Graduate Students
Lauren Haliczer, M.A., M.S.
Lauren Haliczer is a sixth-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program at UMass. Prior to joining CASL in the fall of 2015, Lauren received her BA from Tulane University, and her MA in clinical psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College. Lauren's Master's thesis examines proximal risk factors (i.e., peer criticism and praise) for nonsuicidal self-injury using a pain endurance proxy measure with young adults. She completed her externship at the Child Mind Institute in NYC delivering CBT and DBT to youth with mood disorders and emotion dysregulation. Lauren's general research interests include interpersonal and emotional factors that play a role in nonsuicidal self-injury and borderline personality disorder, as well as the application of DBT to these conditions.
Sherry Woods, M.S.
​Sherry Woods is a fourth-year graduate student in Dr. Dixon-Gordon’s lab. Before joining CASL, Sherry received her MS at Western Kentucky University and her BA at Pepperdine University; she also spent 2 years working in the Mechanisms of Affect Dysregulation Lab at Temple University. Sherry’s research mainly focuses on maladaptive emotion regulation mechanisms, particularly nonsuicidal self-injury, and the factors that promote and maintain the cessation of these behaviors.
Elle Waite
​Elle Waite is a third-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at UMass Amherst, working with Dr. Dixon-Gordon. Before joining the lab, she received her BA in psychology and women’s studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she worked as a research assistant for several labs researching borderline personality disorder and dialectical behavior therapy. She is interested in borderline personality disorder and suicidality, particularly among adolescent populations. Currently, her research is focused on deficits in social learning among people with borderline personality disorder.
Staff and Research Assistants
Nikita Parulkar
Study Coordinator
Nikita recently graduated from UMass in 2019 with a BS in Psychology. She joined Dr. Dixon-Gordon's lab in 2019 as a RA and was hired as the study coordinator in 2020. She is applying to graduate programs this year and is hoping to pursue a PhD or PsyD in Clinical Psychology.
Jo-An Colclough
Undergraduate RA and Honor's student
Jo-An is a psychology major due to graduate in 2021. She joined the lab in Fall 2018 and is currently working towards a certificate in Social Work and Social Welfare and a minor in sociology. After graduating, she plans to get her Masters in Social Work and provide psychotherapy.
Michelle Durling
Undergraduate RA and Honor's student
Michelle is a psychology major due to graduate in 2021 who joined CASL in the Fall of 2019. She is working towards a minor in Spanish and a certificate in Social Work. She plans to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist after earning a Masters and Doctorate in clinical psychology.
Juneid Mosaheb
Undergraduate RA
Juneid Mosaheb is an international student from Mauritius studying neuroscience at UMass and will be graduating in 2021. He joined CASL as a research assistant in the spring of 2020 and plans on getting into an MD/PhD program where he can research the neurobiological differences in psychopathology and their effects on circadian rhythmicity. He aims to also teach one day and be more politically active in order to reduce the costs and access to care for marginalised communities.
Sophia Mitrano
Undergraduate RA
Sophia is a junior Psychology major at UMass Amherst, due to graduate Spring of 2021. She plans to earn a PhD in clinical psychology and open her own practice in addition to teaching at a university. She hopes to work closely with adolescents who suffer from mental illness.
Lab Alumni
Caroline Ball
Greg Barysky
Ilhan Braxton
Tyler Carey
Brianna Cast-Clifton
Claire Chang
Grace Cho
Jenna Comer
Carolyn Cole
Lindsey Conkey
Elizabeth Eberlin
Ruby Ferro
Nathan Fitzgerald
Kristina Fushi
Olivia Gebsky
Lauren Harnedy
Danielle Hart
Serena In
Colten J. Karnedy
Patricia Keeley
Mary Koontz
Brenna Manning
Patrick McGonigal
Meghana Nair
Anne Neary
Marykate Oakley
Harsh Patel
Selime Salim
Rubee Sandhu
Wil Schwartz
Thaine Smith
Cole Stanley
Mackenzie Swenson
Hildy Wen