Current Health Psychology Ph.D. Program Graduate Student Advisees
Name: Mallory F. Fiery
Graduate Program and Track: Clinical Health Psychology, Ph.D.
Expected Graduation Year: 2017
Educational Background: B.A., Magna Cum Laude & Honors in Psychology, UNC Charlotte. M.A., Clinical Health Psychology, Appalachian State University
Research Interests: Body talk/”fat talk;” ethnic differences in body image; the self-regulation of emotion, weight, and behavior; health services administration.
Name: Abigail Hardin
Graduate Program and Track: Clinical Health Psychology, Ph.D.
Expected Graduation Year: 2016
Educational Background: B.A. in Psychology and Public Relations, University of Southern California, 2011
Research Interests: subclinical weight and eating issues, inflammation, stress and metabolic syndrome.
Name: Nadia Jafari
Graduate Program and Track: Clinical Health Psychology, Ph.D.
Expected Graduation Year: 2018
Educational Background: Stony Brook University, B.A. in Psychology, minors in Music & Health and Wellness
Research Interests: social networking websites, social comparison theory, impression management, body image, eating disorders.
Former Clinical/Community Psychology Master’s Program Graduate Student Advisees
Name: Emma Burgin
Graduation Month/Year: May 2013
Educational Background: B.A. in Dramatic Arts and B.A. in Communication Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, 2006; B.A. in Psychology from UNC-Charlotte, 2008; M.A. in Clinical/Community Psychology from UNC-Charlotte, 2013; currently a doctoral student in Counselor Education at the University of Tennessee
Research Interests: I am primarily interested in art-based therapy and interventions for adolescents and adults; I received the Shipley-Swann Graduate Fellowship at UT to help pursue my academic and research goals in widening the evidence base for such methods. Other research interests include: the etiology and treatment of eating disorders; women’s well-being; effective treatment methods of borderline personality disorder; and how participatory action research can inform service provision. I am also intrigued by projects that involve qualitative research methods. My master’s thesis – chaired by Dr. Webb and Dr. Margaret Quinlan – was an exploratory rhetorical evaluation of social support evident on pro-eating disorder web sites, an under-explored venue where people who suffer from disordered eating spend a lot of their time.
Name: Megan Agee Guidry
Graduation Month/Year: May 2013
Educational Background: B.A. in Psychology, minor in Biology; A.S. Business Administration
Research Interests: body image disturbance prevention, healthy self-esteem, perfectionism, appearance management.
Name: Alison Parrella
Graduation Month/Year: May 2013
Educational Background: BA in Psychology & Education from Wake Forest University
Research Interests: body image, self-compassion (especially mindfulness), child development (in particular, emotional validation and invalidation in childhood).
Name: Suzanne Schoenefeld
Expected Graduation Date: Clinical/Community Psychology Master’s Program in December 2013
Educational Background: B.A. in Psychology and currently in the UNC Charlotte Counseling Ph.D. program.
Research Interests: self-compassion, intuitive eating, disordered eating, mind/body connection.
Undergraduate and Post-baccalaureate Research Assistants
Name: Chesnee Daye
Major/Minor at UNC Charlotte: Psychology/Public Health
Expected Graduation: May 2014
Research Interests: body image issues, health disparities, health and well-being in vulnerable populations.
Name: Brianne Gallo
Major/Minor: Psychology/Women’s and Gender Studies
Graduation Date: May 2013; Will be attending Loyola University of Chicago in Spring 2014 to pursue a Masters in Social Work with a concentration in Family and Children Studies.
Research Interests: My goal is to become a child/adolescent counselor and my research focus is children, families, schools, and neighborhoods. More specifically I am interested in research on community programs, family functioning, mentoring programs, and extracurricular activities.
Name: Logan Hefner
Major/Minor at UNC Charlotte: Psychology/Spanish
Expected Graduation: 2014
Research Interests: mindfulness.
Name: Rickelle Mason
Major/Minor at UNC Charlotte: Psychology/Women’s and Gender Studies
Expected Graduation: 2014
Research Interests: positive psychology in the context of body image and weight stigma; the development, implementation and evaluation of programming/interventions related to: sexual stigma and health behaviors, gender-based violence prevention, and positive female adolescent development.
Name: Meghin McLemore
Major/Minor at UNC Charlotte: Psychology/Women’s and Gender Studies
Expected Graduation: May 2014
Research Interests: body image, child development & prevention and health.
Name: Lindsay Nathan
Major/Minor at UNC Charlotte: Psychology/Public Health
Expected Graduation: May 2014
Research Interests: motivation, body image, self esteem, sport and exercise.
Name: Jessica Taylor
Major/Minor at UNC Charlotte: Psychology/Cognitive Science
Expected Graduation: May 2014
Research Interests: self-compassion, especially how it relates to and can improve anxiety, body dissatisfaction, eating pathology, negative affect and other harmful behaviors, thought-patterns and emotions. Other research interests: mindfulness, health psychology, positive psychology, self-esteem versus self-compassion, media influences on (negative body image), media influences on female and male self-concepts.
Name: Whitney Tillson
Major/Minor at UNC Charlotte: Psychology/Mathematics
Expected Graduation: December 2013
Research Interests: mindfulness, body acceptance, culture and health.