Lab Director
Dr. Leah Richmond-Rakerd
Associate Professor of Psychology
I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a Minor in Psychological Statistics and Methods from the University of Missouri. I completed my clinical internship at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and completed postdoctoral training at Duke University, supported by a fellowship from the NICHD through the Carolina Consortium on Human Development.
My research centers on emotional and behavioral dysregulation across the lifespan. Through my work, I aim to build knowledge about the origins, mechanisms, and outcomes of self-regulation difficulties. I am particularly interested in the development of disinhibitory disorders (substance use disorders and antisocial behavior) and associated health-risk behaviors, including suicide and self-harm. I also have a growing line of research on the implications of self-regulation difficulties for processes of aging and inequalities in population health. I use a range of study designs in my research, including genetically-informative, longitudinal, and nationwide administrative-register approaches.
Graduate Students
Lara Khalifeh
Lara is a sixth-year student in the Clinical Science PhD program. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Earlham College and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Dayton. During her time at the University of Dayton, she developed an interest in understanding the origins and mechanisms of externalizing symptoms, using genetically-informative, longitudinal designs. She plans on pursuing such interests and expanding them by examining prospective associations from early emotional and behavioral dysregulation to later health outcomes. Lara hopes to leverage her research to inform relevant points of intervention and policy changes.
Kallisse Dent
Kallisse Dent is a fifth-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program. She received both her B.S. in Neuroscience and M.P.H. in Global Health Epidemiology from the University Michigan. Prior to returning to the University of Michigan for her PhD, Kallisse was an epidemiologist for Veteran Health Administration’s Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center, supporting suicide surveillance and program evaluation. She is interested in exploring mental health and suicide prevention in older adulthood, with specific interests in the role of physical health diagnoses and ageism.
Sydney Adams
Sydney is a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. She completed her B.S. in psychology at Indiana University and then spent two years there as a research assistant, where she used health claims data to study real-world patterns, risks, and benefits of ADHD treatment. This experience sparked her interest in using prospective longitudinal studies and population-level administrative data to examine the processes that contribute to psychopathology and related health outcomes across the lifespan. Sydney is excited to explore these questions here at UMich and hopes her work will help inform interventions at the individual, community, and policy levels.
Undergraduate Research Assistants and Honors Students
Joshua Jargowsky
Joshua is an honors student interested in clinical psychology as it relates to public health and life outcomes. After graduation, he hopes to continue exploring in a graduate program. In his free time, Joshua enjoys reading and spending time with his cat.
Yasmine Chugh
Yasmine is a senior majoring in Psychology and Program in the Environment. She is particularly interested in clinical psychology and public health, especially as it relates to environmental factors and exposures. After graduation, she hopes to attend graduate school in a similar field. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors and hanging out with her roommates and her cat.
Lab Manager
Erin Burns
Erin received both her B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Psychology Research Methods from the University of Virginia, where she studied gender disparities in early behavioral predictors of later cognitive decline. Their current research interests include longitudinal outcomes of externalizing behaviors in childhood, and how dimensional models of psychopathology such as HiTOP can improve treatment outcomes in clinical settings, particularly for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. In their free time, Erin performs with Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, and enjoys singing, playing guitar, and playing with her cat.
Collaborators
Dr. Signe Hald Andersen
Chief of Interventions and Research Professor, Rockwool Foundation Interventions Unit
Our lab collaborates with Dr. Andersen on projects using population-based administrative data from Denmark. More information about Dr. Andersen and her work can be found here.
Dr. Barry Milne
Director, Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences (COMPASS), University of Auckland
Our lab collaborates with Dr. Milne on projects using population-based administrative data from New Zealand. More information about Dr. Milne and his work can be found here.
Dr. Stephanie D’Souza
Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland and Deputy Director, COMPASS
Our lab collaborates with Dr. D’Souza on projects using population-based administrative data from New Zealand. More information about Dr. D’Souza and her work can be found here.
Lab Alumni
Mela Binford
Mela was an undergraduate research assistant. She is continuing her studies as a double-major in Psychology and Women & Gender Studies, and plans to pursue a Psy.D. in psychology.
Elizabeth Kolias
Elizabeth was an undergraduate honors student in the lab. Elizabeth is currently obtaining a Master’s in Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.
Erin Wang
Erin was an undergraduate research assistant who completed a senior research project with the lab. She is currently obtaining her PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Michigan.
Bella Gottlieb
Bella was an undergraduate research assistant. She is currently obtaining her Master’s in Social Work at the University of Chicago.
Rachel Hsu
Rachel was the lab manager for the Psychopathology, Population Health, and Genetics Laboratory from 2022-2024. She is currently obtaining a PhD in Psychology at UT Austin.
Monica Iyer
Monica was an undergraduate honors student with the lab. She was awarded the W.B. Pillsbury Prize for outstanding research for her honors thesis, “Longitudinal associations of infections with dementia: 30-year analysis in 3.5 million New Zealand citizens.” Monica is currently obtaining a Master’s of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Kaitlin Prakken
Kaitlin was the lab manager for the Psychopathology, Population Health, and Genetics Laboratory from 2020-2022. She is currently obtaining a Master of Public Health degree with a focus in health policy at Johns Hopkins University.