Graduate

Research Fellow Identifies Factors to Improve Child Development

Photo: Lyndsey Moran

Lyndsey Moran, a fifth year student in Child Clinical, recently received a research award from The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for her project "Development of Effortful Control as Moderator of the Transactional Growth Between Negative Reactivity and Symptoms in Preschool."  Her primary advisor is Liliana Lengua. A brief introduction to the National Research Service Award (NRSA) is provided in a previous article.

Let's start with the basics, where are you from and where did you complete undergrad/masters?

I grew up in New Jersey just outside Manhattan. I did my undergrad at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire where I majored in Psychology and minored in Neuroscience.

How did you wind up at UW/why did you apply here? What do you think about living in Seattle?

After undergrad, I took two years off to work in research and explore my interests. I worked in a neuroimaging lab examining child temperament and psychopathology and became fascinated with the topic. I wanted to continue in this field with my graduate training and Liliana Lengua’s lab was a great fit. It also didn’t hurt that UW’s Child Clinical program ranked top in the nation! I have to admit I’m an east coaster at heart and didn’t love the Seattle weather at first (and still don’t understand why people wait at the cross walk when there aren’t any cars coming), but I’ve grown to love the city and especially the easy access to amazing outdoor activities.

What is your research interest and how did you get into it (what inspires/motivates you)?

My research interests involve identifying factors, both social and cognitive/emotional, that affect a child’s risk for future development of psychopathologies. Specifically, I am interested in understanding how different aspects of temperament develop and interact to shape children’s adjustment. I first got interested in the topic working under Jerry Kagan in Boston who has done extensive and foundational work on temperament. His passion and commitment to the field was very inspiring to me and first got me thinking about developmental trajectories and understanding factors that modulate a child’s risk and may help us develop more effective prevention efforts.

How did you learn about your funding opportunity and tell us about the application/waiting process?

A number of more senior graduate students in my lab had applied for the NRSA in the past, so I greatly benefited from their knowledge about the application process. The application process itself was challenging, to say the least. The application has strict maximum page limits and yet also requires comprehensive information about your proposal, which forces you to be very pointed and direct in your language and really requires you to have a thorough understanding of your topic and your training goals. As tough as completing the initial application was, responding to reviews, making necessary adjustment, and flipping the proposal by the next deadline was even more stressful, but definitely worth the effort.

How did you feel when you learned that your application was accepted and that you will receive 2/3yrs of funding?

I honestly didn’t really believe it at first. The whole process is so long and the communication from the funding agency so vague that I was only cautiously optimistic! My first submission of the application was in December, 2011 and the funding didn’t actually start until July, 2013. Once I finally got official word that my training was being funded, I felt relieved, proud, and very excited.

Do you have any advice/tips/suggestions for others who may apply to this opportunity? About graduate study in general?

The most helpful thing for me was having example applications from other students who had also applied. The application is fairly complicated and having guides to reference made it a lot easier. Also it helped to have a variety of people look over the application. My lab mates and advisor were very helpful in reviewing my work. My advice for graduate school in general is to find balance between focusing on your responsibilities/requirements and having a life/fun. Don’t ask me how you actually find that balance though - that's still a mystery to me.

What do you hope to accomplish with the funding and/or while in the UW Psychology graduate program?

The NRSA funding frees up some of my time that would otherwise have to be invested in either an RA or TA, which will allow me to focus more on my research projects and has given me time to take further classes that are within my interests but outside the required coursework. The funding will also give me more opportunities to attend professional conferences and trainings, which I plan to take advantage of.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

What spare time? Just kidding! I love skiing and generally being outside (hiking, swimming, kayaking, all that good stuff), but I generally find that any free weekend I have I leave town to travel and squeeze in as many adventures as I can before I have to get a real job.

The last book and/or movie you saw and enjoyed?

I’ve been reading Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” and keep catching myself writing notes all over the pages, so it must be good!

What you plan to do once you complete your PhD? 

I’m hoping to get a job! A more serious answer is that I’d love to find myself in a place that would allow me to balance clinical and research careers, likely starting with a post-doc and hopefully finding a longer-term academic career.

Supplemental Reading:

• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grants
• Grants and Funding Information Service (GFIS) through the UW Libraries.

Innovating Clinical Treatments with Technology

Photo: Anita Lungu

Anita Lungu, a fifth year student in Adult Clinical, received a grant from The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for her project "Computerized Trans-Diagnostic DBT Skills Training for Emotion Dysregulation."  Her primary advisor is Marsha Linehan. A brief introduction to the National Research Service Award (NRSA) is provided in a previous article.

Let's start with the basics, where are you from and where did you complete undergrad/masters?

