Doctoral Students
fIRST-Year doctoral student
dOGA cETINKAYA
Doga graduated from Tufts University in 2022 with a B.S. in psychology and economics. After completing her undergraduate studies, she worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Currently, Doga is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests center on exploring cognitive and affective processes related to depression and anxiety, with the goal of translating this knowledge into novel interventions.
Mentor: Dr. Alicia Meuret
SECOND-Year doctoral student
Windsor Hall
Windsor Hall is originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She studied Psychology and Neuroscience at SMU, and worked as a Research Assistant in the Anxiety and Depression Research Center under Dr. Ritz. Her research interests include psychosomatic symptoms and the relationship between chronic illness and depression and anxiety. She worked in research for a year before joining the ARC Lab.
Mentor: Dr. Thomas Ritz
FOURTH-year doctoral students
Sarah Corner
Sarah graduated from Wesleyan University in 2017 with a B.A. in psychology. Following graduation, she worked at NYU Langone Health in the department of neurology. Sarah is a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program. Her research interests focus on the development and implementation of novel treatment approaches for anxiety and mood disorders.
Mentor: Dr. Alicia Meuret
Sofia Uribe
Sofia graduated from Boston University in 2017 with a B.A. in neuroscience and psychology. As a post-bac, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at the Division of Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation at Massachusetts General Hospital. Sofia is now a PhD student in the clinical psychology graduate program. She is interested in continuing her work in the dimensional analysis of anxiety and mood disorders and translating the improved understandings into novel treatment interventions. She is also interested in promoting mental health awareness within the Hispanic community.
Mentor: Dr. Alicia Meuret
SIXTH-year doctoral student
Margot Salsman, M.A., M.S.
Margot is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. Prior to beginning at SMU, she graduated with her M.Sc. in Applied Cognition & Neuroscience from UT Dallas and worked as a Research Technician at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Margot's research interests include improved understanding of biological and physiological signatures of psychiatric disorders and their translation into novel treatments. She is also interested in the role of psychological stress and brain function in chronic illness.
Mentor: Dr. Thomas Ritz
Graduates
Anni Hasratian, Ph.D.
Anni graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.A. in psychology and from Pepperdine University with a M.A. in psychology. Following graduation, she worked at the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center in Los Angeles for four years.
Her research interests include using a transdiagnostic approach to explore psychological processes underlying symptom dimensions of anxiety, mood, and related disorders to better understand and improve treatment outcome. She completed her internship at the Washington DC VA. Anni is completing her post-doctoral fellowship at the Los Angeles VA.
Divya Kumar, Ph.D.
Divya graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2015 with a B.A. in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology. Following graduation, she worked at the UC Davis Translational Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory in Sacramento. Her research interests include understanding factors that maintain and disrupt mood processes over time, relationships between symptoms of depression (such as anhedonia) and other symptoms and psychosocial outcomes, and examining how these can be moderators of treatment outcome. She completed her internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Divya is completing her post-doctoral fellowship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Hannah Nordberg, Ph.D.
Hannah graduated from the University of Southern California in 2017 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in statistics. Her current interests include examining the influence of lifestyle factors (sleep, physical activity) on emotional, cognitive, and neural health. She is also interested in exploring the influence of chronic stress on health and investigating relations between lifestyle factors and chronic disease. She completed her internship at the Rocky Mountain VA.
Andres Roque, Ph.D.
Andres Roque graduated from Florida International University with a B.A. in psychology in 2015. Andres was a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program. His research interests broadly include studying the etiological and maintaining factors of anxiety disorders, specifically understanding how psychological and physiological mechanisms in these disorders can lead to novel treatment approaches. Andres completed his internship at the VA Boston Healthcare System. He is currently a staff psychologist at the Miami VA.
Natalie Tunnell, Ph.D.
Natalie graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2016 with a B.A. in psychology. She was a student in the clinical psychology doctoral program. Natalie's interests broadly include investigating novel treatments for anxiety and depression, as well as the biological and physiological mechanisms that assist in their development and maintenance. Natalie completed her internship in the Adult Track at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Juliet Kroll, Ph.D.
Juliet graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2010 with B.A. degrees in biology and psychology. Following graduation, she worked at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Her research interests broadly include psychoneuroimmunology and the role of stress and depression in chronic disease progression. Juliet completed her internship at UCLA Semel Institute and received her PhD in 2020. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Juliet is currently a Research Professor at University of Texas MD Anderson Center.
Chelsey Werchan, Ph.D.
Chelsey graduated from Trinity University in 2008 with a B.A. degree in psychology and from Texas State University in 2010 with a M.A. in Clinical Health Psychology. Following graduation, she spent two and a half years working in the Health Psychology Service at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Chelsey was a graduate student in the clinical psychology program. She is interested in understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, and physiological factors that influence progression and quality of life in chronic disease populations. In addition, she is interested in the development and implementation of empirically supported interventions in medical settings that influence overall patient health and care. Chelsey completed her internship at MUSC and received her PhD in 2020. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center. Chelsey is currently a staff psychologist at UTSW/Parkland Hospital.
Erica Simon, Ph.D.
Erica graduated summa cum laude from The University of Texas at Dallas in 2004 with a B.A. in psychology. She completed an internship at the Long Beach VA Medical Center in 2013 and a postdoctoral fellowship at USCD/San Diego VA Medical Center in 2014. She is currently a research associate at the Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research and the National Center for PTSD, Dissemination and Training Division. Erica is applying her research and clinical background in anxiety disorders, as well as her experience with treating PTSD in a variety of contexts, to work on projects aimed at increasing implementation of evidence-based treatments for PTSD within the VA. Erica is particularly interested in understanding how health systems work and by what means mental health care access and outcomes can be improved through innovative ideas that lead to policy change.
Noelle Smith, Ph.D.
Noelle graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in psychology. She is currently completing a 2-year post-doctoral advanced fellowship in mental illness research and treatment VA Connecticut National Center for PTSD Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry after completing her predoctoral fellowship at the Connecticut Veterans Health Administration, West Haven, CT. She is a recipient of the 2014 Beck Institute Annual Student Workshop. Noelle is particularly interested in understanding psychological and biological correlates of non-suicidal self-injury.
Ana Trueba, Ph.D.
Ana graduated from Trinity University in 2007 with a B.S. degree in neuroscience. She is interested in understanding the factors that play a role of stress and depression on immune responses and inflammation. Ana completed her internship at McLean Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Summer 2014 and held the position of Professor of Psychology at the University San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador. She is currently a staff psychologist at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School.