Director
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Matthew D. Lerner, Ph.D
Dr. Lerner is an Associate Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, & Pediatrics in the Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University. Feel free to read more about him and his work here.
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Lab CoordinatorS
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Steven Honovic, M.A.
Steven graduated from Stony Brook University in May 2021 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and graduated with his Masters of Arts in Psychology from Stony Brook in May 2022. He aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in the future and is very interested in researching interventions for ASD and how those interventions can be incorporated into schools and other environments.
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Janelle (Ellie) Goodwill
Ellie graduated from Stony Brook in 2022 with her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology with minors in Health, Medicine & Society and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies. She is interested in developmental psychopathology and the neural mechanisms associated with ASD and ADHD. Ellie hopes to pursue her doctorate in Clinical Psychology in the future and work with children in underserved communities.
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Moonshath Haque
Moonshath is an undergraduate Biology major with a concentration in Neuroscience. She is very eager to learn more about the neural implications of ASD and being able to understand the different cognitive and behavioral factors that play a role in adolescents with ASD. She looks forward to having a better understanding of ASD and spreading awareness and raising support for those with ASD within the larger community! She hopes to one day attend medical school and pursue a career in neurology.
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Ivanna Zavala-Arbelaez
Ivanna is an undergraduate Psychology major with a minor in Sociology. She is passionate about discovering how to best help children develop according to each individual child's needs, and is excited to apply this passion in the SCTL lab to help children with ASD in social functioning. In the future, Ivanna plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
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clinical ConsultantS
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Victoria Novoa Uriarte, MD
Dr. Novoa Uriarte is a board certified Pediatrician and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician, fellow member of the American Academy of Pediatrics with a particular interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Novoa Uriarte has worked extensively with infants, toddlers and young children with developmental disabilities. Her work focuses on early intervention and identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder, treatment and outcomes particularly in children under the age of 3. Dr. Novoa Uriarte is the developmental-behavioral pediatrician for the Interdisciplinary Diagnostic Autism Clinic at Putnam Hall, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
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Rebecca Girard, LCSW
Rebecca is a licensed social worker who has worked with children, adolescents and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders for over a decade. She currently works at the Developmental Disabilities Institute’s Center of Excellence, a New York State grant to improve quality of care for individuals with ASD living in residential care. Her other clinical interests include groups-based social skills interventions for children and adolescents and successful college experiences (academically and socially) for students with ASD.
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Dr. Lea A Theodore
As a Licensed Psychologist in New York and Virginia, Dr. Lea A. Theodore currently serves as a clinical consultant in the Social Competence and Treatment Lab at Stony Brook University. Having worked in academic settings as a researcher, professor, and graduate program director, as well as in private practice conducting applied service work, she is especially passionate about empirically supported, efficacious, and equitable service provision for children and adolescents across multiple settings. Her career focus has been on promoting science, practice, and policy surrounding the development of effective and efficient intervention strategies to improve student academic and behavioral functioning.
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Roberta Landers, M.S.
Roberta graduated from Russell Sage College in December 2020 with a Master’s of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism. Roberta earned her certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in January 2021. She is working towards obtaining her New York State License in Behavior Analysis. Currently, Roberta is working as a Behavior Health Specialist in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program at Stony Brook University Hospital. She is interested in helping people with ASD and their families.
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Visiting Scholars
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Elliot Gavin Keenan is a PhD Candidate in Human Development & Psychology at UCLA. He graduated from Stony Brook University’s psychology honors program in 2017 and has returned to SCTL. He studies autism and bipolar disorder; topics of interest include the development of his app, Shiny Mood App, which predicts mood in bipolar disorder. He is also a literary author.
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Alister is a medical student at Stony Brook University who is interested in researching effective interventions to improve the social functioning of individuals with ASD. In addition, he is also interested in helping individuals with ASD overcome the psychiatric comorbidities that often come with being on the spectrum.
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Ph.D. Students
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Jared is a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Stony Brook University. They are interested in using a multi-disciplinary, intersectional approach to investigate social and emotional wellbeing in autism and commonly co-occurring conditions (e.g. ADHD, depression) across the lifespan. They hope to refine assessment and intervention techniques for neurodivergent people, particularly to improve the lives of transition age youth and adults on the autism spectrum.
