Current Graduate Students
Hannah Hagy (2nd Year)
Hannah Hagy is a doctoral student studying clinical psychology. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012 with a degree in psychology. Hannah is interested in the intersection of neurocognitive dysfunction, stress, pain, and mood and anxiety disorders. As part of the Activity Matters Lab, Hannah manages the E-Sleep project. Her Master's thesis will explore menstrual pain trajectories and their psychological, behavioral, and neurophysiological predictors. Hannah will begin her first clinical practica at Loyola University's Wellness Center this fall.
Liz Rea (3rd Year)
Liz Rea is a doctoral student studying child and adolescent clinical psychology. She graduated from Princeton University in 2013 with a degree in psychology, and was captain of the women's rowing team. Liz is interested in how health behaviors (i.e., sleep, physical activity, eating behaviors) are related to emotional well-being. Her Master's Thesis examines the relations between Emotion Reactivity, sleep, and daily affect in college students. As part of the Activity Matters Lab, Liz manages program evaluation for Girls in the Game, and assists with FOODCUES data management. Liz completed her first clinical practica Loyola University's Wellness Center, and will be completing her next practica at the Autism Assessment, Research, Treatment and Services Center at Rush. Originally from Milwaukee, WI she roots for the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Laura Nicholson (5th Year)
Laura Nicholson is a doctoral student specializing in child and adolescent clinical psychology. She is interested in how daily routines and schedules may influence obesity-related health behaviors and cognitive functioning . Her thesis explored consistency of sleep, eating, and physical activity and associations with BMI among first year college students. As a part of the Activity Matters Lab, Laura assists with managing the Space to Grow, FOODCUES, and Life Interrupted projects. Outside of her research activities, Laura is currently completing a therapy practicum at Shriners Hospital for Children and will start a pediatric neuropsychology and therapy practicum at Alexian this summer.
Where Are They Now? Former Graduate Students
Amy Heard Egbert (Post-Doctoral Fellow)
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 in pediatric psychology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and is completing her post-doctoral fellowship at Brown University in the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center.
Dorothy McLeod Loren (Post-Doctoral Fellow)
Dorothy McLeod Loren is a doctoral student in the Activity Matters Lab studying child and adolescent clinical psychology. Dorothy's research interests lie in the development of child health disparities, with a particular focus on cultural and contextual influences on obesogenic behaviors. Dorothy recently defended her dissertation, which examined comparative models of childhood obesity development among different gender and racial/ethnic groups. Dorothy's clinical interests are in pediatric psychology and behavioral medicine: she is particularly interested in promoting positive health behaviors among patients with chronic illness. She completed her pre-doctoral internship in child psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle and is currently completing her post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric psychology at Seattle Children's Hospital in Hematology-Oncology.
Carolyn Bates (Post-Doctoral Fellow)
Carolyn Bates received her PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2019. Carolyn completed her pre-doctoral internship in pediatric psychology at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City (CMKC), and is now completing a two-year research/clinical postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric psychology at CMKC/KU Medical Center. Carolyn’s research explores family influences on pediatric health. As part of the Activity Matters Lab, she managed the Space to Grow study and contributed to work targeting the Summertime Slide. 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 currently examining family entropy in an acute illness population, studying how a new diagnosis of pediatric cancer impacts the home environment, and associations with parent distress and coping.
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.
