Current Graduate Students
Nikoo Karbassi (1st year)
Nikoo joined the Activity Matters lab in Fall 2024. She graduated from Princeton University in 2022 with a degree in sociology and certificate in statistics and machine learning. Following undergrad, she worked at Drexel University's Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science, where she coordinated a large behavioral weight loss clinical trial and completed eating disorder assessments for two other clinical trials. Nikoo's research interests include sleep disorder etiology and community-based interventions for youth and adolescents.
Jules Adornetti (2nd year)
Jules Adornetti is a second year in the clinical psychology program. She graduated from Loyola University Maryland in 2020 with a degree in psychology. As an undergraduate, Jules helped coordinate a research project examining the sleep environment in juvenile justice facilities. Following graduation, she continued to work on several sleep research studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. As a graduate student, Jules hopes to explore the relationship between sleep and physical/mental health amongst developing adolescents.
Maureen Burns (3rd year)
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Maureen joined the Activity Matters lab in the Fall of 2022. She graduated from Loyola Chicago in 2014 with bachelor's degrees in psychology and studio art. Following graduation, she worked at a youth program in Boston, where she gained interests in program design and evaluation. She most recently worked at Boston Children's Hospital with a school-based behavioral health program. In 2020, Maureen completed the social justice graduate certificate from the Harvard Extension School. Her research interests include health equity, program dissemination, and community based participatory research.
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Graduate students Hannah Hagy, Liz Rea, and Laura Nicholson with Dr. Bohnert at their annual end of the year celebration in 2022.
Where Are They Now? Former Graduate Students
Hannah Hagy (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Hannah Hagy graduated with her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2024. She completed her internship at the University of Chicago in Adult Neuropsychology and is currently a post-doctoral fellow specializing in adult neuropsychology at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital. Hannah's dissertation, "Identifying and Characterizing Cognitive Profiles in Midlife Females: A Latent Profile Analysis" identified cognitive profiles in a sample of midlife females as well as investigated relations between emergent cognitive profiles and behavioral and psychology factors (i.e., sleep, physical activity, depression symptoms, and stress). Hannah also serves as the Association of Neuropsychology Students & Trainees (ANST) Programming Officer and the International Neuropsychological Society Student Liaison Committee (INS SLC) Communication and Outreach Representative.
Liz Rea (Post-Doctoral Fellow)
Liz completed her internship at the Clement J. Zablocki VA in Milwaukee, WI in 2024. She is currently completing an advanced fellowship in Women’s Health at the same VA. Her research and clinical work focus on the intersection between Women’s Health and Sleep Health.
Laura Nicholson McPartlin (Licensed Clinical Psychologist)
Laura McPartlin graduated with her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2022. She completed her internship at Rush University Medical Center and post-doctoral fellowship at NorthShore University HealthSystem/Endeavor Health. Laura continues to be interested in exploring the intersection between sleep and cognitive function among children and young adults. She is currently a pediatric neuropsychologist at Endeavor Health specializing in serving youth with neurodevelopmental and neurological conditions.
Amy Heard Egbert (Assistant Professor)
Amy Heard Egbert received her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2020. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2011 with a dual degree in psychology and Spanish and spent two years as a research assistant studying food marketing at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. Her research examines environmental and psychological factors that may be associated with eating disorders and obesity in youth, including emotion regulation, executive function and food marketing. Amy completed pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral training in pediatric psychology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Read more about her work here.
Dorothy McLeod Loren (Clinical Senior Manager)
Dorothy McLeod Loren is a Clinical Senior Manager at Brightline, a mental health startup for kids and teens, and 2020 graduate of the Activity Matters Lab. She completed her pre-doctoral internship in child psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle and her post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric psychology at Seattle Children's Hospital. After fellowship, Dorothy worked as an attending psychologist in the outpatient psychiatry service at Boston Children's Hospital before transitioning into a management role at Brightline. She currently provides clinical consultation and management to a large team of therapists providing virtual care to kids and teens.
Carolyn Bates (Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Assistant Professor)
Carolyn received her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2019. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Children’s Mercy Kansas City (CMKC) and a 2-year research/clinical fellowship in pediatric psychology at CMKC and KU Medical Center. Carolyn’s research explores family influences on pediatric health and wellbeing . As part of the Activity Matters Lab, she contributed to work targeting the Summertime Slide and managed the Space to Grow study. Her dissertation focused on delineating the influence of the home environment on obesity and obesogenic behaviors, and proposed a new framework for characterizing the home environment called family entropy. Carolyn is now a tenure-track Assistant Professor at KU Medical Center, focused on developing family-based interventions for youth with chronic medical conditions, engaging in mentorship and teaching, and providing direct clinical care. See more about Dr. Bates here!