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Erin is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She is interested in exploring the heterogeneity of ASD behavioral phenotypes, including symptom presentation in girls and individuals without intellectual disability. She aims to optimize intervention strategies for individuals with ASD by identifying factors which mediate and moderate intervention outcomes, and exploring the use of electrophysiological methods to measure and predict variability in individuals’ response to treatment.
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Jiaqi is a doctoral student Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She is interested in studying the romantic relationship functioning. She is also interested in developing targeted interventions for adolescences and adults with difficulties in romantic relationships. Her primary mentor is Dr. Joanne Davila.
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Tessa is a doctoral student of the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Temple University, and recipient of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship. She is interested in studying the underlying neural mechanisms of social learning, behavior, and cognition. She is also interested how these mechanisms relate to the development and maintenance of psychopathology. She is co-mentored by Dr. Johanna Jarcho, Phil Kendall, & Matt Lerner.
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Talena is a doctoral student in the Stony Brook University clinical psychology program. She studies the neural mechanisms of social rewards and emotions. She is interested in the interplay between social behaviors and autism spectrum disorder, depression, and anxiety.
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Morgan is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Stony Brook University. Her research interests center on social communication skills and problem solving in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. She is also interested in the neurophysiological underpinnings of social behaviors.
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Qiaomu Miao is a doctoral Ph.D. student majoring in Computer Science at Stony Brook University. He is interested in human activity recognition for children with autism. He would like to use computer vision algorithms to investigate the differences in activities between those with and without autism to possibly predict their potential behaviors
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Jacquelyn is in her first year in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. She is interested in better understanding autism in late adolescence and adulthood. This includes exploring factors impacting quality of life such as employment outcomes, independent living, mental health, and interpersonal relationships and social skills. Additionally, she is interested in expanding the research-base for this population and creating more targeted and accessible interventions for adolescents and adults with ASD.
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Kristin is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Stony Brook University. She is interested in the intersection of autism and deafness and exploring how language, audition, and cognition affect social functioning and the well-being of autistic and deaf people. She is working to develop reliable autism assessments for deaf people.
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Master's Students
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Ava Gurba B.S.
Ava received her B.S. in Biology with a specialization in Neuroscience in 2019. She is currently a student in the MS in Neuroscience program. She is interested in the neural underpinnings of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
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Anjolie Nagarwalla, B.S.
Anjolie graduated from Tufts University in 2019 with a B.S. in Biopsychology and a minor in Child Study and Human Development. She is currently pursuing her M.S. in Biomedical Sciences in the department of Physiology and Biophysics at Stony Brook. She is also currently applying to medical school and hopes to one day specialize in pediatric psychiatry.
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Abigail Houck, B.A.
Abby graduated from Stony Brook University with their BA in Psychology in December 2020. She's interested in the connection between autism and transgender identities, the presentation of autistic traits in those with marginalized identities, and how to reduce stigma and harmful practices. She aims to conduct emancipatory research that reflects the goals and values of the autism community.
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Lab Volunteers
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Tejaswi Gorde
Tej is an undergraduate double major in Financial Information Systems and Applied Mathematics and Statistics. She hopes to learn more about how children with ASD interact in different situations depending on different factors. She is willing to achieve this by managing the data, performing data analysis, and predictive analysis with visualization using Python. She plans to earn a dual degree: MBA/ MS in CS and work as a business analyst to predict trends in business.
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Cydney Rothblatt
Cydney is a current undergraduate student at Hofstra University and US military veteran. She spent 5 years serving in the US and Korea working in military medicine. She is looking forward to working with the Lerner Lab and focusing on children with ASD and ADHD. Cydney is hoping to pursue a career in psychiatry.
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Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Victoria Mondejar-Rodriguez
Victoria is an undergraduate Biology major on the Pre-Med track. Her goal is to learn about ASD and ADHD in children. She hopes to understand how ASD and ADHD influences children’s social interactions and overall development.
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Tanice Murray
Tanice is an undergraduate Psychology Major on the Pre-Med Track. She is interested in learning about the influence of age and social culture on the behavior and social interaction between developing children with ASD and their peers.
