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/
Postdoctoral Fellows
Suma Suswaram, PhD
Dr. Suswaram (pronounced as: seuss-wuh-rum) is a postdoctoral associate at Boston University. She received her Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Kansas, Master’s and Bachelor’s in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology from Bangalore University, India. Her research focuses on advancing health care equity in the context of Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is also interested in understanding factors underlying academic and research success for students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in higher education.
Graduate Students
Emily Pariseau, PhD
Emily is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trinity College. Following graduation she worked as a Research Assistant at Yale University, evaluating parenting interventions for mothers with substance abuse disorders. She then transitioned to a Research Coordinator position at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she gained experience conducting research with children suffering from a wide range of medical and psychological diagnoses, as well as their families. During graduate school, she hopes to further explore the complex risk and protective factors that impact youth development, as well as empirically informed interventions that attempt to mitigate these risks. She is fascinated by the parent-child relationship and the impact that family dynamics have on psychosocial development, particularly in families who have a child with a chronic medical condition.
Monica Gordillo
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University. Originally from California, I received a B.A. degree in Psychology from Princeton University and then worked as a research assistant for 2 years at the NYU Child Study Center. While at NYU, I worked on clinical-behavioral and functional brain imaging studies focusing on individuals (children, teens, and young adults) with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. While in graduate school, I am interested in researching the cultural health disparities affecting individuals with autism and their families. I am currently working on studies examining different cultural perspectives related to having a child with autism and developing an intervention for future planning for siblings of adults with autism.
Jenna Sandler Eilenberg
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University. I received a B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University. After graduation, I worked in Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, where I coordinated outcome assessment for a series of studies evaluating a depression prevention intervention for low-income, urban mothers. I then transitioned to the BU School of Public Health, where I worked as a project manager on a clinical trial aiming to improve early identification and service linkage for young children at risk for autism spectrum disorder. During graduate school, I am interested in researching the role of cultural and family factors in the transition from adolescence to adulthood for youth with autism.
Phoebe Brosnan
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University in the Family Development and Treatment Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Martha Tompson. After earning my B.A. degree in English and creative writing from Barnard College, I completed post-baccalaureate studies in psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. My research interests center on family-based interventions for the treatment of depression and anxiety, with a particular interest in under-served minority populations. I am collaborating with the Child and Family Health Lab to learn more about the qualitative interviewing process, in part through working on a project aimed at investigating barriers and facilitators of implementing psychosocial care for siblings of children with cancer.
Nicole Cardona
Nicole is a clinical doctoral student in the Transdiagnostic Treatment Lab. She is interested in emotions, minority stress, trauma, borderline personality disorder, and mental health in marginalized communities. Nicole works with Dr. Long and the Child & Family Health Lab on studies related to stress and coping in family members of children with medical or developmental diagnoses (i.e., cancer diagnoses; false positive autism diagnoses). Nicole received her B.A. in Psychology and Health: Science, Society, and Policy from Brandeis University in 2015, and has previously worked at Franciscan Children’s Hospital, the Boston Child Study Center, and within McLean Hospital’s adolescent DBT continuum.
Ariel Blakey
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University. I received a B.A. in Psychology from Spelman College, where I primarily conducted qualitative research on familial well-being through narratives in college-aged students. While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I also conducted research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), identifying factors involved in parental decision-making and Children’s National Hospital, investigating factors impacting caregivers’ stress. While in graduate school, I am specifically interested in researching how social determinants of health and social support affect disease-management and overall quality of life amongst pediatric patients with a chronic illness, especially Sickle Cell Disease.
Kathryn Davis
I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Boston University. I received a B.A. in Gender and Sexuality Studies from Brown University and an M.A. in Psychology from Brandeis, where I studied developmental antecedents of problematic sexual behaviors among juveniles who had sexually offended. I then joined the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where I worked as a Research Coordinator on studies aimed at identifying new biological markers of childhood adversity exposure. In the Child and Family Health Lab, my research focuses on better incorporating siblings of children with cancer into family-centered psychosocial care. I am particularly interested in strategies to improve the design and implementation of family-focused psychosocial assessment and support in pediatric cancer care.
Jay Wilson
Hi! 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.
