Lab Principal Investigator
Craig Rodriguez-Seijas, PhD
Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan
Email: [email protected]
Craig Rodriguez-Seijas was born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of the West Indies, graduate training at Stony Brook University, and a predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University. His interests include mentoring students & researching variables related to stigma, discrimination, and societal prejudice.
Lab Manager
Lindsey Gibb, B.S
Email: [email protected]
Lindsey Gibb graduated from Central Michigan University in 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology and French and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. Her interests include disparities in sexual fulfillment among women and sexual and gender minorities, as well as perpetuation and psychosocial health consequences of stigma toward marginalized populations. In the future, she intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Social or Clinical Psychology and is dedicated to an academic career focused on feminist psychology.
Graduate Students
Shayan Asadi, M.S
Email: [email protected]
Shayan Asadi is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the Clinical Science area at the University of Michigan. He received his B.A. from York University in 2019, and his M.S. from the University of Michigan in 2023. Shayan’s program of research examines how social contexts affect psychopathology processes and measurement in minoritized populations. In Shayan’s previous work, he has examined how item-level measurement biases can influence categorical (Asadi et al., 2025, Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science) and dimensional psychopathology (Asadi et al., 2024, Assessment). He will be extending this work to longitudinal designs to disentangle ‘true’ dimensional psychopathology disparities from measurement bias. Shayan is a advanced practicum student at the Early Psychosis Program seeing adolescents and adults for individual psychotherapy; he was previously at the Bipolar Clinic at Michigan Medicine for two years. Shayan will be applying for clinical psychology internship this year.
Anthony Oliveira, M.A
Email: [email protected]
Anthony Oliveira is a second-year graduate student with a fervent interest in assessment bias, stigma, and transdiagnostic models of psychopathology. He wants to investigate these phenomena as they relate to intersectionality and demographics which are traditionally underrepresented in social science research.
Noor Khalaf, B.A
Email: [email protected]
Noor Khalaf is a first-year doctoral student in the clinical science program. Her research interest is broadly focused on marginalization (particularly intersectional marginalization). She aims to improve current understanding of (1) underlying mechanisms of marginalization that lead to and maintain psychopathology and (2) improve the measurement of such mechanisms and their outcomes.
Brody Mantha, LMSW-C
Email: [email protected]
Brody Mantha is a second-year joint doctoral student in Social Work and Clinical Science at the University of Michigan. Brody focuses on trauma and behaviors related to traumatic experiences. They are interested in understanding the influence of discrimination and marginalization on psychopathology and understanding how discrimination may present itself as a trauma reaction. Brody aims to translate research into policy, intervention, and advocacy.
Research Assistants
Amanda Walker
Email: [email protected]
Amanda Walker is a graduate from UofM with a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience. Her research interests focus on the role of environmental factors, such as trauma, and its relationship to our cognitive choices and decisions. After graduation, she plans on eventually pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Amira Torangan
Email: [email protected]
Amira is a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in English. She is currently working on her honors thesis researching how concealment and disclosure processes in LGBTQ+ development relate to new personality disorder criteria. After graduation, she hopes to be admitted to an MSW program and later become a therapist working with young adults.
Ava Esmael
Email: [email protected]
Ava Esmael is a senior majoring in Public Health Sciences and minoring in Middle East Studies. She is interested in researching minority stress processes and the impacts of marginalization on health outcomes. In the future, Ava plans to pursue an MPH and continue conducting research using an evidence-based and culturally responsive approach.
Mikaela Robbins
Email: [email protected]
Mikaela Robbins is a junior double majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) and Cognitive Science, with a minor in French. Her research interests focus on how experiences of stigma, specifically internalized stigma, are related to suicide outcomes in gender and sexual minoritiy populations. In the future, she hopes to pursue graduate studies in neuroscience and/or clinical psychology.
Allison McGovern
Email: [email protected]
Allison McGovern is a junior majoring in Psychology and planning to minor in Classical Languages and Literature. She is interested in the effects of stigma on mental health and substance use. Allison plans to pursue a career in psychology and continue to do clinical psychology research.
Elia Garcia
Email: [email protected]
Elia Garcia is a junior currently enrolled in the college of LSA. She is double majoring in Psychology and Sociology, with a submajor in Law, Justice, and Social Change within the Sociology major. She is interested in research pertaining to minority mental health. She plans to pursue a doctorate in order to become a forensic psychologist.
Sarah Elisa Diaz Perdomo
Email: [email protected]
Sarah Elisa Diaz Perdomo is a senior currently pursuing a major in Psychology and minors in Healthcare Reform & Innovation and Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a research assistant in the SPLAT Lab through the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP). She is interested in the role of identity and interpersonal relationships in mental health outcomes. After graduation, she hopes to earn a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Jalyne Wise
Email: [email protected]
Jalyne Wise is a senior studying Psychology at Johns Hopkins University. She became an undergraduate research assistant in the SPLAT lab though the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) at the Rackham Graduate School. Her interests include minority stress processes and their associated coping strategies.