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Ade Ogunkoya
Ade is an undergraduate Biology major on the pre-med track. She is interested in learning how social interaction is impacted among children with and without ADHD. Ade hopes to learn more about ASD and ADHD by working with SCTL. She hopes to pursue a career in pediatrics
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Noshin Shakawat
Noshin is an undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry and Psychology. In the future, she wants to pursue a career that combines medicine and public health specifically to address disparities in healthcare for those with disabilities. Her personal connection as a sibling to someone on the spectrum has motivated her to get involved in research to better understand those with ASD.
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Aisha Sadiqa
Aisha is an undergraduate Biology Major on the Pre-Med track. She enjoys working with children and aspires to become a physician. Through this opportunity, she hopes to expand her knowledge of ASD and its impact on social development in children. As someone who is passionate about meeting new people, listening to them, and helping them, Aisha is so excited to raise awareness for ASD.
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Rehnuma Bhuiyan
Rehnuma is an undergraduate Psychology and Health Science major on the pre-Nursing track. Her goals are to mitigate the racial disparities regarding autism research. She wants to understand how racial identities affect the experiences of people with autism. She hopes to gain a better understanding of the mind, and to be able to apply it to a career in Pediatric Nursing.
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Kristen Pittaro
Kristen is an undergraduate Psychology major with a concentration in Sociology. She is passionate about working with children through early intervention therapy and destigmatizing mental health through everyday conversation. She plans to pursue a five-year MBA program and a PsyD in clinical or developmental psychology in the future.
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Krystal Vidal-Alvarenga
Krystal is an undergraduate Psychology B.S. major on the pre-med track. Her experience as a Behavioral Technician drew her to SCTL to gain further experience. She is grateful for the opportunity to be part of the SCTL team. Her future goal is to bring awareness about mental illness in the Hispanic Christian youth community.
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Panayiota Siskos
Panayiota is an undergraduate major in Chemistry. She wants to continue to pursue research in the future. She is deeply interested in how to apply different disciplines to pursue research connecting Mental Health and Chemistry. She is eager to collaborate with others to bring better awareness and understanding about autism and ADHD.
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Kathryn Laine Parreno
Kathryn is an undergraduate psychology major on the pre-med track. Through research with SCTL, she hopes to learn more about behavioral and neurological patterns in individuals with ASD as well as apply that knowledge to aid others in the future. She has always been passionate about pursuing her goal of becoming a surgeon.
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Camila Perez
Camila Perez is a Psychology Major with a concentration in Political Science. After graduation, she hopes to attend graduate school and earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Camila is interested in the intersectionality between socioeconomic status and Autism, as well as how schools differently approach teaching children and teens with Autism. She is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work in the SCTL Lab, and ready to contribute to work that will help those with Autism become better understood.
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Michelle Deng
Michelle is a double major in psychology and political science on the pre-law track. Working as a pediatric office receptionist and teaching assistant in the past has made her develop a passion for working with youth. She hopes to increase awareness about ASD and help combat the social stigma surrounding ASD. After graduation, she hopes to go on to graduate school to become a mental health counselor, and work with underprivileged individuals and communities to improve mental wellbeing.
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Justin Bauco
Justin is a Senior Psychology major with a minor in Biology on the pre-med track. He is currently the captain of SBVAC, the student-run EMS agency covering Stony Brook campus, and he also works as a crisis counselor in his spare time. He is intrigued by the many neurological aspects of ASD and hopes to learn more about the biological background of ASD through research at SCTL.
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Jacqueline Regan
Jackie is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. She is passionate about working with children and adolescents and wants to learn more about early mental health intervention for these age groups. She is excited to be working in the lab and hopes to gain knowledge in research and the social development of children with and without ASD. After graduation, she plans on applying to graduate school and pursuing a career in psychology.
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Marlene Rahman
Marlene is an undergraduate double major in Biology and Psychology with a Chemistry minor and is on the pre-med track. She hopes to attend medical school and become a physician that works with children that are differently-abled. At SCTL, Marlene is interested in making connections between physiological and social attributes in children with ASD. Her passions lie in making improvements in intervention systems for children with ASD and she hopes to raise awareness for intervention in communities with lower access to healthcare.
