Researchers | Portland State University

DYADIC HEALTH LAB ACADEMIC FAMILY TREE:

https://academictree.org/nursing/tree.phppid=379444&pnodecount=4&cnodecount=2&fontsize=1

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Sheila McCabe

Sheila McCabe received a BS in Mathematics, a BA in Philosophy, and a MEd. in Applied Behavioral Studies from Oklahoma City University. She also holds a BS and MS in Psychology from Portland State University. In between her studies, she served as an Air Defense Officer in the United States Army and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. After her service tour, she directed her sense of public service toward applied psychology research by volunteering in Dr. Cynthia Mohr’s Lab where she worked on several projects with military populations. Sheila’s research interests broadly involve women's social role and health outcomes, and applying perspectives of phenomenological existentialism on concepts of subjective well-being and interpersonal relationships.

MaryAnn Samson

MaryAnn Samson received her B.S. in Psychology from Endicott College in 2019. She focused her undergraduate thesis on the therapeutic alliance of physicians and empathy. MaryAnn earned her M.S.W. from the University of Southern California in 2021 where she provided short-term mental health counseling at an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Her research interests include the protective nature of pro-social relationships in romantic, plutonic, and workplace settings. She is an She also wishes to spend research attention on positive psychology and personality/mindset related to well-being.

Julia Lynch

Julia Lynch received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Dundee in Scotland in 2019. Her undergraduate dissertation investigated autistic traits, depressive symptoms, and the sense of belonging to social groups. After graduation, Julia worked as a clinical research assistant and coordinator at Michigan Medicine, focusing on substance use and mental health research. Her research interests center around social groups, social support, and interpersonal relationships' impact on mental health, especially depression and substance use.

Michelle Duong

INCOMING STUDENT:

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

Isaac Greenblatt

Kragen Anderson

Cece Austin

Zoe Gupta

Zoe (she/her) completed her BA in Psychology from Columbia University. She studied co-rumination and attachment in adult romantic couples at the Columbia Couples Lab, and now works the PSU DYADIC Health Lab, where she contributes to studies of how interpersonal relationships influence health and well-being through the lens of alcohol use, loneliness, and perceived partner responsiveness. She is also a research assistant at the Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy Lab based at the Portland VA, where she assists in running studies on using psychedelics to assist therapy for veterans with PTSD and depression. Parallel to her research, she has also worked in peer counseling, sexual violence response, and social work. She is interested in how individuals’ relationships to those around them can both contribute to and buffer against psychopathology, and how interpersonal and psychedelic-assisted interventions can be used to support healing. When she’s not in lab, she enjoys swimming with the Portland Timberfish team, ceramics, cooking, and frequenting local movie theaters.

Dillon Sprayberry

ALUMNI

Ciella Puterbaugh

Nathan Gheorghita

Josie Leibfried