I am originally from Romania where I did my undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering. About 10 years ago I came to the US to pursue a PhD degree in computer science at Duke University. Somewhere along the way I started taking courses at undergraduate and then graduate level in psychology out of pure curiosity. At some point I realized my passion was actually in clinical psychology and I decided to pursue a second PhD in clinical psychology with a focus on intervention research.

How did you wind up at UW/why did you apply here? What do you think about living in Seattle?

I ended up applying at UW because I wanted to work with my current adviser Dr. Marsha Linehan. During my classes at Duke I came across her research and it really resonated with me and what I wanted to do. I love everything about living in Seattle particularly in the summer time. I'm not a big fan of lots of rain though. Seattle is a wonderful city to live in, particularly if you love the outdoors, which I do.

What is your research interest and how did you get into it (what inspires/motivates you)?

I believe that my background before starting my PhD in clinical psychology and my current education puts me in the fortunate position of having knowledge in two different fields and languages that have been separate until relatively recently: clinical psychology and computer science. I am interested in using recent advances in technology (mobile platforms and applications, artificial intelligence, sensors) to help disseminate evidence based psychological interventions on a large scale, that is to a large group of people in need of receiving such help. In my dissertation work, together with my adviser Dr. Marsha Linehan, we are converting a component of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills training into a computerized intervention to treat emotion dysregulation trans-diagnostically to individuals who have difficulty regulating their emotions. What inspires and motivates me to do this work is the hope to narrow the gap in our field between the availability of very effective evidence based psychological treatments and the access to such treatments by individuals in need of them.

How did you learn about your funding opportunity and tell us about the application/waiting process?

Several students in our research lab and in my cohort have in the past applied for the NRSA funding and were successful in receiving it so I decided to try.

How did you feel when you learned that your application was accepted and that you will receive 2/3yrs of funding?

It felt exhilarating. I was very happy - applying for this award was a lot of effort and it felt great to see that effort lead to success.

Do you have any advice/tips/suggestions for others who may apply to this opportunity? About graduate study in general?

For individuals specifically applying for an NRSA award my advice would be to get themselves well organized and not give up, to ask for samples of other successful awards from their colleagues and to go for it.

What do you hope to accomplish with the funding and/or while in the UW Psychology graduate program?

I hope for my dissertation project to be provide evidence that technology can be effective in providing for large scale dissemination of evidence based treatments particularly for the population I have in mind. I hope to have a successful project and to be able to disseminate the results through scientific publications.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I have 2 small kids, Arya, my 2 and a half year old daughter and Alex, my 11 months old son. I love to spend time with them and my husband. Other than that I love to read and swim and try to do that when I get a chance.

The last book and/or movie you saw and enjoyed?

I like to read science fiction when I get a chance. One of the books I read recently and liked was Robert Heinlein's "The Door into Summer". Probably the book I like best though is R.A. Salvatore's “Dark Elf's Trilogy.”

What you plan to do once you complete your PhD?

I would like to continue to do research targeting dissemination of evidence based treatments, in particular of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. I hope to be able to continue to collaborate with my adviser Dr. Marsha Linehan beyond my PhD program.

Supplemental Reading:

• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grants
• Grants and Funding Information Service (GFIS) through the UW Libraries.

Endowments Support Summer Research

The Psychology Department is steward to endowments that provide support to graduate students. Fellowships funded by our endowments are typically awarded to students who are near the end of their training.  They are intended to enable students to work on their independent research (Hunt) or pursue a professional training goal (Alcor). You can learn more about each of these awards and their intents by clicking on the links at the end of this article. The Psychology Department is proud to announce the following recipients of the summer fellowships for 2014:

Photo: Amanda Gilmore and Son Kai

Our first Summer 2014 Hunt Fellow is Amanda Gilmore (Adult Clinical with William George). Her research seeks to incorporate alcohol consumption reduction practices with established sexual assault risk reduction (SARR) programs.  Nearly half of college women surveyed who were heavy drinkers also experienced sexual assault while intoxicated. Existing SARR programs leave out the influence of alcohol as a factor in sexual assault.  The results from Amanda's project could help reduce sexual assault risk by innovating SARR programs.

Photo: Yong Sang Jo

Yong Sang Jo (Behavioral Neuroscience with Sheri Mizumori) is our other Summer 2014 Hunt Fellow. Yong's research examines the role of the midbrain dopamine systems and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in the decisions that one makes when expecting particular outcomes (such as rewards) after long or short delays. He measured the preference in delayed-large versus immediate-small rewards before manipulating the OFC. Inactivation of the OFC resulted in increased preference for more immediate rewards. These findings not only help clarify the role of brain reward systems and the OFC in decision making but they may help our understanding of reward choice decisions by individuals who experience brain trauma resulting in changes in dopamine transmission or which affect the functioning of the OFC.

