WELL Center Graduate Students

PhD Students


	Michael Berry mpb334@drexel.edu Michael Berry is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Evan Forman, PhD. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Yale University and worked as a research technician at Massachusetts General Hospital for two years prior to joining the WELL Center. He earned a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Drexel University in 2021. His research interests center on optimizing behavioral coaching and technology-based lifestyle modification treatments, especially through use of intervention tailoring (e.g., assigning personalized or adaptive goals).
	Reena Chabria rsc69@drexel.edu Reena Chabria is a first-year doctoral student working under the mentorship of Meghan Butryn, Ph.D. After graduating from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience, Reena worked as a clinical research coordinator at the Cancer Outcomes Research and Education Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research interests focus on exploring how psychosocial factors and social determinants of health (SDOH) influence the health outcomes of patients with chronic illnesses. She is also interested in exploring the use of behavioral interventions to promote healthy behavior change and increase the accessibility of care.
	Christina Chwyl cmc646@drexel.edu Christina Chwyl is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Dr. Evan Forman. Her current research interests focus on how day-to-day changes in emotions and social relationships affect health and wellbeing. Prior to joining Drexel University, Christina received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Stanford University, and then worked as a research coordinator at Portland Psychotherapy studying the interpersonal effects of emotions.
	Kelsey Clark kelsey.clark@drexel.edu Kelsey Clark is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Kelsey worked as a laboratory coordinator at the University of Kansas Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors before beginning her graduate studies. Kelsey’s research explores how treatments can better target emotion-related mechanisms that maintain eating pathology, and how to ensure that such advances in eating disorders treatment are effectively implemented in routine clinical practice. She is particularly interested in psychotherapies that target experiential avoidance, such as exposure- and acceptance-based interventions, and in improving clinician education in evidence-based practices.
	Nikki Crane nvt24@drexel.edu Nikki Crane is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Meghan Butryn, PhD. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia in 2014. After graduation, Nikki moved to Michigan where she worked as a research assistant at Wayne State University and also volunteered in the Food Addiction Science and Treatment Lab at the University of Michigan. Her research interests surround health-behavior decision making, including factors that impact engagement in physical activity, food choice and other weight maintenance behaviors. She is also interested in how aspects of our food environment influence weight management and the implications that has for public health.
	Laura D'Adamo lad374@drexel.edu Laura D’Adamo is a first-year doctoral student working under the mentorship of Drs. Stephanie Manasse and Adrienne Juarascio. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2018 with a BA in Psychology. After graduating, she worked as a research coordinator at the Drexel University WELL Center. Her research interests focus on using technology to improve interventions for eating disorders, identifying predictors of treatment engagement and outcome, and using novel strategies to disseminate evidence-based digital interventions from research to practice.
	Marny Ehmann mme52@drexel.edu Marny Ehmann is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Meghan Butryn, PhD. She received her BA in Psychology and Global French Studies from Hope College in 2019 and worked as a research technician for two years at the University of Michigan prior to joining Drexel. Her research interests are primarily focused on targeting lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity, through behavioral interventions to reduce disease risk and investigating the role of social support in health behavior change.
	Christina Felonis cf687@drexel.edu Christina Felonis is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Theater from Bates College in 2017, she worked as the research coordinator for The Renfrew Center's network of eating disorder treatment facilities. Her research interests include elucidating affective and reward maintenance mechanisms in binge eating, and enhancing treatments for eating disorders through the use of technology.
	Emma Jennings ej455@drexel.edu Emma Jennings is a first-year doctoral student working under the mentorship of Meghan Butryn, PhD. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology & Society from Cornell University and later completed the Psychology Postbac Program at Columbia University. After graduation, Emma worked as a research coordinator at Columbia University Medical Center and NYU Langone Health, where she assisted with various studies investigating treatments (e.g. exercise, mindfulness-based interventions, Cannabidiol) for primary anxiety disorders. She is interested in the bidirectional relationship between mental and physical health and in behavioral interventions that promote wellness and positive lifestyle modifications in medical populations.
