Past Members

 

Diadora Finley-Abboud, B.S.
Diadora Abboud is a NIDA funded Post-Bachelor Research Fellow at the Recovery Research Institute (RRI) at Massachusetts General Hospital. She graduated from Worcester State University where she received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology. At the RRI, she works under Dr. Bettina Hoeppner on many projects including the R24 to advance the science on Recovery Community Centers across the nation. Diadora’s interest include biostatistics, mHealth technology, addiction and addiction services, and public health disparities in minoritized groups. She plans to pursue a PhD in Experimental, Quantitative, or Clinical Psychology.  

Susanne Hoeppner, Ph.D.
Susanne S. Hoeppner, Ph.D., M.Ap.Stat, joined the research team in 2013 and is a co-investigator for the “Smiling instead of Smoking” positive psychology app intervention trial for nondaily smokers.  She is also currently a biostatistician and epidemiologist at the OCD and Related Disorders Program and an Assistant Investigator in Psychology (Psychiatry) at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hoeppner received her Ph.D. in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences and her Master in Applied Statistics from Louisiana State University and conducted three years of post-doctoral research in climate change ecology at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Purdue University. With more than 12 years of experience in research and clinical investigation, she has extensive training and expertise in experimental design, statistical analysis and simulation modeling. Dr. Hoeppner’s clinical interests are in dynamic health behavior modeling and positive psychology. She has served as the principal statistician on pivotal trials approved by the FDA and has designed and analyzed Phase I-III studies in addiction, psychiatry, and psychology. She also has ample experience setting up, updating, and overseeing the use of electronic data capture forms as implemented via REDCap, having designed and managed such databases for several single- and multi-site clinical trials at MGH, and she routinely trains and advises research assistants, data managers, and clinical staff on principles of good clinical practice.

Alli Futter
Alli joined the team in February 2021 and is studying at Trinity College, CT to get her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science. She worked on the positive psychology app for nondaily smokers and assisting with screening procedures, the R24 study, “Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers”, and coded qualitative data. Alli’s research interests include understanding the etiology of disorders and behavioral interventions for such. She plans to pursue her honors thesis on the positive psychology app for college student looking to quit vaping. After college, she plans to get more research experience and purse a master’s degree in Psychology.

Alivia Williamson
Alivia joined the team in October 21 as an undergraduate research intern for the “Smiling Instead of Smoking” study. She is entering her second year on the team and is currently working on “Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers” projects, which include the monthly seminar series and a nationwide survey of RCCs. She will graduate from Boston University in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology. Alivia is interested in forensic psychology and she plans to attend graduate school and pursue a Ph.D. in forensic or clinical psychology.

Lindsay Jacobson
Lindsay joined the team as an undergraduate research intern in July of 2022. She is a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst pursuing a B.S in Psychology and a minor in Music. Her research interests lie within the areas of addiction, mood disorders, forensic psychology, and social psychology. She plans on pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology after graduation.

Lili Massac
Lili joined as a clinical research intern in August of 2022. She is studying at Williams College and will graduate in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. Her research interests include the long-term effects of early substance exposure and the ways that substance use disorders interact with other clinical disorders. After graduation, she plans to gain more research experience, then pursue a career in mental health care and research.

Behnam Heydarshahi
Behnam joined the team in June 2022. He is excited for the opportunity to work on socially impactful research projects. He is a graduate of the MS program in computer science at Tufts University. He works as a software engineer at Google. He helps the team through writing programs and applications that gather and analyze data about mHealth apps. He is working on a research project that aims to identify the availability and accessibility of opioid addiction recovery apps. His current goal is to learn and develop mHealth research skills at our lab. In the future he intends to combine his research skills with concepts from his academic background such as machine learning and data science to lead research projects focusing on health and social equality.

Past Team Members

Kaitlyn Siegel, B.A.
Katie joined the team in July of 2020 after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Amherst College with a B.A. in Psychology. She is currently the team’s Clinical Research Coordinator II, coordinating the Smiling Instead of Smoking Study and the Positive Psychology Therapy for Smoking Study. Katie’s interests include the use of positive psychology and technology as mechanisms to promote behavioral change. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. 

