Kayla is a sixth-year doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program and completing her predoctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her research focuses on psychosocial predictors of hazardous drinking practices, as well as emotional and cognitive processes in response to alcohol-involved transgressions. She has particular interests in how these factors influence sexual aggression while intoxicated, as well as the role of bystanders in helping prevent harmful outcomes for survivors of sexual violence.

Favorite TV show: Lucifer and any reality TV

Song Title that Best Describes her Work in the E.A.R.N. Lab: “High Hopes” by Panic at the Disco

Patrick McClain is a second-year doctoral student in the experimental psychology program at the University of Arkansas. His research focuses on alcohol protective behavioral strategies, risky drinking practices (drinking games, pregaming), and drinking motives (motives for general alcohol use, motives to pregame, motives to play drinking games).

His hobbies include building computer systems, media production, and playing video games.

Song Title that Best Describes his Work in the E.A.R.N. Lab: “Coffee“ by Jack Stauber

Michael is a third-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. His research interests lie at the intersection of alcohol use, anxiety disorders, and treatment modification in situations where these constructs co-occur. His research has focused on mechanisms which foster the common comorbidity of OCD and substance misuse, as well as alcohol’s effect on extinction learning processes. Currently, he is investigating solitary drinking and the effects of social anxiety on the use of protective behavioral strategies among young adults.

Song Title that Best Describes his Work in the E.A.R.N. Lab: “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor

Banan Ramarushton is a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Denver. She teaches undergraduate courses in the Department of Psychology. Her research takes a biopsychosocial approach to understanding substance use behaviors. She is currently investigating the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.

Jennifer Merrill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. She has primarily focused on investigating the etiology and consequences of alcohol misuse among young adults, with a particular interest in the subjective evaluation of alcohol-related consequences. She is funded by NIAAA to study drinking patterns, proximal antecedents, and consequences of both high-intensity drinking and alcohol-induced blackouts among emerging adults. Dr. Merrill has expertise in qualitative methods, ecological momentary assessment, alcohol biosensors, advanced data analysis, and intervention development.

Dr. Newins received her B.A. in Psychology from Mercer University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Tech. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Durham VA Medical Center. She then worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the Mental Illness Research and Treatment fellowship program at the VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center and the Durham VA Medical Center. Following her fellowship, she worked as a Staff Psychologist in the Substance Use Disorders Clinics of the Durham VA Medical Center before joining the faculty at UCF.

Dr. Newins conducts research on the relationship between anxiety and behaviors and events that are associated with health risk. In particular, she is interested in the identification of risk factors for sexual assault victimization and alcohol misuse and the impact of adverse life events on behavioral health outcomes. She is also involved in multiple research studies on the treatment of trauma-related disorders.

Seth J. Schwartz is a Professor of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin. He was on the faculty at the University of Miami for 20 years prior to moving to Texas. His research interests are in acculturation, identity, cultural stress, well-being, and substance use (including alcohol) in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Dr. Schwartz is the author of The Savvy Academic (Oxford University Press), The Handbook of Identity Theory and Research (Springer), and The Oxford Handbook of Acculturation and Health (Oxford). His current work examines the links of cultural stress and crisis migration factors with mental health and alcohol use among Venezuelan immigrants and among Puerto Rican Hurricane Maria survivors in the United States. Dr. Schwartz is an avid sports fan (New York Yankees, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Heat, and Florida State Seminoles) and has completed 54 half marathons. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married for 23 years and have 2 young adult daughters.

Amanda George is an Associate Professor in the Discipline of Psychology at the University of Canberra (on Ngunnawal country) in Australia. Her research focuses on risk-taking behaviours among young/emerging adults (especially mobile phone use while driving and alcohol use/consequences). She is particularly interested in drinking game (DG) behaviours, motivations for drinking/DGs and examining the influence of such factors when examining personality/social anxiety with drinking behaviours.

Dr. Kasey Van Hedger is a postdoctoral fellow in psychology and neuroscience at Western University in London, Ontario (Canada). She was a research mentee and honor’s thesis student with Dr. Byron Zamboanga as an undergraduate at Smith College. Dr. Van Hedger earned her PhD at the University of Chicago working with Drs. Kimberly Rios (social psychology) and Greg Norman (social neuroscience/psychophysiology) and completed a previous postdoctoral fellowship in the Human Behavioral Pharmacology Lab of Dr. Harriet de Wit. As a current postdoctoral fellow with BrainsCAN, Dr. Van Hedger conducts studies examining the structure and function of the striatum using 3T and 7T MRI. Her daily activities involve interacting with patients with Parkinson’s disease and patients with psychiatric disorders like alcohol use disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.