	Elizabeth Lampe ewl34@drexel.edu Elizabeth Lampe is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Stephanie Manasse, PhD. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and French from Bucknell University in 2018 and her Master's degree in Psychology from Drexel University in 2020. Prior to starting the PhD program at Drexel, Elizabeth worked under the supervision of Stephanie Manasse, PhD and Evan Forman, PhD on several funded clinical trials as a research coordinator and MS student. Her research interests include novel treatment development for eating disorders, particularly those targeting adolescents and athletes, and understanding affective processes maintaining binge eating and compensatory behaviors.
	Jianyi Liu jl4528@drexel.edu Jianyi Liu is a first-year doctoral student working under the mentorship of Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. She earned her BS degree in clinical psychology from University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 2020, where she worked as a research assistant at UCSD Eating Disorder Center. Then in 2021, she graduated with an MA in clinical psychology from Northwestern University, where she worked as a graduate research assistant at Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies. After graduating, she worked as a program coordinator in a psychiatric unit for treatment and research in China. Jianyi's research interests include testing and developing novel eating disorder treatment to improve patients' long-term outcome maintenance, and also improving access to proper care for eating disorder population.
	Hannah McCausland hcm44@drexel.edu Hannah McCausland is a first-year Ph.D. student working under the mentorship of Dr. Evan Forman. She received her BS in public health and her minor in economics from Drexel University in 2020 and her Master's degree in Psychology from Drexel University in 2023. Her current research interests include long-term health behavior change, specifically related to the treatment and prevention of overweight/obesity. She is also interested in research related to co-morbid conditions (e.g., depression) of eating and weight disorders, social determinants of health, and the role these determinants/conditions may play in the treatment of weight and eating disorders.
	Emily Presseller ekp55@drexel.edu Emily Presseller is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. She graduated in 2018 from Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Psychology and English. After graduating, she worked as a research coordinator at the Drexel University WELL Center. Emily’s research interests include illness trajectory, predictors of relapse and recovery, and evaluating treatment efficacy in eating disorder.
	Laura Rubino lgr44@drexel.edu Laura is a first-year clinical psychology doctoral student working under the mentorship of Dr. Stephanie Manasse. Laura graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a BA in Psychology. After graduation, she worked with Dr. Eric Stice for two years at Stanford University, where she coordinated a study investigating risk factors of Anorexia and Bulimia, as well as a study testing an eating disorder prevention program for individuals with Type 1 Diabetes. Laura is interested in the effectiveness of improving positive affect and encouraging behavioral activation in helping to reduce engagement in eating pathology. She is particularly interested in how improving positive affect might prevent people from engaging in restriction. She is also interested in how machine learning can help improve the classification of eating disorders.
	Ross Sonnenblick rs3725@drexel.edu Ross Sonnenblick is a first-year doctoral student working under the mentorship of Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. He graduated from Tufts University in 2020 with a BA in Psychology. After that, he worked for two years as a research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital. Ross is interested in incorporating positive psychology and brief, technology-based interventions into the treatment of disordered eating.
	Jasmine Sun jus324@drexel.edu Jasmine is a second-year doctoral student under the mentorship of Dr. Evan Forman. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019 and then acted as a research coordinator at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her research interests include the use of games for promoting health, and the mediators and moderators of such effects. She is also interested in the gamification of existing therapies or treatments.
	Lauren Taylor lct42@drexel.edu Lauren Taylor is a first-year doctoral student working under the mentorship of Evan Forman, PhD. In 2020, she graduated with honors from Lehigh University with a BA in Psychology and Health, Medicine, and Society. After graduating, she worked as a research coordinator at the Drexel University WELL Center. Lauren’s primary research interests are focused on developing and improving treatments for obesity and eating disorders.
