Graduate

Faculty Research Areas

Students are encouraged to contact faculty affiliated with the Ph.D. in Behavioral & Community Sciences to discuss opportunities for working with the faculty member as a research mentor.

Dr. Anna Davidson Abella Dr. Anna Davidson Abella
Ph.D. in Applied Cultural Anthropology
Research Areas: Implementation of mental health programs and services; Experiences of families and staff in child welfare and prevention services;  Effectiveness of police/mental health collaboratives; Mixed-method program evaluation and ethnographic methods.
Jason Anthony Dr. Jason Anthony
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology; Ed.S. in School Psychology
Research Areas: Language and Literacy Development; Early Childhood Education Policy and Evaluation; School Readiness Assessment
Judith Biesen Dr. Judith Biesen
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
Research Areas: Co-occurrence of relationship distress (e.g., verbal and physical conflict behaviors, relationship dissolution), mental health, and substance use in couples, including those from underserved populations, quantitative methods, and implementation/intervention research. 
Tim Boaz
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
Research Area: Evaluation of Public Mental Health Programs/Policy
Donna Burton

Dr. Donna Burton
Ph.D. in Public Health
Research Area: School Based Mental Health Services Integration

Linda M. Callejas, PhD Dr. Linda M. Callejas
Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology
Research Areas: Behavioral health disparities in children, youth, and families of color; Experiences of parents involved in child welfare systems; Community-engaged research; Qualitative methods.
Maria Carlo Dr. Maria Carlo
Ph.D. in Psychology
Research Area: Bilingualism and Biliteracy Development
Annette Christy
Ph.D. in Applied/Experimental Psychology
Research Areas: Involuntary care, justice system diversions for people with behavioral health disorders, process of using external data/large data sets, program evaluation
Chih-Chin Chou Dr. Chih-Chin Chou 
Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Psychology
Research Area: Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Kyaien Conner
Ph.D. in Social Work
Research Area: Culturally Relevant Mental Health Services
Christina Dillahunt-Aspillaga Dr. Christina Dillahunt-Aspillaga
Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science
Research Area: Reintegration of Veterans with TBI
Matthew Foster Dr. Matthew Foster
Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology
Research Area: Early Mathematics Intervention, Measurement and Evaluation, Developmental Disabilities and Special Education
Bryanna Fox
Ph.D. in Psychological Criminology
Research Area: Identification of Psychological and Developmental Risk Factors for Criminal Behavior
Heather Peshak George Dr. Heather Peshak George
Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction/Special Instruction
Research Area: Positive Behavior Support, School-wide Discipline Systems-level
Howard Goldstein Dr. Howard Goldstein
Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology
Research Area: Early Language and Literacy Intervention, Developmental Disabilities, Multi-Tiered System of Supports
Amber Gum
Ph.D.in Clinical Psychology
Research Area: Mental Health Services for Older Adults
Holly Hills Ph.D. in Clinical and Health Psychology
Research Areas: Women and their children in contact with the justice system, Trauma Informed Care / PTSD, Structured interviewing and assessment, Substance use disorder, Re-entry from jails and prison
Rose Iovannone Dr. Rose Iovannone
Ph.D. in Educational Psychology
Research Area: Functional behavior assessment and individualized behavior supports, Autism spectrum disorder and evidence based practices, Tier 3 behavior systems.
Kimberly Johnson


Ph.D. in Population Health
Research Area: Quality of care for substance use disorders, Data driven quality improvement and use of technology to improve access and quality of care for people with SUDs

Tammy Jorgensen-Smith

Dr. Tammy Jorgensen-Smith
Ph.D. in Counselor Education/Rehabilitation
Research Areas: Inclusion and Supportive Services; Employment and Education

Don Kincaid

Dr. Don Kincaid
Ph.D. in Educational Psychology
Research Area: Positive Behavior Support

Kristin Kosyluk


Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling Education
Research Area: Mental illness and psychiatric disability, with a special interest in social justice issues and stigma.

Dr. Nik Lampe

Dr. Nik Lampe
Ph.D. in Sociology
Research Areas: LGBTQIA+ Behavioral Health and Healthcare; Dementia Care and Caregiving; Aging and Older Adulthood

Bruce Lubotsky Levin

Dr. Bruce Lubotsky Levin
Ph.D. in Health Services Research & Policy
Research Area: Behavioral Health Services Delivery, Policy, Informatics, Translational Research, Education, and Integration with Public Health.

Oliver Tom Massey

Dr. Oliver Tom Massey
Ph.D. in Psychology
Research Area: Implementation Science in Behavioral Health and School Based Mental Health Services

Roxann McNeish

Dr. Roxann McNeish
Ph.D. in Public Health
Research Area: Child and Adult Behavioral/Mental Health, Behavioral/Mental Health Disparities, Child Maltreatment

Kathleen Moore


Ph.D. in Social/Health Psychology
Research Area: Co-occurring Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders

Khary Rigg


Ph.D. in Medical Sociology
Research Area: Drug prevention and treatment; Drug overdose/mortality; Harm reduction; Drug policy; Mixed-methods and qualitative research

Alison Salloum

Dr. Alison Salloum
Ph.D. in Social Work
Research Area: Childhood Trauma/PTSD, Child Mental Health, Child Welfare

Julianne Serovich

Dr. Julianne Serovich
Ph.D. in Child and Family Development
Research Area: HIV Disclosure

Paul Stiles
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
Research Areas: State mental health policy, Geriatric mental health services and policy, Research ethics
Marilyn Stern Dr. Marilyn Stern
Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
Research Area: Overweight/Obese Children and Adolescents
Gregory Teague


Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Public Practice
Research Areas: Fidelity to program models, esp. assertive community treatment, Involvement of persons with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system, Effectiveness of consumer-operated services, Performance measurement, Self-directed care, Consumer-provider relationships

Dr. Jeffrey Williams

Dr. Jeffrey Williams
Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Quantitative concentration
Research area: Modeling factors in preschool that predict children鈥檚 later performance in kindergarten

Lana Yampolskaya

Dr. Lana Yampolskaya
Ph.D. in Sociology
Research Areas: Child maltreatment, child welfare, children鈥檚 mental health, quantitative methods.

M. Scott Young


Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
Research Areas: Coerced treatment of substance use disorders, Co-Occurring mental health and substance use disorders, Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors affecting substance abuse treatment participation and outcomes, Alternative case processing approaches for non-violent drug offenders, Drug policy, Program evaluation