Personnel

The Women’s Health Psychology lab includes graduate students in the PhD and MS programs. The lab also includes research assistants, who are usually undergraduate students in Psychology and students in Drexel's Master of Medical Science program. We will be accepting a new PhD student for Fall 2025. We will be accepting a new MS student for Fall 2025. We are also open to accepting undergraduate student volunteers as research assistants.

Pamela Geller

Pamela A. Geller, PhD

Pamela A. Geller, PhD, is a professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University, and research associate professor of obstetrics/gynecology in Drexel’s College of Medicine. Dr. Geller is currently the Director of Clinical Training and serves as the program director for Drexel's PhD program in clinical psychology. Geller has studied women’s health issues for nearly 30 years.
She received her MS and PhD in clinical psychology from Kent State University and completed a NIH postdoctoral fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology at the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. Her work focuses on the psychological aspects of events surrounding pregnancy and childbirth, such as infertility, pregnancy loss, and postpartum depression. Geller is co-founder and co-director of Mother Baby Connections, an intensive outpatient mental health program at Drexel for pregnant and postpartum women experiencing anxiety and depression and their infants. With a visiting professorship in neonatology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, she and her colleagues are addressing the experiences of parents with an infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with ongoing projects relevant to parental distress and adjustment, and nurse education.
Geller serves on the Board of Directors of the National Perinatal Association and helped develop guidelines for psychosocial support services for NICU parents. She serves on the Executive Committee of the National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP) and chairs the NNNP Research Committee. She and Drexel colleagues created the education curricula, Psychological and Medical Aspects of Pregnancy Loss (recipient of an e-ERA award from the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics; Available at: mededportal.org/publication/10240; https://webcampus.med.drexel.edu/interactive/PregLoss/module/content/index.htm). Geller is an editor of the Health Psychology volume of the Handbook of Psychology, as well as Women’s Health Psychology, both published by Wiley. She has presented her work nationally and internationally and has been featured on BBC Radio programs.
Email: pg27@drexel.edu

Doctoral Students

Sharon Ettinger

Sharon Ettinger

Sharon is a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. She received her BA in Psychology and Studio Art from Colgate University in 2018 and then worked as an Applied Behavior Analysis instructor for children with autism spectrum and other developmental disorders in New York City. From 2020-2022, she completed her MA in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University while working as a research assistant for the COVID-19 Mother-Baby Outcomes Study at Columbia University Medical Center’s Perinatal Pathways Lab. Sharon’s research takes a family systems approach to promoting maternal perinatal mental health and early child development, with a focus on early relational health. Sharon is currently completing clinical practicum rotations at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Mother Baby Connections. Outside of the lab, Sharon enjoys drawing, singing, and spending time with family and friends (and cat).
Email: sre49@drexel.edu

Leah Sodowick

Leah Sodowick, MS

Leah is a fifth-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program, currently completing her internship at Duke University Medical Center. She received her BA in Psychology from Barnard College, Columbia University in 2016 and was the Staff Research Associate at the University of California, San Francisco’s Child Trauma Research Program from 2016-2018. From 2018-2020, Leah served as a supervisor on the TALK Line, a 24/7 parental stress and support line that serves San Francisco Bay Area families. She is also a Certified Postpartum Doula. Leah’s research examines secondary traumatic stress and coping strategies in NICU nurses. Leah is currently completing practicum rotations at Cooper University Hospital and the Mother Baby Connections Program. Outside of the lab, Leah enjoys walking her dog, playing tennis, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Email: lbs66@drexel.edu

Master's Students

Caroline Hayes

Caroline Hayes

Caroline Hayes is a second-year student in the MS in Psychology program with intentions to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Caroline’s interests lie within the health psychology domain, and her research tends to explore the biopsychosocial dimensions of premenstrual disorders. Her master’s thesis investigates the psychological dimensions of premenstrual dysphoric disorder identified and/or clarified since its mood disorder designation in the DSM-5. Before pursuing a career in psychology, Caroline earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature cum laude with honors from NYU. She loves reading, writing, and baking.
Email: ch3475@drexel.edu

Kayla Layne

Kayla Layne

Kayla Layne is a first-year student in the MS in Psychology with plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of New Haven with a concentration in Forensics cum laude in 2024. Kayla's research interests focus on reproductive health, specifically addressing infertility, pregnancy loss, and related complications, as well as their effects on maternal mental health outcomes. In her free time, Kayla enjoys reading, sewing, and traveling.
Email: kl3543@drexel.edu

Research Assistants

  • Katelyn Phan
  • Nick Powers, MA
  • Tara Ramamurthy
  • Divine Thomas
  • Chelsea Breimann, MA

Collaborators

Lab Alumni