	Claire Trainor cmt389@drexel.edu Claire Trainor is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Stephanie Manasse, PhD and Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. She completed her BA in Psychology and English at DePaul University in 2018. After graduating, Claire worked as a research coordinator at the University of California, San Francisco Eating Disorders Program where she coordinated a treatment trial and the clinic's research program. Claire's research interests include novel treatment development, emotion-regulation mechanisms, and eating disorders in underrepresented populations.
	Megan Wilkinson mlm582@drexel.edu Megan Wilkinson is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. She received her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology with a minor in Addiction and Recovery from the University of Alabama. After graduating, she worked as a research coordinator at the Drexel University WELL Center. Her research interests are primarily focused on co-occurring substance use disorders in individuals with eating disorders.
	Olivia Wons obw23@drexel.edu Olivia Wons is a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Adrienne Juarascio, PhD. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Public Health from American University in 2017. Prior to starting at Drexel, Olivia spent two years working as a clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Eating Disorders and Clinical Research Program. Olivia’s research interests are focused on understanding the relationship between exercise and eating disorder pathology and studying eating disorders in athletes. She is particularly interested in exploring exercise motives in eating disorders and the overlapping mechanisms between anxiety, eating disorders, and exercise pathology.

MS Students


	Hannah Dart hed52@drexel.edu Hannah Dart is originally from Australia, and has also lived in China and Toledo, Ohio. She attended Southern Methodist University where she was a varsity rower, and majored in Applied Physiology and Health Management and English. Through the Applied Physiology major, she became interested in health behaviors and health promotion, and is particularly interested in the utilization of technology to improve compliance to health recommendations. She has worked in SMU’s Health Psychology and Anxiety and Depression labs on mindfulness, and depression and gait studies. She enjoys reading, playing video games, hiking, baking, writing and reading.
	Karly Derrigo ked348@drexel.edu Karly is a second-year MS student working under the mentorship of Drs. Erica LaFata and Meghan Butryn. She attended The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she graduated with a bachelor's in science in psychology and a concentration in neuroscience. After graduation, she worked as a mental health counselor at an eating disorder clinic, where she became interested in disordered eating behaviors. Her research interests focus on food addiction and binge eating behaviors.
	Alyssa Giannone arg349@drexel.edu Alyssa Giannone is a first-year MS student working under the mentorship of Paakhi Srivastava, Ph.D., and Adrienne Juarascio, Ph.D. She graduated from Binghamton University with a BS in Integrative Neuroscience and received a certificate in Evolutionary Studies. After graduating, she held various research positions at the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, working with the NKI-Rockland Sample and Autism Spectrum Research Program. She has also worked as a recovery coach at Clementine Briarcliff Manor. Most recently, she worked as a research assistant at the Center for Integrated Healthcare at the Syracuse VA. Her research interests include eating disorder pathology, how determinants of mental health, health disparities, and contextual risk factors impact relationships with food, disordered eating, and body image. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
	Lucy Wetherall lw854@drexel.edu Lucy Wetherall is an MS student and research coordinator working under the mentorship of Dr. Stephanie Manasse. In 2022 she graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary's College of California, where she majored in psychology and minored in women's and gender studies. There, she conducted her Senior Honors Thesis on the connection between avoidant restrictive food intake disorder and autism. Her research interests center around eating disorders in youth and eating disorder treatment interventions and efficacy. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
	Katie Worwag kw3243@drexel.edu Kate is a first-year master student working under the mentorship of Dr. Erica LaFata. She grew up in Colorado but chose to study abroad in the Netherlands for her undergraduate degree. In June 2022 she received her BS from the University of Groningen. She also attended Arizona State University as part of her minor in neuroscience. Here, she held a position as an undergraduate research assistant in a Behavioral Neuroscience Lab investigating the effect of stress and depression on spatial memory. This allowed her to deepen her interest in psychology and simultaneously incorporate more biological and neuroscientific approaches as well. She is interested in how these domains might be helpful when looking at food and sugar addiction, mood and eating disorders. In her free time, Kate enjoys hiking, going to the gym, traveling, baking and reading.