About Us
Kristin A. Long, PhD (Director)
Dr. Long was born and raised in Easton, PA. She graduated from Princeton University in 2003 with a degree in Psychology and a certificate in Neuroscience. She worked in the Marketing Department at Lutron Electronics for several years before returning to graduate school. Dr. Long earned her doctoral degree in Clinical and Bio-Health Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship training at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI. She joined the faculty at Boston University in July, 2014. Dr. Long’s research employs qualitative, quantitative, and community-based methods to examine developmental, cultural, and family influences on health. She has carried out her research primarily in the context of childhood cancer, asthma, autism, intellectual disability, and adolescent sexual risk. More recently, her research has expanded to consider family and cultural influences on development over the transition to adulthood. Dr. Long is a licensed clinical psychologist in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and has experience developing and delivering psychotherapy interventions for individuals, families, and groups across outpatient, inpatient, medical, school, and forensic settings. In her current position at Boston University, Dr. Long is involved in undergraduate and graduate training within the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and she is the Director of the Child and Family Health Lab.
http://www.bu.edu/psych/faculty/kalong/
Graduate Students
Jay Wilson
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at B.U. I received my B.A. at Princeton University and a Masters at B.U. in psychology. Prior to my Masters, I taught at a school for children with autism for 2 years, using trauma-informed applied behavior analysis and worked as a case manager for a student. I am interested in stigma, especially amongst our theoretical constructs (e.g. theory of mind), and how these stigmas work to structure our environment in ways that disable individuals with autism and reduce their quality of life. I am particularly interested in studying barriers to services for individuals with autism as they transition into adulthood.
Mathena Abramson
I am a doctoral student in the Family Development and Treatment Lab under the direction of Dr. Martha Tompson. I received my B.A. in Psychology from Smith College in 2019 with a minor in statistical and data sciences and completed post-baccalaureate work as a clinical research coordinator in the Women’s Hormones and Aging Research Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital under the direction of Dr. Hadine Joffe. My research interests center on family and community influences on psychological outcomes in marginalized communities. My work with Dr. Long and the Child & Family Health Lab include a project aimed at investigating LGBTQ+ young adults’ experiences of minority stress and emotion regulation, as well as a separate project which examines the barriers to assessing and addressing social determinants of health within primary care settings.
Mikaela de Lemos
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University. I received my B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Hispanic Studies from Oberlin College, where I conducted research on the relationship between race and attitudes on climate change following the COVID-19 lockdown. After graduating, I joined Dr. Grayson Holmbeck’s Chicago Healthy Adolescent Transition Study (CHATS) Lab and Dr. Cate DeCarlo Santiago’s Children Adapting to Stress and Adversity (CASA) Lab at Loyola University Chicago, which fostered my interests in pediatric psychology and trauma-informed treatment. I then taught English and implemented a school-based read-aloud program at an elementary school in Tenerife, Spain, after being awarded a U.S. Fulbright Grant. My primary research interests and goals are to understand and support siblings of people who a chronic illness or disability, with a particular interest in siblings from racial and ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in research.
Rebecca Gebert
I am a doctoral student pursuing a degree in clinical psychology at Boston University. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Iona University, I worked as clinical research coordinator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for 5 years, working primarily on clinical trials testing the efficacy of different psychotherapy treatment protocols for caregivers of cancer patients. As graduate student, my research interests are to identify and address the unique psychosocial needs of young adult caregivers of a loved one with cancer, particularly within sibling dyads.
Rola Adebogun
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University. I graduated from Princeton University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Neuroscience. Before joining the Child & Family Health Lab, I served as a fellow in Social Developmental Neuroscience and Clinical Research at Emory University & the Marcus Autism Center, where I administered various assessments for the clinical and diagnostic characterization of autism and used eye-tracking technology to investigate social visual engagement in typically developing and autistic children. My research interests lie in understanding the mechanisms through which culture, context, family, and social determinants of health affect the physical and mental health outcomes of children with neurodevelopmental conditions and those from marginalized backgrounds.
Undergraduate Students
Thai Daniel
I’m a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology, with a minor in Applied Human development at Boston University. My research interests focus on the impact of socioeconomic disparities in access to healthcare services and resources during childhood on cognitive development. While working in the Child and Family Health lab I’m excited to gain knowledge on non- deficit research practices when it comes to serving the under-resourced populations in healthcare.
Briana Uddo
I am a fourth-year undergraduate student at Boston University, majoring in Psychology and Biology with a minor in Chemistry on the pre-medical track. As a research assistant at the Child and Family Health Lab, I am interested in exploring the psychosocial factors and family dynamics that influence children’s health, particularly in the context of chronic illness. My research experience has strengthened my commitment to improving pediatric care, especially for young cancer patients and their families. After graduation, I plan to attend medical school and pursue a career dedicated to compassionate, patient-centered care for children, adolescents, and families facing serious illness.
Mika Or-Barkan
I’m a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology with a minor in Sociology at Boston University. My research interests focus on how family, cultural, and social contexts shape the lived experiences and quality of life of autistic individuals, particularly those from populations that are typically underdiagnosed or diagnosed later in life. My overarching goal is to help improve diagnostic processes so they are more accessible, accurate, and reflective of people’s lived experiences.
Lab Alumni
Post-Docs
Christina Amaro, PhD
Elizabeth K. Schmidt, PhD
Suma Suswaram, PhD
Doctoral Students
Ariel Blakey, PhD
Phoebe Brosnan, PhD
Dana Bruck-Segal, PhD
Nicole Cardona, PhD
Lydia Chevalier, PhD
Katie Davis, PhD
Monica Gordillo, PhD
Allie Keller, PhD
Hyun “Monica” Kim, PhD
Emily Pariseau, PhD
Jenna Sandler Eilenberg, PhD
Graduate Students
Quintana Carter
Andrea Chu
Wenyan Fang
Charlotte Hood
Phyllis Lun
Aksheya Sridhar
Lab Managers
Marcella Mazzenga, LCSW
Alix Paredes Molina, BA
Anjali Oberoi, MD, MPH
Stephanie Visoso, BA
Undergraduate Students
Grace Alessi
Kalliopi Alexis
Sarah Bowman (Co-op)
Samantha Brayton
Illari Cazorla-Garcia
Taylor Cowser
Pau Cuadrado
Diego Davila
Amelia Dudley
Cory Griffin
Shumin Guan
Trisha Katz
Deniz Kizildag
Samuel Lai
Michelle Leon
Hannah Levin
Carissa Mastrangelo (Co-op)
Ava Maurillo
Rachel Meyer
Andrea Morante
Dara Oliveira
Alejandra Perez-Ramirez
Jeannie Phan
Marina Ritchie
Pamela Ruiz
Samantha Sims
Olivia Sokol
Dylan Tam
Yudi Wang
Rachel Watson
Huanrui Wei
Maya Zegel
Freya Zhu
Volunteers
Esmeralda “Ezzy” Adolf