Catherine Leonard
Catherine joined the team as an undergraduate research intern. She is currently studying biology and psychology as an Honors student at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. Her interests include addiction, abnormal psychology, community interventions and the use of technology in relation to mental health. In the coming years, Catherine plans on attending medical school to become a psychiatrist. She assisted on many projects within the lab including the R24 “Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers” study which highlights the importance of Recovery Community Centers for those looking for support with various substances.

Esther Konadu, B.S.
Esther joined the team in October 2021 as an undergraduate research intern during her senior year at Worcester State University. As an intern, Esther worked on the “Smiling Instead of Smoking” study. After graduating cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology, Esther is attending Assumption University pursing her Masters degree and working as a behavior technician. In the future, she plans to pursue a PsyD in Clinical Psychology.

Hazel Simpson, B.A.
Hazel joined the research team in September of 2020 after graduating from Bates College with a B.A. in Psychology. She is currently the Clinical Research Coordinator for the R24 study, “Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers”. Hazel’s interests include the use of technology and the Internet to          promote behavior change. She is also interested in substance use disorders and suicidality. Hazel plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Ross Sonnenblick, B.A.
After graduating from Tufts University in 2020, Ross worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at MGH for two years. During that time, he volunteered with Dr. Hoeppner’s research team for a year and a half. He is starting his PhD in clinical psychology at Drexel University in the fall of 2022. At Drexel, he hopes to apply his interests in positive psychology and technology-based interventions to the treatment of eating disorders

Nur Akpolat
Nur joined the team in September 2021 as an undergraduate research intern and is studying at Tufts University, MA to get her B.S. in Biopsychology and Economics. As an intern, Nur worked on the “Quitting Nondaily Smoking Research Study” and assisted with the screening procedures. In the future she plans to get more research experience and pursue a PhD degree in the field of psychology..

Baby Lenga Kalemba
Baby Lenga Kalemba is a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Boston who is majoring in Exercise and Health Sciences (pre-med). She joined the team in June 2020 as an App rater and research intern from the UMASS Boston-DF/HCC REC program. She is currently one of the research team’s interns assisting with the SiS3 study tasks. Baby is interested in cancer health care disparities, and is curious to learn more about the integration between positive psychology and mobile health technologies in improving quality of life. She plans to attend medical school after graduation and pursue her goal of becoming a physician-scientist.

Molly Raddant, B.A. 
Molly oined the team in January of 2021 as an undergraduate research intern and has since transitioned into a Clinical Research Coordinator role. She recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston University with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in French. She primarily works on the Smiling Instead of Smoking and the Positive Psychology Therapy for Smoking Studies. Molly’s interests broadly include Health Psychology, substance use, mechanisms of behavioral change, and chronic pain. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Hannah Carlon, B.S. 
Hannah joined the team in September 2017 as an undergraduate research intern. She graduated from Suffolk University in May of 2018 with a B.S. in psychology and a minor in sociology. She is a former Clinical Research Coordinator on both the Smiling Instead of Smoking Study and the Positive Psychology Therapy for Smoking Study. Hannah is currently a third-year Clinical Psychology PhD student at the University of New Mexico, where she researches the application of positive psychology and mindfulness to addiction recovery and harm reduction. 

Melissa Schick, B.S.
Melissa oined the team in March 2014 after graduating from Suffolk University in May 2013 with a B.S. in Psychology and Minor in Mathematics and Foundational Education. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Substance Use Prevention at the Yale School of Medicine Division of Prevention and Community Research. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with concentrations in Multicultural Psychology from the University of Rhode Island after completing her clinical internship at the Charleston Consortium (Medical University of South Carolina/Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center). Her research focuses on the role of affective processes, most notably positive affective processes, in the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of substance use. She has a particular interest in substance use-related health disparities and inequities, and is dedicated to conducting research to consider how those inequities should be considered in substance use treatment and research.

