Michal Clayton
pre-doctoral intern & Ph.D. candidate
Michal Clayton is a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She graduated from Brown University with a BA in psychology and spent two years training at the National Institute of Mental Health before joining the READ Lab as a doctoral student. Michal is interested in investigating cognitive and affective factors relevant to the development, maintenance, and treatment of transdiagnostic psychopathology. Her dissertation included the use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine the temporal dynamics of emotion dysregulation in clinical samples. Michal is currently completing her pre-doctoral internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts.
Abigail Szkutak
4th YeaR Ph.D. Student
Abigail (“Abby”) Szkutak is a fourth-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at Teachers College, Columbia University. After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross, Abby worked for two years as a research coordinator at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School’s Center for OCD & Related Disorders. She is interested in leveraging affective neuroscience and psychophysiology techniques to examine mechanisms underlying the treatment of perseverative cognition (e.g., worry, rumination, self-criticism). She is also interested in investigating ways to personalize the dosing of treatment components to match clients’ needs.
moises hernandez
3rd YeaR Ph.D. Student
Moises Hernandez is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. After graduating from St. John's University with a B.A. in Psychology, Moises joined the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, where he led the adaptation of HIV prevention programs for Latinx New Yorkers. While in the M.A. in Psychology in Education program at TC, Moises worked as a research assistant at Hunter College's Emotion Regulation Lab, where he helped investigate the biobehavioral mechanisms underlying distress and fear-based anxiety disorders. He is interested in identifying and targeting biobehavioral mechanisms of anxiety disorders, with a particular interest in targeting these mechanisms among marginalized populations like the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities.
Esther Anene
2nd YeaR Ph.D. Student
Esther Anene is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.S. in Neuroimaging and Informatics, Esther spent two years working at the Precision Psychiatry and Translational Neuroscience Lab at Stanford University, where she coordinated studies investigating the neural circuitry underlying symptoms of depression and anxiety. Esther later worked as a research assistant on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study at Yale University. She is interested in investigating the behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying emotion dysregulation in mood and anxiety disorders, as well as the elements of therapeutic change, to inform more targeted treatments.
Research Assistants
2nd Year & Advanced MA Students
VVIDHI AGRAWWAL graduated with a B.S. (honors) in Psychology and Biology from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, UK. She also currently works at Columbia Health as a health promotion assistant, conducting research on interventions to improve well-being on campus. Her research interests include emotion regulation in anxiety and mood disorders, mechanisms of change in evidence-based treatments and the development of community-based programs for children and adolescents.
TAMARA EID is a master’s student in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. With a passion for global mental health, Tamara is dedicated to developing culturally sensitive treatments for underserved populations. Her research explores the relationship between trauma and depressive symptoms in war/refugee-exposed populations, aiming to improve treatment accessibility for these groups. Outside of her academic and research pursuits, Tamara enjoys exploring New York City's parks and trying new cuisines.
WENDY GUO graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from New York University and is a current graduate student in the clinical psychology program at Columbia University’s Teachers College. After graduating, Wendy worked at a research lab in Hong Kong University that focuses on neuroplasticity, healthy ageing, and affective regulation. Her research interests are interplay between emotional distress and suicidal ideation, digital & technological interventions in treating mood disorders and suicidality.
GAIL HARRISON graduated from Excelsior University with a B.S. in Psychology, and is currently a second-year master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include understanding the intersection between distress tolerance, motivation, and emotion regulation, as well as the role interpersonal triggers play in maladaptive behaviors. Gail is also interested in the development of digital mental health interventions as a potential treatment for OCD and related disorders.
AMY HONG graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the University of Rochester. She also currently volunteers as a research assistant at the Suicide Research and Prevention Lab at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, which contributes to research studying Suicidal Crisis Syndrome. Her research interests center around topics such as the assessment and treatment of NSSI behaviors and suicidality.
BEMSI NKUO is a second-year master's student in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience at Teachers College, Columbia University. She graduated summa cum laude from Lynn University with a Bachelor of Science in Social Entrepreneurship and a minor in Psychology. Her research focuses on exploring the brain mechanisms underlying emotional regulation and their impact on mood and anxiety disorders, as well as decision-making, utilizing advanced neuroimaging techniques. Bemsi aims to contribute to the development of culturally sensitive and trauma-informed treatment initiatives by understanding psychopathology from an affective neuroscience perspective.
KELLEY LONG graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in Psychology. After graduating, she worked for a nonprofit organization while volunteering as a Research Assistant at Boston University. Her research interests include the emotional experiences of adolescents and young adults, emotion regulation in mood and anxiety disorders, and the regulation of positive emotions.
ALEX SKUPNY is a second-year Masters student in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received a B.S. in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science from the University of Arizona. Following her undergraduate career, Alex spent several years at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of California, San Diego coordinating clinical trials for novel therapeutic interventions for post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety disorders. Through an affective neuroscience lens, her research interests include optimizing evidence-based interventions for mood and anxiety disorders, the biobehavioral mechanisms of therapeutic change in emotion dysregulation, and developing interventions to be culturally responsive and accessible in historically underserved populations (i.e., American Indian/Alaskan Natives).
YUTONG ZHU graduated from Trinity College with a B.S. in Psychology and Educational Studies. She worked for two years as a research coordinator/assistant at Yale University before starting her Clinical Psychology MA program at Teacher's College, Columbia University. Yutong is interested in cognitive and emotion regulation flexibility as transdiagnostic mechanisms underlying depression and anxiety.