Lab CoordinatorS
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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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Lee Ann is an undergraduate Biochemistry major on the pre-med track. She is interested in understanding how children with ASD view the world and how different methods of intervention can enhance their social interactions. She was a member of our Spotlight Summer Study 2015 Coding Team and our Social Groups.
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Rebecca received her MS in health and social psychology from Maastricht University in February 2017. She is interested in social interaction differences between children with and without ASD.
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Heather graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors in Psychology in May 2018. She is interested in comorbid psychiatric diagnoses and how they play a role within the autism spectrum, and eventually hopes to apply her knowledge and experiences through a career in medicine.She actively trains SCTL team members on how to use our data collection platform and has helped create all of our surveys that families use to answer questions. Heather plans on applying to Medical School after graduation.
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clinical ConsultantS
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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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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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Post-Doctorate scholar
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Kathyrn Mary Hauschild, Ph.D
Dr. Hauschild received her doctoral degree in developmental psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018. During her time at the University of Pittsburgh her research focused on the development of face perception and object knowledge in typically developing infants and infants at familial risk for autism spectrum disorders. Moving forward, she aims to utilize a developmental perspective to 1) explore the connection between early cognitive and social communication deficits associated with ASD, 2) examine how these deficits may have cascading effects on social functioning and interaction later in life, and 3) apply this knowledge to the development and implementation of early intervention programs.
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Ph.D. Students
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Heather is in her fourth year of the Integrative Neuroscience Ph.D. program, where her primary mentor is Dr. Patricia Whitaker-Azmitia. She is interested in research on the neurophysiological underpinnings of autism.
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Erin is in her fourth year of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She is interested in understanding various and complex factors underlying developmental disabilities, ASD in particular, and in interventions for addressing socio-emotional challenges in children and adolescents with ASD.
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Tamara is in her fourth year of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She is interested in evidence-based interventions for ASD, and novel approaches that may improve intervention efficacy. She is also interested in the study of ASD comorbidities, and how they add to our understanding of the ASD phenotype.
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Cara is in her third year of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She is interested in studying social motivation in individuals with ASD and in the development of naturalistic neuroimaging and behavioral paradigms that capture this phenomenon.
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Alan is in his second year of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. He is interested in identifying predictors of variability in treatment outcomes by examining mechanisms of therapeutic change in individuals with ASD. Ultimately, his goal is to maximize patient benefit through individualizing interventions.
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Tessa is in her second year of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She is interested in studying the underlying neural mechanisms of cognitive flexibility and social behavior. She is also interested in developing targeted interventions for children and adolescences with impairments within these domains. Her primary mentor is Dr. Johanna Jarcho.
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Elizabeth is in her fifth year of the Cognitive Science Ph.D. program, where her primary mentor is Dr. Christian Luhmann. She is interested in decision making behavior and the electrophysiological correlates of reward processing. At the SCTL she studies how the brain processes information about social situations.
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Erin is in her first year of 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 in her third year of the 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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Visiting scholars
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Bianca Marro, M.A.
Bianca graduated from Stony Brook in May 2016 with her Master's in Psychology. She just finished her second year in the school psychology EdM/BCBA program at Teacher's College-Columbia University. She currently works as a behavior and Autism consultant for Positive Behavior Supports & Consulting (PBS) and will be beginning her full time school psychology internship at West Babylon school district this fall. Bianca is part of the reports writing team, the assessment training team, and is also running Spotlight groups with adult participants in conjunction with PBS. Bianca is also completing research on co-exisiting psychiatric conditions of individuals with ASD in residential care with SCTL.
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Nicole Capriola-Hall
Nicole is a third year doctoral student working with Dr. Susan White at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She is interested in using technology (e.g., eye tracking, EEG) to explore the overlap between social anxiety disorder and autism. Further, Nicole is interested in identifying heterogeneity in symptom presentation and distinct profiles among clinical disorders to explore individual differences in treatment response.
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Christie Vasiliades, B.A.
Christie graduated from Manhattan College in 2013 with her BA in psychology and English and her MS in Special Education in 2016 from Dowling College. She recently finished her second year in the school psychology EdM program at Teacher's College-Columbia University. She will be moving to California in the fall to complete her third year full time internship in a high school and middle school located in Santa Clarita. Christie is part of the the assessment training team and plays a role in training undergraduate students in the measures used in the SCTL.
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Juan is a visiting scholar from the University of Trento, Italy. He is a second year PhD candidate in Computer Science. In 2010 and 2014 he received a BS and MSc in Electrical Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia respectively. He is interested in characterizing empathy and Theory-of-Mind (ToM) measures from neural correlates, thus evaluating the prediction of emotion, ToM scores, and behavioral outcome measures in ASD population using neural responses and stimuli features.
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Master's Students
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Karys Normansell, B.A.
Karys graduated from University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2015 with a B.A. and disciplinary honors in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She worked as a research coordinator and ABA therapist before joining the MA program at Stony Brook. Her research interests include reciprocal friendships between children and adolescents with ASD and their typically-developing peers and how these relationships relate to social skills development in the ASD population. She is also interested in how issues such as social anxiety and comorbid disorders affect social skills and friendship in the ASD population.
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Tamara Abu-Ramadan, B.S.
Tamara graduated from Syracuse University in May of 2017 with a B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience. Upon graduating, she worked as the research coordinator for Dr. Kevin Antshel's ADHD Lifespan Treatment, Education and Research Lab. She is currently in the MA program at Stony Brook University. Tamara is interested in how family factors and culture influence the development of a disorder and treatment outcomes. She is also interested in developing more culturally sensitive evidence based treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and ASD.