Photo: Jessica Chen	Photo: Janie Jun	Photo: Exu Anton Mates with Mundi	Photo: Joris Vincent

Four graduate students in Psychology have been selected to receive the Alcor Endowment in Psychology for 2014.   Jessica Chen (Adult Clinical with Ronald Smith) will be collecting data for her study on online interventions to improve upon traditional psychotherapy services. Along the same vein, Janie Jun (Adult Clinical with Lori Zoellner) seeks to examine the components of interventions and their effectiveness in PTSD treatments. While Exu Anton Mates (Animal Behavior with Jim Ha) will be recording wild American and Northwestern crows as the crows are courting and defending their territory. And Joris Vincent (Cognition & Perception with Steve Buck) will spend the summer learning to use computational approaches in vision research, while collaborating with faculty in other departments and honing his own research interests.

The Psychology Department is grateful to our benefactors who have made these training and research opportunities possible! 

Supplemental Reading:

• Extended introduction to the Alcor
• Past Alcor Fellows mentioned in Graduate Accomplishments (2005, 2006-2007,2008, 2009, 2011)
• Stand alone Alcor articles in 2010, 2012, 2013.
• Earl Hunt Graduate Fellowship Fund provides supports to graduate students conducting independent research (year 1, year 2, year 3, year 4).
• Support UW Psychology Graduate Students by donating

Diversity Steering Committee Reflects on Productive Year

The Diversity Steering Committee (DSC) has had a busy 2013-2014 academic year.

The Winter Quarter brought in a fresh group of prospective graduate students for the annual recruitment weekend. The DSC presented at both the general recruitment breakfast on Friday and at the Child Clinical recruitment lunch about DSC activities and disseminated information about diversity-related resources available at the UW.

In lieu of the DSC’s annual Saturday recruitment brunch, the DSC worked together with GPAC to put together a TED Talks-style program on Saturday. The DSC is grateful to four speakers in particular for speaking about their diversity-related research: Karen Pang (Child Clinical with Elizabeth McCauley (Seattle Children's Hospital) and Lynn Fainsilber Katz), Laura Brady (Social Psychology & Personality with Cheryl Kaiser), Jennifer Staples (Adult Clinical with William George), and Dr. Kristina Olson (Developmental). The presenters spoke about a broad range of topics.  For example, Karen spoke about her work on how culture affects the way positive affect is expressed among Caucasian and Asian American teens, and Jennifer spoke about the role of discrimination and internalized prejudice in the etiology of alcohol-related problems among transgender individuals.

The DSC has also continued its collaboration with Carrie Perrin (Undergraduate Psychology Advising, Director of Student Services) and Dr. Laura Little (Psychology Principle Lecturer and Associate Chair for Teaching & Curriculum) to measure the diversity climate within psychology classrooms. For the second year in a row, the undergraduate senior exit survey will include questions about the diversity experiences of senior psychology undergraduates in psychology. The survey from last year has already helped the DSC brainstorm how to develop best practices for promoting diversity within our classrooms. They will use this to implement a training session in the 2014-2015 school year to help graduate student TAs deal with diversity-related issues in the classroom.

A similar survey that seeks to understand the department diversity climate from the perspective of graduate students is in the works.

The DSC has also recently awarded the Psychology Diversity Science Specialization certificate to Teri Kirby, a fourth-year Social Psychology & Personality student (also DSC co-chair) working with Cheryl Kaiser and Tony Greenwald. To obtain the Diversity Science Specialization, Teri completed coursework in Diversity Science (Psych 547), Cultural Psychology (Psych 547), Core Concepts in Social Psychology (Psych 510), and Diversity Science Brownbag.

The Diversity Science Specialization has greatly impacted Teri’s research. Teri noted:

Taking several courses related to diversity ultimately culminated in the formation of a dissertation project examining how diversity efforts affect the experience of racial minorities. I am testing whether diversity efforts that focus on appreciating group differences might affect the extent to which members of minority groups present themselves as prototypical members of their group in organizational contexts. Coursework for the diversity specialization led me to refine these ideas and come up with new directions based on relevant literature and feedback in class.

Photo: Teri Kirby

Teri has also been involved in other research related to diversity throughout her graduate career. With Dr. Cheryl Kaiser, she has examined how diversity efforts influence people’s ability to detect unfairness in company policies. With Dr. Tony Greenwald, she has examined the effect of racial bias in the 2012 U.S. presidential election (see press release).

The DSC looks forward to supporting graduate students in exploring diversity science in their coursework, research, teaching, and other domains of engagement within and outside the UW. Please contact us at psychdsc@uw.edu.

Supplemental Reading:

• Articles on the students who completed the Specialization in 2010, 2011, Summer 2012, Winter 2012, Summer 2013, Winter 2013.
• Diversity Science Specialization program requirements (only available to currently enrolled Psychology Graduate Students)
• UW GO-MAP Website

Graduate Accomplishments

Autumn quarter 2013

Congratulations to Melana Yanos, (Behavioral Neuroscience with Matt Kaeberlein(Pathology) and Sheri Mizumori) for publishing part of her dissertation research in Science. Melana was part of a team of UW scientists who discovered that manipulating the brain's energy production reversed the degenerative pathology that one typically sees in diseases such as Leigh's syndrome. This work was featured in UW News.

