Our Team
Amy D. Marshall, Ph.D.
Faculty, Department of Psychology
Director of Clinical Training
Director, Relationships and Stress Lab
Dr. Marshall’s research program is designed to determine individual and contextual factors that contribute to the occurrence of psychological and physical aggression in close relationships. A particular emphasis is placed on the ways in which trauma exposure can alter early-stage social information processing (particularly attention to, and perception of, emotionally and physically threatening social stimuli), which in turn can facilitate or inhibit aggressive behavior in intimate and parent-child relationships.
Julia S. Rohde, B.A.
Julia earned her B.A. in neuroscience and religious studies from Bowdoin College. After receiving her degree, she worked with expectant mothers and adolescents impacted by a severe form of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome at Boston Children’s Hospital and later researched psychedelic drug treatment for numerous disorders at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. She is interested in the effects of intimate partner violence on individuals and families. Julia is also interested in personalized assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder symptomology to help intervene more effectively on this disorder and prevent its negative consequences such as aggression perpetration within the family.
Emma Read, B.S.
Emily Taverna, Ph.D.
Emily has obtained her doctoral degree after a year-long internship at VA Boston. Emily earned her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After receiving her degree, she worked as a research assistant at the National Center for PTSD, Women’s Health Sciences Division. Her research interests focus on PTSD and relationship functioning, particularly perpetration of intimate partner violence. She is particularly interested in whether individuals experience moral distress about their aggressive behaviors toward family members, if this relates to PTSD symptoms, and if moral distress may be a mechanism that informs repeated incidents of aggression. Emily is also interested in developing and validating assessment tools related to these constructs.
Zhenyu (Zach) Zhang, M.A.
Zach has completed his dissertation and is currently completing a year-long internship in New Mexico. Before coming to the PSU graduate program, Zach earned his M.A. from Boston University School of Medicine. He worked as a research assistant at Harvard University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston University, and the Trauma Center at the Justice Resources Institute. His research interests focus on developmental timing of trauma exposure, sex differences in the outcomes of trauma exposure, and dimensional models of adversities. Zach is currently a T32 child maltreatment predoctoral fellow.
Lauren M. Sippel, Ph.D.
Acting Director, VA Northeast Program Evaluation Center, VA Office of Mental Health
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Affiliate, National Center for PTSD
Lauren earned her B.A. from Swarthmore College and completed a pre-doctoral clinical internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center before receiving her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Penn State in 2014. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for PTSD, Clinical Neurosciences Division, and Yale University Medical Center. She is now Acting Director at the VA Northeast Program Evaluation Center, VA Office of Mental Health; an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; and an Affiliate at the National Center for PTSD.
Kelly S. Parker-Guilbert, Ph.D.
Kelly earned her B.A. from Brandeis University and completed a pre-doctoral clinical internship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, before receiving her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Penn State in 2015. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Science Division, and Boston VA Research Institute. Kelly co-owns a psychological assessment company, Precision Psychological Assessments, working on various PTSD treatment outcome studies. She also does part time clinical practice at Psychology Specialists of Maine.
Feea R. Leifker, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Feea earned her B.A. from Carleton College and M.P.H. from Emory University. She completed a pre-doctoral clinical internship at the UCSD/SDSU Consortium focusing on anxiety, PTSD, and couple therapy before receiving her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Penn State in 2016. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Utah Department of Psychology and the National Center for Veterans Studies. She is currently a Research Associate Professor and Associate Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah and Co-Director of the Behavioral Health Innovation and Dissemination Center at the University of Utah.
Jennifer D. Wong, Ph.D.
Jen earned her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. She previously worked at the University of Southern California as part of Dr. Gayla Margolin’s Family Studies project and Drs. Hanna and Antonio Damasio’s Brain and Creativity Institute. Her research interests include cognitive mechanisms as well as contextual factors involved in psychological and physical aggression in intimate relationships. Jen is now a Psychologist at VA New Mexico.
Alexandra C. Mattern, Ph.D.
Alex earned her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a predoctoral clinical internship at the VA Boston Healthcare System before receiving her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Penn State in 2021. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at VA Boston. Alex is now a Psychologist at VA Boston and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
Kelly A. Daly, Ph.D.
Kelly earned her B.A. in Psychology from McGill University and worked as a clinical research coordinator at the Bronx VA Medical Center before coming to Penn State. Her research interests include child maltreatment, developmental timing of trauma exposure, and adult re-victimization. She is also interested broadly in trauma and violence within the context of family systems. Kelly is now a Research Scientist at New York University.Alex earned her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At UW, she worked as a research assistant studying syndromes of disinhibition, including psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder. Her research interests include antisocial behavior (particularly violence perpetration) as well as associated cognitive and neurobiological factors. Alex is now a Psychologist at VA Boston.
Annabella Gallagher Sarama, Ph.D.
Dr. Gallagher earned her PhD in Family and Human Development with a specialization in Measurement and Statistical Analysis from Arizona State University. Her dissertation examined the longitudinal associations between family and friendship dynamics and sibling relational aggression in adolescence. Her research interests include family and sibling conflict and aggression, youth adjustment, and the development and evaluation of evidence-based intervention and prevention curricula. Dr. Gallagher earned a BS in Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State and is excited to be back at her alma matter as a postdoctoral scholar.
Devin J. McGuier, Ph.D.
Dr. McGuier earned his Ph.D. in Child Clinical Psychology from Penn State University. His dissertation examined the impact of hypothetical students’ foster care status on elementary school teachers’ judgments and decisions in the classroom. His research interests include examining the factors that influence children’s academic achievement, better understanding and supporting parents, and identifying and addressing barriers to communication and collaboration between systems that serve youth. Dr. McGuier has worked on multiple parenting studies and works as a therapist for children, adolescents, adults, and families. He grew up on a farm an hour south of Pittsburgh and is a huge fan of the Steelers as well as Penn State Wrestling.
Angie. K. Morrison, B.S.
Angie earned a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State and has enjoyed working with families through various social service agencies and non-profit organizations including the AmeriCorps, the YMCA, the Centre County Youth Service Bureau, and Care for People. She has assisted with research for over 13 years.
KC Britt, B.A.
KC received her B.A.in Psychology from the University of New Mexico in 2018. She has enjoyed working in various psychology research labs over the last 6 years. She has experience in labs focused on the mental health consequences of early trauma experiences as well as early intervention and prevention efforts for at-risk children and families.
Helena Her, B.A.
Helena received her B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Davis. Her research interests include parenting, adolescence, and psychophysiology. Her senior thesis focused on warm parenting and psychophysiology among Mexican-origin youth. She is especially interested in understanding how parenting among diverse populations differentially impacts child outcomes.
Adriana Méndez-Fernández, B.A.
Adriana Méndez-Fernández (she/her) finished her bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus in June 2022. She did her major in Special Education with emphasis in behavioral and emotional disorders. Her research interests include Intimate Partner Violence and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. She aspires to do a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Cathy Shirley B.S.
Cathy received her B.S in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University in 2022. Cathy is currently working towards a master’s degree in psychology and plans to eventually get a PHD in Educational Psychology.
Steffany J. Fredman
Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies
Associate Professor of Psychology
Edna P. Bennett Faculty Fellow in Prevention Research
Mark Feinberg
Research Professor of Health and Human Development
Carrie
(coming soon)