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

Micah Johnson
Ph.D. in Sociology
Research Area: Substance misuse prevention and treatment; Psychological trauma; Pediatric health disparity populations; mixed research methods.
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’s later performance in kindergarten

Lana Yampolskaya

Dr. Lana Yampolskaya
Ph.D. in Sociology
Research Areas: Child maltreatment, child welfare, children’s 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