Geoff Boynton (Associate Professor) and Jessica Thomas (Cognition & Perception with Ione Fine) demonstrated that it is possible to identify songs that one is listening to (or thinking about!) by looking at brain activity patterns. These new findings were presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, and described in NewScientist Life.

Congratulations to Colleen Harker (Child Clinical with Wendy Stone), who received a $10,000 grant from The Arc of Washington Trust Fund. She will work with Parent 2 Parent, a community support and information resource, to evaluate the effectiveness of their services across different ethnic groups.

At the end of the quarter, several students completed their general exam and advanced to candidacy: Ashwin Bhandiwad (Animal Behavior with Joseph Sisneros), Libby Huber(Cognition & Perception with Ione Fine), Joy Kawamura (Child Clinical with Lynn Fainsilber Katz), Teri Kirby (Social Psychology & Personality with Cheryl Kaiser),  Solace Shen (Developmental with Peter Kahn), and Valerie Tryon (Behavioral Neuroscience with Sheri Mizumori).

The department also awarded the Master of Science (MS) degree to Danielle Eakins (Adult Clinical with William George), Charlotte Heleniak (Child Clinical with Lynn Fainsilber Katz), and Erika Ruberry (Child Clinical with Liliana Lengua).

Three students completed the Quantitative Minor in Psychology: Jeremy Luk (Child Clinical with Kevin King), Karen Pang (Child Clinical with Elizabeth McCauley (Seattle Children's Hospital) and Lynn Fainsilber Katz), and Sam Yard (Adult Clinical with Jane Simoni). Twelve psychology graduate students have completed this optional track since its creation in 2008.

Erik Runeson (Cognition & Perception with Scott Murray) successfully defended his dissertation, "Effects of Attention on Physiological Responses in Visual Cortex” on December 6, 2013. Erik is currently a Research Associate with the Psychology Department. Congratulations!

Winter quarter 2014

Anita Lungu (Adult Clinical with Marsha Linehan) received the prestigious Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology Dissertation Grant Award for her study, “Computerized Trans-Diagnostic DBT Skills Training for Emotion Dysregulation.”  The award rec­og­nizes and sup­ports stu­dents who are work­ing on their dis­ser­ta­tion in the field of clin­i­cal psychology.  Anita is also a recipient of a national research award. Please click here for the article.

Karen Pang (Child Clinical with Elizabeth McCauley (Seattle Children's Hospital) and Lynn Fainsilber Katz) was selected to attend the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) and Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Summer School which takes place in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The Summer School brings together researchers and doctoral students for 5 days of intensive research training and workshops.

Two students completed their general exams, Robert Askew (Quantitative with Dagmar Amtmann (Rehabilition Medicine) and Jane Simoni) and Joyce Yang (Adult Clinical with Jane Simoni). One student completed a master's degree, Haley Caroll (Adult Clinical with Mary Larimer), while another student completed the Diversity Science Specialization, Teri Kirby (Social Psychology & Personality with Cheryl Kaiser). Twelve students have completed the Diversity Science Specialization since its inception in 2010.

Spring quarter 2014

Sianna Ziegler (Social Psychology & Personality with Sapna Cheryan) received an Honorable Mention for her National Science Fellowship Graduate Research Proposal, entitled "Do Gender-Integrated Subfields Decrease Women’s Implicit Identification With Male-Dominated Ones?"

Alissa Jerud (Adult Clinical with Lori Zoellner) has been selected to receive a 2014 American Psychological Foundation Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Graduate Student Fellowship.  The $25,000 fellowship was created to support promising graduate students in child psychology.

Lindsey Nietmann (Animal Behavior with Renee Ha) received an American Ornithologists’ Union Research Award for her work on predator recognition in birds.

Spring is also when the department selects its newest Alcor and Hunt fellows. We had 4 Alcor fellows, Jessica Chen (Adult Clinical with Ronald Smith), Janie Jun (Adult Clinical with Lori Zoellner), Exu Anton Mates (Animal Behavior with Jim Ha), and Joris Vincent (Cognition & Perception with Steve Buck). Our two Hunt Fellows are Amanda Gilmore (Adult Clinical with William George) and Yong Sang Jo (Behavioral Neuroscience with Sheri Mizumori). The Alcor endowment was created by the Peterson family and supports students in music and psychology, while the Hunt fellowship was created by emeritus faculty Earl Buz Hunt and his wife, Mary Lou. Learn more abour our newest fellows here.

Congratulations to all our students for their accomplishments this past year. We look forward to seeing what happens next!