News and Awards

This fall, we are incredibly lucky to have so many new amazing people joining us.

First, this summer we had Justino Flores, Alyson Randall, and Jess Alexander join us as new research coordinators. They’ve been working so hard, especially in a pandemic and we’re so excited that they’re here!

Second, we had four new research assistants join us: Mary Clukey, Arianna Alvarado, Juliana Tesselaar, and Liana Manriquez. Since this is mostly their first experience with research, we’re so excited to be a part of their journey.

Last, but certainly not least, we have two new post-doctoral fellows joining us: Arjan van der Star, MSc (soon to be PhD) and Valerie Douglas, PhD. We can’t wait to start working with you two!

Our master’s student, Will Grunewald, will be attending University of Miami Ohio’s clinical psychology Ph.D. program under the mentorship of Dr. April Smith.

Our lab manager, Devon Kimball, will be attending Michigan State University’s clinical psychology Ph.D. program under the mentorship of Dr. Jae Puckett.

Our undergraduate RA David Rivera will be attending University of California Santa Barbara’s clinical, counseling, and school psychology Ph.D. program under the mentorship of Dr. Alison Cerezo.

Our undergraduate RA Boyu Wei will be attending the University of Hawaii’s clinical psychology Ph.D. program under the mentorship of Dr. Janet Latner.

Congratulations to this successful application class!

Congratulations to our doctoral student, Lexie Convertino, for receiving the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. 

The intent of the Junior Scientist Fellowship is two-fold: to provide funding for a first- or second-year graduate level project and to offer constructive feedback to select applicants to increase their chances of achieving success with a future National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship application.

The primary intent is to recognize outstanding research-oriented students who are entering their first year (or first semester of second year) of graduate study and to help them begin successful research programs/projects. Students in research-based psychology and neuroscience graduate programs are eligible to apply.

The second intent of this fellowship is to provide written feedback to applicants. Many students apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship without previous experience applying for a research fellowship. It is our intent to provide feedback to strengthen their NSF graduate fellowship application. 

Manuel Gonzales, a fifth-year undergraduate student majoring in psychology with a minor in public health and an undergraduate RA in our lab, was just selected to receive the prestigious Cal State University Trustee’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. Two students from each CSU are nominated to the chancellor’s office, on behalf of the institution, for consideration of an award ranging from $6,000-$12,000. Of those two students, only one student from each CSU will receive one of the awards. After being selected for one of the awards, Manuel was notified that he was ranked among the highest of the applicants and was invited to interview as a potential recipient for one of the top awards. He was then notified that he was selected to be the recipient of the highest award, the Trustee Emeritus Ali C. Razi Scholarship with a $12,000 supplement.

The scholarship funding helps defray the costs associated with visits to doctoral-granting institutions to explore opportunities for continued study and travel to professional meetings. It also can be used for graduate school applications, test fees and research materials, among other expenses.

The SDSU recipients are among 75 Sally Casanova Scholars for the upcoming academic year, selected by a committee of CSU and University of California representatives from among 304 applications. CSU’s Pre-Doctoral Program is intended in part to increase diversity within faculty ranks by supporting the doctoral aspirations of students, particularly those who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages.

The award is named in memory of a former associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies at CSU Dominguez Hills who launched the pre-doctoral program in 1989.

This award recognizes an early-career nominee’s total career achievements, including the publication of a representative paper from the Society for Behavioral Medicine.