
Undergraduate Degree: Major in Psychology, Minor in Sociology, Certificate in Social Work and Social Welfare
Current Position Title and Affiliation: Clinical Research Assistant at McLean Hospital
Summary of Position:
In the Psychosis Neurobiology Lab, I oversee scheduling/running participants who have schizophrenia, bipolar, and mania disorders to create individualized neurobiological profiles in hopes of predicting later functional outcome. In this longitudinal study that has been running for 6 years, I administer a cognitive battery assessment called the MATRICS, perform the structured clinical interview according to the DSM-V for mental disorders with symptom severity scales, orchestrate an EEG study with 4 auditory paradigms, and preprocess and analyze EEG data after it has been collected. We hope to recruit 60 participants in 2022 for a follow up study to see functional outcome in the hopes of achieving better treatment methods for people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, bipolar I and II, and mania disorders.
Future Goals:
Clinical Psychology PhD program or Masters in Counseling Psychology
What do you love most about this career path?
What I love about this career path is getting to know the people you study on an intimate level and learning about their disease from their perspective to gain a powerful insight on how to research and treat these diseases to improve treatment methods.
How did UMass and/or PBS help prepare you?
I was a member of the developmental psychology lab called the Learning Lab under the supervision of Jennifer McDermott, and I loved working with children on campus and learning more about gender roles and stereotypes! UMass Psychology is a great way to start getting involved in research, drafting research papers, and learning the writing and procedural skill to start research projects of your own one day!
Tips for Current Undergrads:
Take advantage of the amazing opportunities to get involved in research or an internship over the summer! Notably, the many research labs in Tobin with a wide range of lab focuses, the S.P.A.C.E. program run by Christina Metevier, or the SONA studies that you can participate in (for extra credit too)!