Staff
Marcella Mazzenga (Lab Manager) (She/Her)
I am a graduate from Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. As a volunteer in the Child and Family Health Lab, I had the opportunity to work on various research projects, such as a doctoral student’s project examining sleep quality and sleep hygiene in children with cancer. I also completed an honors project examining sleep education and training among psychologists in the clinical setting in the United States and Canada. At present, I am part of the study team for SibACCESS which focuses on the development and implementation of sibling program for families of children with cancer. In Fall 2021, I began a Master’s program in clinical social work at Simmons University, where I plan to focus my training on pediatric chronic illness populations.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Rachel Meyer
I am a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Public Health and Religion. Through my work at the lab, I’ve been able to learn more about social determinants of health and expand my knowledge of psychology and public health. I hope to pursue a Masters in Public Health after I graduate.
Alix Paredes (He/Him)
I am currently a fourth-year psychology and applied human development student at BU. I have a strong interest in serving underrepresented communities (specifically Hispanic and housing insecure populations) and intend to pursue this through a PhD or PsyD clinical program in the future!
Shumin Guan
I am currently a sophomore at Boston University majoring in Human Physiology and pursuing the pre-med track. While I volunteered at Boston Medical Center, I helped with the transition of children with epilepsy by conducting social determinant surveys for the medical team. I am interested in having a more in-depth insight into health equity and learning more about autism as I join the Child and Family Lab. I am excited to get to work closely with families as I have always enjoyed working with kids.
Samuel Lai
I am a rising sophomore at Boston University majoring in Psychology. In the Child and Family Health Lab, I am interested in learning more about how to serve families affected by chronic illnesses. After graduation, I hope to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Ava Maurillo
I am a fourth year undergraduate student at Boston University studying Health Science with minors in Biology and Spanish. Alongside my undergraduate studies, I am jointly pursuing my Master of Public Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. At the Child and Family Health Lab, I assist in research that focuses on adolescents with sickle cell disease and work to understand how social determinants of health impact access to healthcare and management of the disease.
Sarah Bowman
I am a fourth-year undergraduate student at Northeastern University, pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Human Communication. For my second co-op, I am a part of the SibACCESS team at Boston University. SibACCESS aims to support the siblings of youth cancer patients. As a research assistant, I transcribe and code interviews with the goal of producing a program for the siblings and families of adolescents with cancer. Previous experience as a direct care counselor in a youth group home and as a behavior technician for a child with autism contribute to my passion for supporting the wellbeing of young people. More specifically, I am interested in therapeutic care and prevention science. I plan to continue my education with graduate school after gaining hands-on research experience with Boston University.
Pau Cuadrado (he/him)
I am a senior at Boston University studying Psychology. I am excited to start working at the Child and Family Lab since it will be one of my first hands-on research experiences. I plan to further my studies and possibly get a PhD or PsyD one day. However, I am still deciding whether I want to do clinical psychology research or therapy, and I believe this experience will help me get a clearer picture.
Joshua Dela Cruz
I am a third-year undergraduate student at Northeastern University majoring in Psychology and currently doing my cooperative education experience (co-op) at the Boston University Child and Family Health Lab. At Northeastern, I am involved in a co-ed service fraternity, intramural sports, and work as a Student Success Guide. Previously, I worked as an assistant teacher in a clinical school for adolescents with social, learning, and/or behavioral disabilities. This experience has been a major driving factor for my passion to support adolescent mental health care. At the Child and Family Health Lab, I hope to learn more about stress-intervention techniques for adolescents. After undergraduate school, I plan to continue my education into graduate school.
Lab Alumni
Cory Griffin
Marina Ritchie
Michelle Leon
Samantha Sims
Aksheya Sridhar
Maya Zegel
Lydia Chevalier
Allie Keller
Dana Bruck-Segal
Amelia Dudley
Diego Davila
Dylan Tam
Alejandra Perez-Ramirez
Grace Alessi
Phyllis Lun
Andrea Chu
Quintana Carter
Trisha Katz
Anjali Oberoi
Taylor Cowser
Olivia Sokol
Esmeralda “Ezzy” Adolf
Hyun “Monica” Kim, PhD
Deniz Kizildag
Charlotte Hood
Wenyan Fang
Hannah Levin
Jeannie Phan
Rachel Watson
Andrea Morante
Elizabeth K. Schmidt, PhD
Huanrui Wei
Freya Zhu
Carissa Mastrangelo