accessible and engaging with the use of social media, creative design and varied interactive outreach like workshops and seminars. Her career goal is to obtain a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology for research and clinical practice.

LAB MEMBER (Spring 2023) & Current Collaborator

Maria E. Meinerding, MS is a clinical psychology doctoral candidate currently on internship at the VA in San Diego, CA. Her research broadly examines psychometrics and health behaviors with a systems-focused emphasis on the intersection of sociocultural identity, interpersonal relationships, health equity, and sexual wellbeing. Maria is interested in applied-clinical research, particularly in the context of sexual assault and relapse-prevention as well as development and dissemination of harm-reduction interventions. Maria previously taught Abnormal Psychology at SLU and has a strong interest in returning to teaching following completion of her pre-doctoral internship (SLU undergrads are truly the best!) She currently serves as a student member on the APA Division 12 Committee on Science and Practice.

LAB MEMBER (2023-2024)

Deauna Foster is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. Deauna is interested in doing research on mental health disparities and how these disparities impact minority populations. Deauna hopes to learn more about how community-oriented solutions can help those communities.