GABRIELA LIVAS STEIN, PH.D.

Frances M. Lobo, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Psychology. Dr. Lobo graduated with her doctoral degree in Psychology in 2021 under the mentorship of Dr. Erika Lunkenheimer and served as a postdoctoral scholar the following year at The Pennsylvania State University. Broadly, her research program examines parent-child interactions as a socialization context for the development of youth self-regulation and psychopathology during key developmental transitions, from early childhood through adolescence. Additionally, she also investigates how risk and protective factors at the individual (i.e., temperament), family, and community level (i.e., neighborhood, cultural values) impact how parent-child interactions are related to youth developmental outcomes.

Valerie Salcido, M.Ed., is a fifth-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Amherst College in 2017 and a M.Ed in Prevention Research from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2018. She worked as a project coordinator for a RCT that tested the efficacy of a family-focused prevention program among Latinx children and families living in disadvantaged settings. Her current interests include studying culturally-relevant risk and protective factors pertinent to the mental health of Latinx youth and how minoritized youth cope with instances of discrimination. She is interested in research that utilizes strength-based approaches to promote cultural assets in ethnic minority families.

Jocelyn Little is a third-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at UT Austin. She earned a B.S. in Psychology with a double minor in English and French from UNC Greensboro with Lloyd International Honors. After graduating, she began working as a Community Health Worker for the Strong Minds, Strong Communities program, an R01 longitudinal research intervention targeting mental health disparities. Jocelyn’s research interests are on individual and dyadic resiliency and risk factors that protect and empower youth of color, with a focus on Black youth. Additionally, she is interested in the utility of advanced methodology, such as physiological biomarkers, to examine psychological constructs in ethnic minority communities.

Hailing Wang (she/they) is a first-year graduate student in the human development and family sciences program at UT Austin. She received a B.S. in clinical psychology and economics from Tufts University and earned an M.S.Ed from the Interdisciplinary Studies of Human Development program at the University of Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate student, Hailing was a research assistant in the Child Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Ellen Pinderhughes' Families and Children in Challenging Circumstances Lab at Tufts University. As a master's student, she worked for an RCT that investigates the efficacy of an AI system for optimizing weight loss coaching and also had experience working with non-profit organizations that serve minoritized populations. Her current research interests include studying ethnic-racial socialization within different cultural groups and educational settings, coping with cultural stressors and discrimination, family resilience, etc.

Michele Chan, M.A., is a graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program currently on internship at Rutgers Medical Center. She earned her B.A in psychology and biology (2013) from the University of Georgia and her M.A in psychology (2018) from Wake Forest University. Previously, Michele investigated the role of ethnic identity in Asian American adolescents’ relationships and multiracial identity integration. She is interested in how ethnic racial socialization informs ethnic-racial identification for multiracial individuals. Additional topics of research interest include: protective barriers for discrimination, and the psychosocial adjustment of minority and underserved populations.

Jessica Garcia, M.A., is a fifth-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at UNC-G. She attended Brown University and earned her bachelor’s in psychology at the University of Miami. Jessica has experience working in diverse research settings and with diverse populations, including children, families, adults, and Spanish-only speaking individuals. Jessica’s is passionate about understanding the factors that drive familial and individual resilience in the face of interpersonal difficulties and societal hardships. In addition, Jessica’s current research focuses on Latina women’s body ideals, and how differing cultural expectations and acculturation levels, influence body ideals and body satisfaction. Clinically, she is interested in applying and integrating Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) therapy and other third-wave evidence-based modalities in her work with individuals and Latinx populations, specifically. She is also works in integrated care settings with medical populations.

Joseph Sircar, M.A., is a graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program currently on internship at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He earned his B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012. After undergraduate, Joseph spent 5 years conducting applied research with a health equity lens for Frontline Solutions, where he led projects for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Ford Foundation, and others. He is interested in how culture, religiosity, and family systems impact psychosocial outcomes.

Puja Patel, MSc., is a graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program currently on internship at Nemours Children's Health Hospital. She completed her B.A. in Psychology from Meredith College (2014) and her Masters in Global Health from Duke University (2018). Her research interests include immigrant family units and parent-child communication and how these interactions contribute to youth and parent outcomes. She is also interested in the development and implementation of intervention research as it applied to the immigrant population in the community.

Casandra J. Gomez Alvarado is a third-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program. She earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As an undergraduate, Casandra was a research assistant in Dr. Jennifer Silver’s Social Affective Neuroscience and Development (SAND) Lab and Dr. Denise Chavira’s Culture and Anxiety Lab for Mental Health Advances (CALMA). After graduating, she worked as a research coordinator in Dr. Anna Lau’s Culture and Race/Ethnicity (CARE) in Youth Mental Health Lab. Casandra is broadly interested in studying risk and resilience, as well as the relationship between physical and mental health in ethnic minority youth. Additionally, she is interested in intervention development and investigating how to improve access to services for ethnic minority youth.

Alfredo J. Velasquez (he/they) is a third year graduate in the human development and family sciences program at UT Austin. He received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Education from the University of California at Riverside. Alfredo is a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow (NSF GRFP). Alfredo’s research aims to investigate the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and sexual minority status with respect to physical and mental health outcomes. Alfredo’s previous work has included late childhood, adolescent, and older adult populations, with an emphasis on underrepresented research populations. Given that the United States is projected to become increasingly more racially/ethnically & gender/sexual diverse, Alfredo’s goal is to produce scientifically sound research that will aid in positive developmental trajectories for youth and ultimately lessen the lifespan disparity gap for those with marginalized identities. Alfredo is co-advised by Dr. Stephen T Russell and Dr. Gabriela Stein.