LAB MEMBERS
DR. ERIN KAUFMAN
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
University of Utah
Dr. Kaufman received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Utah, where she specialized in the department's Clinical Child and Family Track. She completed her clinical internship and post-doctoral training years at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Kaufman is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Utah and an adjunct faculty member in the department of psychology at the University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Kaufman's research focuses on interrupting pathogenic factors that contribute to self-inflicted injury (SII), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and suicide. She uses the developmental psychopathology perspective as a framework for conceptualizing and studying these complex problems. Dr. Kaufman studies SII and BPD conjointly because they share many phenotypic features, potentiating factors, and often co-occur along a common developmental trajectory. Her work builds on existing research that identifies both (a) markers of biological vulnerability to SII and BPD, and (b) environmental risk factors (e.g., coercive family processes, emotion invalidation) that shape vulnerabilities into more advanced and difficult-to-treat patterns of stress reactivity over time. Dr. Kaufman incorporates biological, self- and informant-report, behavioral, and ecological momentary assessment methods into her research designs.
JIN PRUNUSKE, B.S.
Study Coordinator
BRIANNA MEDDAOUI, M.S.
Graduate Student
Brianna is a Ph.D. student in the Clinical Science and Psychopathology program at Western University. Her research interests include characterizing developmental changes (e.g., cognitive, social, and affective) that confer risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviours during adolescence and identifying targets for intervention and prevention among individuals at risk of developing Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). She is also generally interested in the role that research methodology plays in improving the prediction of acute suicide risk.
Jin received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Oregon, where she completed her honors thesis examining the moderating role of positive maternal involvement on the relationship between maternal emotion dysregulation and preschoolers’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Jin's research interests include exploring environmental factors that may contribute to the development of psychopathology, examining intergenerational transmission of mental health challenges, understanding features of Borderline Personality Disorder, and analyzing the efficacy of prevention and intervention efforts for mental health disorders. Jin’s commitment to exploring factors that may contribute to the development of psychopathology motivates her to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with the goal of contributing to both research and clinical practice.
VANIT SHAH
Research Assistant
Vanit is a 4th year honors specialization student in psychology at Western University. He is interested in the development of scales used to measure various psychopathologies. He is also interested in the application of psychology to education and looking at programs to help newcomer children better learn and adjust in the community. He hopes to pursue an applied career in school or clinical psychology.
AILEEN DUONG
Research Assistant
Aileen is a 5th year Psychology and Chemistry student at the University of Utah. Her research interests include self-injury and suicide stemming from anxiety and depression among minorities with particular focus on the LGBTQ+ and Asian communities. She also has interests in identity-related challenges in mixed nationality persons and how cultural differences affect them as they age. Aileen aims to enter a doctoral program in clinical neuropsychology.
JENNY NGUYEN
Research Assistant
Jenny is a 4th-year Honors student at the University of Utah pursuing a degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and an Honors Integrated Minor in Health. Her research interest draws upon community- and systems-based contexts to understand childhood adversity and prolonged stress-exposure among youths from marginalized and underserved backgrounds. More specifically, she hopes to leverage client-centered advocacy with policy-level intervention to promote resilience and improve access to mental health services for young people and their families. Jenny plans to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology.
JENNIFER LEE
Research Assistant
Jennifer is a 2nd year psychology student at the University of Utah Honors College. Her research interests include the development of psychopathology across the lifespan and the interaction of biological and social markers on behavior, personality, and affect. In the future, Jennifer hopes to pursue a graduate education in clinical psychology.
PAST LAB MEMBERS
Carmon Wong
Myah Pazdera
Petr Horgos
Jason Chung
Le Li
Biancca Iddiols
Cici Guo
Kelly Chiu
Abitha Suthakaran
Catherine Taian-Jiao Li
Sarah Smith
Veronica Kim
Carly Biderman
Ragini Singh
Alvira Khurram
Fatima Zahra
Soha Khorsand