Past Lab Members
Cos Mazareanu
Email: [email protected]
Cosmin Mazareanu graduated from UofM with a double major Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies. They are interested in the study of psychopathology as it relates to stigmatized identities and the unique experiences of minorities as a means to better understand the care they need and deserve. Cosmin is now attending the University of Chicago to obtain their Masters in Social Work.
Hunter Baldwin
Email: [email protected]
Hunter Baldwin is a senior Psychology major with minors in Spanish and LGBTQ+ studies in the college of LSA. He is a research assistant in the SPLAT lab through the Student Opportunities for AIDS/HIV Research (SOAR) program, and is currently working on his Honors Thesis. He is interested in studying topics related to gender and sexual minorities, identity development, stigma, and the intersection between Women and Gender Studies and Psychology. After graduation, he hopes to be admitted to a Ph.D. program where he can continue his research career in social psychology.
Kailah Hawkins
Email: [email protected]
Kailah is a senior studying Global and Community Public Health with a minor in French and is a researcher in the Student Opportunities for Aids/HIV Research (SOAR). During her time in the SPLAT Lab, she researched the intersection of racial socialization and SGM identity to understand their impacts on internalized stigma. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a Master’s of Public Health with a concentration in Global Public Health or Global Epidemiology.
Nicole Kodkany
Email: [email protected]
Nic majored in Psychology and minored in Business and engaged with the SPLAT Lab for 2 years before graduating. She has continued her research experience at UPenn’s Center for Psychotherapy as a full-time Research Coordinator. Nic hopes to attain her PhD in clinical psychology and someday own a clinical practice that primarily serves underrepresented communities.
Julia Marku
Email: [email protected]
Julia Marku is a senior Psychology major with a minor in LGBTQ and Sexuality Studies. Her research interests include exploring the relationship between stigma and mental health of sexual and ethnic minorities. Julia aspires to one day receive a Ph.D. in the field of clinical psychology and would like to specialize in working with minorities and otherwise marginalized communities.
Erica Yeoh
Email: [email protected]
Erica Yeoh attained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan. She is interested in research that explores the relationship between minority stress, childhood and adolescent trauma, and mental health outcomes. In the future, Erica plans to attend graduate school to obtain her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Eden Yu
Email: [email protected]
Eden Yu is a senior double majoring in Psychology and Asian Studies with a minor in LGBTQ+ Studies. They are currently working on their Honors Thesis researching gentrification in LGBTQ+ spaces and how LGBTQ+ spaces implicitly and explicitly exclude people based on race. After graduation they are hoping to be admitted to an MSW program and begin practicing as a therapist in queer and Asian-American communities.
Lauren Penrose
Email: [email protected]
Since graduating, Lauren has been working as the psychology assistant at Bradley Hospital’s Child Partial Hospitalization Program administering clinical assessments, working with the patients on the unit, and coordinating research projects, amongst other duties. She also recently joined Dr. Tampke’s Trauma and Behavior Lab at Brown University as a research assistant helping with a multi-phase intervention targeting aggression and teen dating violence within psychiatric hospitalized youth.
Maram Faqqouseh
Email: [email protected]
Maram Faqqouseh is a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Gender & Health. She is interested in research that focuses on the mental health and psychopathology of marginalized populations. In the future, she hopes to continue studying clinical or developmental psychology.
Anita Shubert
Email: [email protected]
Anita Shubert is an undergraduate research assistant through the Student Opportunities for AIDS/HIV Research (SOAR) Program. She is a senior double majoring in Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies. They are especially interested in research pertaining to mental health and marginalized communities. In the future, Anita hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in the social sciences
Anjali Prachand
Email: [email protected]
Anjali Prachand is a senior studying Psychology with minors in Community Action and Social Change and Gender and Health. She is interested in examining diagnosis, as well as the intersections between mental health, sexual health, attachment, and marginalization. In the future, Anjali hopes to pursue a Master’s in Social Work and become an AASECT-certified sex therapist.
George Esteve
Email: [email protected]
George Esteve is a junior at the University of Michigan studying Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience on the pre-medical path. He’s interested in the intersections of psychological therapeutics and the business & economics of healthcare. In particular, he’s interested in examining the issues pertaining to the economic access to equitable mental health and psychiatric treatment for LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as the economic barriers present in pursuing higher education for LGBTQ+ people. After graduation, he plans to pursue an MD/MBA
Daniel Silva
Email: [email protected]
Daniel Silva is a Junior studying Psychology with a double minor in LGBTQ+ studies and Community Action and Social Change. He is interested in researching the mental health and wellness of minority groups. In the future, he hopes to receive his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and become a therapist for queer-identifying youth.
