Graduate Students
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.
Clara DeFontes
Clara is a third-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program. She graduated from
the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Psychology. Prior to
graduate school, Clara completed a post-baccalaureate at Yale University and the West Haven VA,
studying fear learning, emotion regulation, and the efficacy of clinical drug and psychotherapy trials in
populations with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Her interests broadly include the intersection of
emotion dysfunction, impulsivity, and psychophysiological changes within populations with Borderline
Personality Disorder (BPD) and PTSD. Her current research is focused on the concordance between
physiological and self-report indices of emotion regulation across populations with BPD and PTSD.
Staff and Research Assistants
Sarah Huffman
Study Coordinator
Sarah graduated from Seattle University in 2017 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in English. Post graduation, she worked for a Seattle-based mental health clinic and coordinated their DBT program. In 2021, Sarah moved to Massachusetts to join Dr. Dixon-Gordon's lab as the study coordinator. Sarah hopes to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is particularly interested in developing more accessible and equitable interventions for emotion dysregulation and high-risk behaviors.
Nadia Palafox
Undergraduate RA
Nadia Palafox is a junior psychology and sociology double major at UMass Amherst, due to graduate in the spring of 2023. They joined the lab in the summer of 2020 and are looking to get their Masters of Social Work before gaining experience and entering a doctoral program.
Xiara Calderon Santana
Undergraduate RA and Honors Student
Xiara is a Junior Psychology major in the Commonwealth Honors College, due to graduate in the Spring of 2023. She is also pursuing a Sociology minor and Criminal Justice certificate. She joined the lab in the fall of 2021 and is planning on obtaining a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Lindsey Wyner
Undergraduate RA and Honors Student
Lindsey is a sophomore in the Honors College double majoring in psychology and biology on the neuroscience and pre-med tracks. She joined CASL in the Fall of 2021 and has found a love for research through her time in the lab so far. She plans to pursue a career in the medical field while hopefully conducting research as well.
Connor O'Brien
Undergraduate RA
Connor graduated UMass, Amherst in December 2021 with his B.S. in psychology and a minor in economics. He joined the lab in Fall 2021, and plans to continue his work at the lab during an interim period before pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He is currently working towards a career in research with special interest in risk-taking behaviors and BPD features.
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