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Kelly Kwong
Kelly is an undergraduate Psychology and Sociology major. She is interested in the prominent stigma surrounding mental health and help-seeking behavior among marginalized communities. Having worked with children with ASD, she hopes to broaden her understanding in order to to further raise awareness and promote inclusiveness. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
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Sara Khan
Sara is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. She is passionate about expanding her knowledge about ASD and values the opportunity of joining the Recruitment Team at the SCTL to assist fellow lab coordinators. She looks forward to continuing her education after graduation and pursuing a career in medicine.
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Claire Seeling Branscomb
Claire is an undergraduate double major in psychology and biology with a developmental genetics concentration on the pre-med track. Her experience teaching adolescents on the spectrum led to an interest in the clinical underpinnings of autism. She plans on going to medical school to pursue a career as a psychiatrist specializing in developmental disabilities.
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Vanessa Aurigue
Vanessa is a psychology major on the pre-med track. She is interested in the mental health and cognitive processes of children and adolescents with or without ASD, and hopes to help others through this lab. In the future, she hopes to pursue child and adolescent psychiatry or counseling psychology.
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Olivia Sasso
Olivia (Liv) is an undergraduate student with a major in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. She is interested in studying bilingualism in children with ASD and hopes to work towards understanding the underlying mechanisms of it through what she will study at SCTL. In the future, she hopes to receive a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology so she may make those dreams a reality! Olivia is so excited to be joining SCTL for the 2022-2023 academic year!
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Joseph Eng
Joseph is an undergraduate Psychology B.S. and Sociology major with a minor in Health, Medicine, and Society. He is interested in understanding the underlying processes of social behavior and the impact of societal factors on individuals. Upon graduating, Joseph plans to pursue a graduate degree in a discipline of the social sciences.
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Megan Avner
I am double majoring in psychology and business management. I am hoping to get a masters degree in mental health counseling. I hope to be able to apply what I learn from my research for SCTL to further my knowledge in research and help others in my future career.
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Yi Yang
Yi Yang is an undergraduate double majoring in Biology and Psychology at Stony Brook University. Her experiences and interactions with parent-child relationships provoked an interest in psychology. She is interested in helping others in a physical and mental way. Yi is also extremely grateful for the opportunity to gain experience in the research field of psychology in order to broaden her horizons.
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Rachel Choi
Rachel is an undergraduate Psychology BS major. Her interests are in the fields of mood disorders and developmental psychology, and is looking to gain more knowledge in these topics from working with SCTL. She plans on pursuing a PsyD in clinical psychology in the future.
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Aima Chaudhry
Aima is an undergraduate double majoring in Health Science and Psychology with a minor in Health, Medicine, and Society. She is interested in public health and wishes to conduct research on the social determinants of health. She hopes to help others gain better access to mental health services and to raise awareness on the stigma and barriers associated with mental health.
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Marcela Gallardo
Marcela is an undergraduate Psychology and Biology major specializing in Neuroscience. She is interested in neural mechanisms involved in the development of psychopathology. After graduating, she hopes to attend graduate school and earn a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology.
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Shreya Kadam
I am a Biology and Psychology major student on the Pre-Med track. My interests lie in the neurological basis of psychological disorders. Being a part of the coding RA team for the SCLT Lab is an opportunity for me to work on my communication skills and learn more about the communication of scientific research to the general public.
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Sarah D'Arrigo
Sarah is an undergraduate Psychology major with concentrations in Computer Science and Biology. Through this experience, she hopes to learn more about ASD and its influence on social development in children. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to pursue a Master of Social Work.
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William Luvera
William graduated from Stony Brook in August 2022 with completed majors in Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, and Psychology. He is interested in investigating clinical interventions and psychopathologies, including ASD. William hopes to attend a Clinical Psychology PhD program.
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Alondra Aguilar
Alondra is a current junior studying Psychology and Political Science with the hopes of working as a Special Education teacher after graduating. Her previous experience includes volunteering at Dancing Dreams in NYC as a helper and working at Alternatives for Children East Setauket as a 1-1 Aide.
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Aafia Syeda
Aafia is an undergraduate Health Science major minoring in Chemistry on the pre-med track. She enjoys working with children in an educational setting and is passionate in understanding the different social behaviors of children with ASD. She believes this research will greatly benefit her in accommodating for these children and further promoting awareness in improving mental health. After graduation, she hopes to attend medical school to pursue a career in pediatrics.