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Russell graduated from Hofstra University in 2016 with a B.A. in
Psychology and a Minor in Neuroscience. He is currently a student in the Neuroscience M.S. program. His research interests are in neuropsychology, neuroimaging, psychophysiology and disorder/disease etiology, particularly in how gaining a better understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD and ADHD can lead to improved treatment methods. |
Lab Volunteers
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Joseph Tirella, B.A.
Joe earned his B.A. in Psychology from Stony Brook University in May 2018 with Summa Cum Laude honors. He is currently pursuing an interest in Nursing, with hopes of one day becoming a Nurse practitioner in the mental health field. Joe is currently a team member on our EEG processing and EEG proctoring teams!
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Veronica Milito, B.S.
Veronica graduated with a degree in Psychology and a Chemistry minor with magna cum laude honors in May 2018. Veronica leads our recruitment team for SCTL. She is interested in combining her passion for working with children with her interest in Social and Clinical Psychology. Veronica will be will be continuing her education at St. John's University this fall and will be pursuing a Psy.D in School Psychology!
Christopher Esposito, B.S.
Christopher graduated with a degree in Psychology with a minor in Biology in May 2018. He is interested in research on individuals with ASD, particularly family life, social perception, and communication impediments. Chris currently focuses his lab time on the Employment Study that has since been internationally spread to individuals, families, and employers who work with employees on the Autism Spectrum.
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Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Lauren Moskowitz
Lauren is an undergraduate chemistry major. She is interested in the complexity of relationships for children with ASD, as well as using brain imaging to understand overall functioning. She plans on joining the Peace Corps before moving on to graduate school.
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Fatema is an undergraduate Psychology major on the pre-med track with a concentration in neuroscience. She is interested in studying the social interactions of children with ASD and how different approaches can enhance their relationships. Fatema is currently a member of the Coding Team for the ASD Usual Care Study.
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Nawrin is an undergraduate biology major on the pre-med track with a specialization in bioinformatics. She is interested in studying different ways communication can be improved among children with ASD. She plans on going to medical school to receive an M.D. and go in to pediatric care. She is currently a member of the Coding Team for the ASD Usual Care Study.
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Alexa is an undergraduate Biology major and Chemistry minor on the pre-med track. Alexa hopes to learn more about the neurological and physiological aspects of ASD and the role it plays in the lives of children. Alexa aspires to become a pediatric surgeon or pediatric anesthesiologist.
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Kevin Carroll is a double major in Psychology and Biology. Having a diagnosis on the spectrum himself, he is interested in all aspects of autism research, particularly relating to the development of social skills, the reduction of familial stress, and all forms of autism interventions/therapies.
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Zaineb is an undergraduate psychology major with a minor in Studio Art. She is looking to pursue her Masters in Art Therapy so she can go on to help children who are unable to verbalize their mental illnesses and/or trauma. She joined the SCTL lab to better understand behavioral patterns and social developments in children. Zaineb is part of our EEG processing team.
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Cindy is an undergraduate Health Science major with a concentration in Disability Studies and Human Development and minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is planning to go to nursing school after graduation. Cindy is a member of the Coding Team. She currently works as a direct support professional for Maryhaven Center of Hope and is particularly interested in improving the quality of care for adults with ASD living in residential programs. She is also interested in learning more about psychiatric comorbidities in autism spectrum disorder.
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Micaela is an undergraduate Psychology major with a concentration in Women’s Studies. She is interested in the intricacies of the formation of friendships in childhood. Micaela plans on going to graduate school for Clinical Psychology and conducting research in order to help generate new knowledge on the mind and behavior. Micaela is on our initial visit proctoring team.
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Olivia is an undergraduate student at Stony Brook University, majoring in Biology on a Pre-Medical Track. She is most interested in how her participation in research can improve the social interactions of those with social deficits specifically by developing new interventions to help those affected and their families.
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Emily is an undergraduate double majoring in Biology and English and will be obtaining her Master’s in Teaching here at Stony Brook University. She is interested in studying the neurological complexities of ASD and in learning about how this knowledge can be applied to improve treatment for those who have been diagnosed.
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Tiffaney is an undergraduate Linguistics major with a focus on Speech-Language Pathology. She plans on going to graduate to school to become a Speech-Language Pathologist and work with young children. She is interested in learning about communication and how it varies within the spectrum of ASD, specifically with those who are non-verbal.
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Lydia is an undergraduate student studying Psychology. She has grown up being a passionate advocate for autism in support for her brother who is a child with ASD. She has worked as a Teacher's Assistant and aid for children with special needs. Lydia was drawn to the SCTL lab in hopes to continue her experience working with children with ASD and staying involved in the autism community while also continuing her education to become a Behavioral Analyst. Lydia is a part of our recruitment team!
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Suzanne is an undergraduate Biology major and Spanish minor, on the pre-medical track. She aspires to become a pediatrician in the future. Suzanne is interested in learning how Biology and Psychology influence social interactions, behavior and the development of children and adults with and without ASD. Suzanne is currently on our EEG proctoring team!
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Megan is an undergraduate Psychology and Sociology double major. She is interested in studying how certain personality dispositions in early childhood may influence the development of anxiety disorders or depression later in life and intervention strategies to prevent or lessen the severity of such disorders. She currently works as a recreational therapist and she is planning to go to graduate school to obtain a PhD in developmental psychology. Megan is currently on our recruitment team!
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Alex Park
Alex is an undergraduate Psychology major. He is interested in School Psychology as well as Clinical Psychology and plans to go to graduate school. Alex plans to learn more about ASD and how it may affect social interactions and development of the individual.Alex is currently helping out with our SENSE study!
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