Giselle Perez, Ph.D.
Dr. Giselle K. Perez is an Instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a staff psychologist in the Behavioral Medicine Service at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Perez received her Ph.D. in Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Connecticut, during which time she dedicated a portion of her time to teaching and mentoring graduate students and undergraduate researchers. Her research broadly focuses on cancer prevention and outcomes research, with a special emphasis on multicultural issues and health disparities research. Dr. Perez is strongly committed to identifying innovative solutions to improve health care equity, quality, and outcomes among vulnerable, underserved and minority groups. She has received a number of awards and funding from the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, and the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. Clinically, Dr. Perez specializes in working with cancer patients and survivors to improve coping with the post-treatment transition period, manage stress and anxiety symptoms, and promote health behavior change (e.g., tobacco treatment).

Melinda Ippolito Morrill, Ph.D.
Melinda joined the team in September 2017, after completing a two-year NRSA T32 post-doctoral fellowship in Biological and Social/Developmental Psychiatry at MGH. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who focuses on intergenerational, family-based intervention and observational research. After completing her PhD at Clark University in 2014, she joined MGH to focus on two lines of research. The first one investigates the assessment and impact of childhood adversity on later life health and well-being. Her second research area develops technology-based interventions targeting the interpersonal relationships and social connectedness of at-risk caregivers. Her career goal is to develop effective, far-reaching, and sustainable interventions to protect the psychosocial and physical health of vulnerable individuals and families.

Adrian Lambert
Adrian graduated from Suffolk University in December 2017. He is a Biology major with hopes of going to medical school or a graduate program in the biological sciences to further his knowledge in biology and/or health related sciences.

Connor Milligan
Connor joined the team in September 2016. He graduated from Suffolk University in 2018, where he majored in psychology with minors in biology and history. He plans to further his education by attending graduate school for either clinical psychology or public health.

Katelyn Peters
Katelyn was a member of the team during the summer of 2016. She is a recent graduate of Suffolk University where she earned a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. After graduating in August 2016, she planned to take a gap year before attending graduate schoolto further her education in forensic psychology.

Lourah Kelly
Lourah Kelly, Ph.D. was a graduate research assistant for Dr. Hoeppner’s team from August 2013 to December 2015. She earned her Ph.D. Clinical Psychology at Suffolk University in 2019, followed by completing her clinical internship at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Priority Behavioral Health consortium, and an NIAAA-funded T32 postdoctoral fellowship at UConn School of Medicine. She is an early career researcher at UConn School of Medicine and was awarded a K99/R00 by NIAAA in 2022. Her K99 is focused on developing an avatar-guided mobile health intervention for emerging adults with alcohol use problems and suicidal thoughts, to be delivered within the emergency department. The R00 phase will include testing the usability and feasibility of this novel intervention, and examine within-person changes in same-day drinking and suicidal thoughts via daily diary and ecological momentary assessments. Dr. Kelly’s career goal is to be an independent clinical researcher, focused on testing, refining, and implementing mobile health interventions for young people with substance use problems.

Alexandra Miller
Ally was a member of our team as an undergraduate research assistant from September 2015 until May 2016. She is currently a senior at Suffolk University, where she is in the Honors program and is pursuing a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Communication Studies. While at Suffolk, she has worked with faculty on a research project examining children’s anxiety in the classroom. After she graduates in May 2016, she hopes to continue on to graduate school to further her learning in the field of psychology.

Jacqueline Medina
Jacqueline joined the team as an undergraduate research assistant in September of 2015. She is currently a senior at Suffolk University where she is pursuing a B.S in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. While at Suffolk, she has worked with faculty on a research project examining body image and eating patterns in adults. After graduating in May of 2016, she plans to attend graduate school in hopes of furthering her education in clinical psychology.

Gwyneth Wu
Gwyneth was a member of our team from July 2013 until December 2015. She is a doctoral candidate in education and mental health at Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on etiology, prevention and treatment of psychiatric illnesses – posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and depression. In the past, she was involved in research projects on attention bias modification (ABM) training for socially anxious individuals and emotional processing in depressed patients. Currently, Gwyneth is working on her dissertation that examines the heightened mental health issues among college students. Gwyneth holds a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in life sciences from the University of Toronto.