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Melissa Lin
Melissa is an undergraduate psychology major pursuing a career in UX/UI design. She is interested in honing her research skills to further her UX research skillset and design career. Melissa hopes to learn more about effectiveness of science communication training on scientists’ attitudes toward communicating science with the public, and how the performance of specific behaviors reflect effective public communication by working at SCTL. Melissa's future is working at a tech company as a UX/UI designer or product designer.
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Lindsey Domiano
Lindsey Domiano is an undergraduate double major psychology and business major. She is excited to pursue opportunities within the field of psychology during her undergraduate career. She hopes to learn more about ASD and ADHD in children through the Social Competence and Treatment Lab.
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Benjamin Zimmer
Benjamin Zimmer graduated from Stony Brook University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Writing & Rhetoric. He’s an aspiring sports psychologist, with hopes of attending SBU’s Master’s program in Psychology following his recent graduation. Benjamin is interested in studying the educational methods that best optimize the time of those on the spectrum and also typically developing individuals. In addition, he’s also interested in studying ways to optimize sports performance for those on the spectrum that participate in highly competitive athletics at either the collegiate and professional level.
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Melody Lin
Melody is currently pursuing her Psychology B.S. degree at Stony Brook University with goals to enter the field of genetic counseling after her undergraduate career. Her interests lean towards the biological markers of neurological conditions and how the environment may affect the mental wellbeing of individuals as they grow.
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Calla Lewis
Calla is an undergraduate Psychology student with a minor in Political Science. She joined SCTL in hopes to increase her knowledge of children's social development and understanding of ASD. Calla hopes to purse a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology after finishing her undergraduate degree.
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Arianna Reiher
Arianna is an undergraduate student majoring in math and psychology. She is interested in work that allows her to utilize both math and psychology, which led her to the lab! She loves working with children and wants to help young girls get interested in STEM. She is very excited for the opportunity to learn more about ASD. She hopes to work in academia in the future.
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Jahnavi Selvam
Jahnavi is an undergraduate Biology major with a minor in sociology and on the pre-med track. She is interested in learning about the transition process from childhood to adulthood, as well as gain a better understanding on how peer and family relationships are impacted in this process. She aspires to go to medical school and work alongside patients with developmental disorders.
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Tanisum Halim
Tanisum is an undergraduate Biology major. Her experience mentoring children with ASD inspired her to get involved in SCTL. She looks forward to learning more about how social connections form in adolescents with ASD. Her ultimate goal is to contribute to research that can help create better interventions for those with ASD. In the future, Tanisum hopes to become a physician.
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Autism Initiative
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Debi received her master's degree in May 2016 in the Department of Theatre Arts here at Stony Brook University. She is very excited to be working with Dr. Lerner in fusing the arts and sciences in research regarding children with ASD. Debi's primary role in the SCTL is managing our new SENSE study! She also enjoyed her time as an interventionist for our study Social Groups for Youth with ASD.
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Cait is a Licensed Social Worker who recieved her master's degree from Stony Brook University's School of Social Welfare in 2018. Cait has been working directly with youth and adults with ID/DD and ASD, as well as their families, since 2012. Through her time working directly with the ASD community, Cait has experience in developing programs designed to support the unique needs of those with ASD, providing case management services and linkages to community supports, crisis intervention, family/caregiver education, and advocacy. In supporting children and adolescents coping with trauma. Cait is passionate about her involvement in supporting the ASD community and is very excited to be part of SBU's Autism Initiative and SCTL.
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Nishat Islam
Nishat Islam is an undergraduate Health Science major on the pre-med track with a minor in Theatre Arts. She is interested in pursuing research on various clinical disorders that are common among children. She hopes to attend medical school and become a pediatric surgeon.
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Drisana Shanthan
Drisana is an undergraduate Biology B.S. major. She is interested in learning about how both ASD and ADHD in children influence their development and social interactions. Her goals are to destigmatize and educate others on common misconceptions surrounding individuals with ASD and ADHD.
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Ilya Kudryashov
Ilya is an undergraduate student majoring in psychology. He plans on furthering his education by pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Ilya is passionate about fostering an accepting environment for individuals with ASD and eager to contribute to outreach efforts that aid those with the condition.
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