Our team is dedicated to
addressing health disparities
Our team of research professionals bring over 30 years of expertise and is dedicated to advancing research that deepens understanding of health disparities and informs meaningful change. We are committed to using research to help create a healthier, more equitable world for all.
Principal Investigators
Dr. Robin Nusslock
Project DirectorRobin Nusslock is a Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University with additional appointments in Neurobiology and Neurology. Dr. Nusslock also serves as Northwestern’s Director of Clinical Psychology and Clinical Training. He studies how brain systems that shape both positive and negative emotions contribute to emotional disorders such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and mania. He is also interested in how stress affects brain development and communication between the brain and the immune system in generating risk and resilience for mental and physical health problems across the lifespan.
Dr. Luke Hyde
Project DirectorLuke Hyde is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, with a PhD in clinical and developmental Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in the State of Michigan. Dr. Hyde’s research focuses on understanding how nature and nurture interact to influence brain and behavioral development from early childhood through early adulthood. His work has focused on how adversity can shape development and how strengths in the family and community can promote resilience, particularly among families facing poverty and stress. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife and two kids and coaching his kids’ sports teams.
Dr. Greg Miller
Greg Miller is a Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University. Dr. Miller’s research examines the behavioral and biological mechanisms that contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in health outcomes.
Dr. Elizabeth Rhodes
Elizabeth Rhodes is the Research Director for the Unconditional Cash Study at OpenResearch. She completed a joint doctoral degree in social work and political science at the University of Michigan, where her research focused on health and education provision in informal settlements, workforce development, and poverty prevention and alleviation strategies. Elizabeth also holds an MSW from Michigan and a B.A. in government and economics from Georgetown University.
Vonnie McLoyd
Vonnie McLoyd is the Ewart A. C. Thomas Collegiate Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. Dr. McLoyd is a developmental psychologist whose research examines how social and economic conditions, particularly poverty and economic stress, influence children’s and adolescents’ socioemotional development. Her work focuses on the roles of parenting, family processes, and sociocultural factors such as racial socialization in shaping developmental outcomes. She has also studied the predictors and outcomes of adolescent employment and how race, social class, and adolescent experiences shape the transition to adulthood. Her work is informed by economic theories of the family, as well as family stress models that highlight the role of parental psychological well-being in shaping parenting and youth development.
Chandra Sripada
Chandra Sripada is a Professor of Psychiatry and Philosophy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Sripada’s research investigates how the brain support behavior control across a range of psychiatric disorders, particularly attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorders. His work uses multiple methods, including brain imaging and advanced computational approaches, to better understand, diagnose, and treat these conditions. Key areas of his research include understanding organization of large-scale brain networks; advanced statistical approaches for linking brain organization to psychiatric disorders; and a focus on how brain networks mature across childhood and adolescence.
Kelley Kidwell
Kelley M. Kidwell is a Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and serves as Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. Dr. Kidwell’s research focuses on the design and analysis of clinical trials, with an emphasis on developing methods that better reflect how medical and public health decisions are made over time and tailored to individuals. She develops new statistical methods to understand how sequences of treatments work in both big studies of common conditions (e.g., cancer, mental health concerns) and rare diseases. She also collaborates widely with scientists studying many different health conditions, contributing to clinical trials in areas such as mental health, chronic pain, substance use, and oncology. Her work aims to bridge the gap between statistical methodology and applied research, improving the design, analysis, and interpretation of studies to advance public health outcomes.
Sarah Miller
Sarah Miller is a Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Miller’s research focuses on the role of public policy in shaping access to and provision of healthcare, particularly for low-income populations. Her work examines how health policies influence health outcomes and overall well-being, with attention to the insurance value of public health programs in improving financial security. She helped lead the original Every Dollar Counts study and has examined how income supplements impact adults and their children’s outcomes.
Staff
Trinh Ha
Trinh is the lab manager for the Affective & Clinical Neuroscience Lab (ACNL). She received her Master's in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on clinical child and adolescent psychology. She’s worked with Dr. Michael Telch in the Laboratory of Anxiety Disorders on projects applying principles of interoceptive exposure, trauma memory reconsolidation, and PTSD. She plans to pursue a career in clinical psychology and is interested in how psychopathology and environmental factors contribute to depression during childhood and its impact on neuroinflammation throughout one's lifetime. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, baking, and playing the piano.
Johanna Dezil
Johanna received her B.A. in Community Psychology from DePaul University. While at DePaul, she served as a peer mentor for students of color, an AmeriCorps member, and a research volunteer within DePaul’s Center for Access and Attainment. Johanna’s research interests focus on issues affecting African American girls, a population that is often underrepresented in research. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry and watching documentaries.
Anoushka Parnerkar
Anoushka graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Psychology and minors in Neuroscience, Chemistry, and Creative Writing. Before joining the Affective & Clinical Neuroscience Lab (ACNL), she worked as a study coordinator at Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied the impact of divorce on young kids and anxiety in parents and children. Anoushka plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is interested in looking at how life events and environments can shape children's brain and mental health. In her free time, Anoushka loves to hang out by the lake, cook, and create art.
Ashley Zhang
Ashley is a staff member for the Affective & Clinical Neuroscience Lab (ACNL). She received her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience from UC Riverside where she studied emotion and anxiety in middle school girls! She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is interested in understanding how to better support child and adolescent mental health, particularly in marginalized communities. In her free time, she enjoys watching sports, baking, and going to the gym.
Akash Rathi
Akash is a research data analyst for the Affective & Clinical Neuroscience Lab (ACNL). He graduated from Northwestern University in 2023 with a B.A. in Data Science. He completed pre-medical coursework at the University of California, Los Angeles where he worked as a research assistant in the Biomedical Artificial Intelligence Lab and Cross Movement Disorders Lab. He is particularly interested in ethical frameworks in the ICU and the pathology of pituitary brain tumors. Akash eventually plans to attend medical school and pursue a career as a critical care physician. In his free time, he loves to watch baseball, study history, and stay active.
Nina Kougan
Nina is a Clinical Psychology doctoral student. Her research interests focus on utilizing neuroimaging techniques to better understand how depression and suicidality influence reward processing across adolescent development. Nina has an A.B. in Psychological & Brain Sciences, with a concentration in Experimental Psychopathology from Washington University in St. Louis. She previously worked at WashU Medicine on the Human Connectome Project, and for the Affective & Clinical Neuroscience Lab (ACNL) as a research coordinator. Outside of the lab, Nina loves to read, bike, and spend time with her pup, Daphne.
Jungwon Kim
Jungwon is a Research Technologist. Jungwon graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Biology and has a passion for playing soccer and traveling.
Veronica Passarelli
Veronica Research Technologist. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.Sc. in Integrative Biology. Her previous research focused on the environmental and socioeconomic conditions influencing mosquito-borne disease in Central Illinois. At the Foundations of Health Research Center, she contributes towards multiple studies including On the Rise and Stress, Pregnancy, & Health.