Kimberly Rosania (Licensed Clinical Psychologist)
Kim Rosania received her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2016. She was a member of the Activity Matters Lab from 2010-2016, where her research focused on understanding factors that promote positive body image and weight-related health behaviors in girls, including evaluating the role of friendship networks and community programming. Kim completed her clinical psychology internship at Stanford Children's Hospital / Children's Health Council Consortium, and she completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center. Kim joined the faculty at Stanford in fall 2020 as a clinical psychologist in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department's Eating Disorders Clinic where she provides assessment and treatment of eating disorders for youth, young adults, and their families.
Nikki Arola Anderson (Licensed Clinical Psychologist)
Nikki Arola Anderson received her PhD from Loyola University Chicago in 2016, specializing in child, adolescent, and family issues. She was a member of the Activity Matters Lab from 2010-2016, and her research primarily focused on examining the link between involvement in organized activities and adjustment outcomes among various populations, including urban youth, adolescents, emerging adults, high functioning youth with autism, and affluent youth. Her dissertation focused on predictors and mechanisms of organized activity involvement among urban youth. Nikki completed her internship in clinical child psychology at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric neuropsychology at University of Minnesota Medical School. Currently, Nikki is a Pediatric Neuropsychologist at Children's Minnesota.
Lea Ventura (Licensed Clinical Psychologist)
Lea Ventura received her PhD from Loyola University Chicago in 2015. She was a member of the Activity Matters Lab from 2009-2015 during which she investigated family, peer, and cultural factors that play a role in the psychosocial wellness and maladjustment of youth from affluent communities. Her dissertation focused on the parent-child relationship and communication about values pertaining to achievement and success within the “culture of affluence” (see STAAC research project description). Lea completed her clinical internship in pediatric psychology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. She then completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. She is currently an Assistant Professor and the Director of Pediatric Neuropsychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics.
Amanda Ward (Licensed Clinical Psychologist)
Amanda Ward received her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2015, specializing in child, adolescent, and family issues. She was a member of the Activity Matters lab from 2009 to 2015, and her research primarily focused on the effectiveness of after-school and summer camp programs in promoting physical health (i.e., physical activity; BMI) and executive function skills. Amanda's clinical interests include pediatric health psychology, neuropsychological assessment, and program quality improvement. Amanda completed her internship in clinical psychology at Stanford Children's Hospital / Children's Health Council and her postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)/ Harvard Medical School (HMS). Amanda is currently a licensed staff psychologist within the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at MGH/HMS and conducts neuropsychological, developmental, and educational evaluations for children and adolescents with a wide range of clinical issues.
Edin Randall (Licensed Clinical Psychologist)
Edin Randall received her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2012. She was a member of the Activity Matters lab from 2006 to 2012 during which she investigated and published on the influence of organized activity involvement, and specifically overscheduling, on adolescent development. She also initiated the Study of Teen Adjustment in Affluent Communities (STAAC) research project, which focuses on understanding the impact of individual, family, and school factors on adjustment in 10th graders from affluent communities. Edin completed her clinical internship at Rush University Medical Center (child and adolescent track) in Chicago and a clinical/research post-doctoral program at Boston Children's Hospital with the Psychiatry Consultation Service. She is currently working as an attending psychologist, doing clinical work and research, at the Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center at Boston Children's Hospital.
Rebecca Lieb (Licensed Clinical Psychologist)
Rebecca Lieb received her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2011. She was a member of the Activity Matters Lab from 2005 to 2011, at which time she worked on research projects examining the impact of activity involvement on emerging adults, a longitudinal program evaluation for Girls in the Game, and participated as a guest student editor for the American Journal of Community Psychology special issue on after-school activities. Dr. Lieb's dissertation research investigated the influence of factors including organized activity involvement on adjustment in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), recruiting over 150 families from across the United States (see Lieb & Bohnert, 2017; Bohnert, Lieb, & Arola, 2016). She completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she did assessments, consultations, and clinical research with children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. Dr. Lieb is currently a board certified child and adolescent clinical psychologist in the NeuroDevelopmental Science Center at Akron Children's Hospital in Akron, Ohio. She is the director of the Autism Diagnostic Clinic, an interdisciplinary ASD assessment clinic, and the School Success Clinic, an interdisciplinary assessment clinic for school-aged children having school difficulties. Her current research interests include investigating the impact of the ADOS-2 E-codes (behavior codes) on the Total and Comparison scores and parents' experience while waiting (often 3-6 months) for an ASD assessment appointment.
