Uniformed Services University

Omni Cassidy received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010. As an undergraduate, Omni volunteered with the Weight Management and Eating Disorders Program. She also worked as an intern at Jackson Heart Study in Jackson, MS, investigating African Americans with Type II diabetes. Omni worked as a research assistant on the on-going study targeting the prevention of weight gain among adolescent girls, and currently works on a pilot study targeting the prevention of weight gain in underserved populations. In Fall 2012, Omni will begin as a graduate student at USUHS working with Drs. Sbrocco and Tanofsky-Kraff.

Contact: omni.cassidy@nih.gov

Camden Elliott is a sixth year student in the Medical and Clinical Psychology dual-track program. Camden graduated in 2006 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. major in psychology and minor in French. Camden worked as a research assistant at the Duke Eating Disorders program before beginning graduate school at USUHS. Camden's master's project was a preliminary investigation of the research criteria for Loss of Control Eating Disorder (Tanofsky-Kraff, Marcus, Yanovski, and Yanovski, 2008). She is currently working on her dissertation project, which is a pilot examination of a parent-training intervention for the prevention of excess pediatric weight gain. Her primary research interest is pediatric disordered eating.

Contact: camden.elliott@usuhs.mil

Edny "Joey" Bryant is a third year graduate student working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2006. Prior to receiving her commission in 2010, Joey served as an enlisted Air Force Intelligence and Adversary Tactics Analyst from 1997-2010. She is interested in the effects of parental combat deployments on children and is currently working on a research project investigating the effects of parental combat deployments on the eating behaviors of military adolescent dependents.

Contact: edny.joseph@usuhs.edu

Rachel Miller is a fourth year student in the Medical and Clinical Psychology dual-track program. Rachel graduated in 2005 from the George Washington University with a B.A. major in psychology and minor in dance, and then received her Master's in clinical psychology from Columbia University. Rachel worked as a research assistant, first in a program evaluation for at-risk youth, then at the Obesity Research Center at Columbia University before beginning graduate school at USUHS. Rachel's research interests include prevention programs for youth at-risk for disordered eating, as well as physiological correlates of binge eating. Her masters thesis examined the relationship between binge eating, cortisol, and metabolic dysfunction in youth. Her dissertation will examine stress reactivity and psychobiological correlates among youth with loss of control eating.

Contact: rachel.miller@usuhs.edu

Lisa Ranzenhofer is a fifth year graduate student in the dual-track medical and clinical psychology program. She received her bachelor of science at Cornell University in 2005. She completed a 2-year post-baccalaureate fellowship at the National Institutes of Health prior to entering graduate school at USUHS. Lisa's master's thesis examined the impact of binge eating on weight loss treatment outcome among overweight adolescents with medical comorbidities. She is currently conducting her dissertation research involving an examination of momentary interpersonal, affective, and physiologic precipitants of loss of control eating among at-risk for overweight adolescent girls. Lisa's research interests include child development and eating disorders.

Contact: Lisa.Ranzenhofer@usuhs.edu

Allison Hawkins

Allison Hawkins is a first year Navy student working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She earned her B.S. in elementary education from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. She also earned her M.Ed. and Ed.S. in School Psychology from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. As a School Psychologist Intern in Norfolk Public Schools, Allison gained experience in assessment, counseling groups, and child study. Working near one of the country’s largest Navy bases, Allison had the opportunity to work with many military families. Allison is currently interested in examining the relationship of perceived military community support and psychosocial difficulties in military children.

Anna Vannucci is a third year student in the Medical and Clinical Psychology dual-track program. Anna graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2007 with a B.A. in Psychology and a concentration in Women's and Gender Studies. Anna was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and worked as a research assistant at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine before beginning graduate school at USUHS. Anna's primary research interests include disinhibited eating behaviors in youth and early intervention programs to prevent eating and weight disorders.

Contact: anna.vannucci@usuhs.edu

Dr. Sarah Shafer Berger is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology and works jointly in the Section on Growth and Obesity at the NIH. She earned her Ph.D. in Medical & Clinical Psychology in 2010 from USUHS and completed her clinical internship at Children's Hospital Boston/ Harvard Medical School. Her training has had a strong interdisciplinary emphasis that allows for interface between medicine and psychology. Dr. Berger's primary interests are in the area of stress during sensitive periods of development (e.g., prenatal, adolescence, emerging adulthood) and its impact on physical and mental health. She is also interested in psychosocial interventions to reduce stress and associated symptoms. Her current work with Dr. Tanofsky-Kraff focuses on how interpersonal stress affects eating behavior in adolescent girls and the neural correlates of stress and eating.

Contact: sarah.berger@nih.gov

Lauren B. Shomaker, PhD, is a postdoctoral research scientist and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology. Dr. Shomaker works jointly at the Uniformed Services University with Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, PhD, and in the Section on Growth and Obesity at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with Jack A. Yanovski, MD, PhD. Dr. Shomaker's research centers upon understanding eating behaviors in childhood and adolescence that promote the development of obesity and eating disorders. She is currently conducting a number of large-scale, laboratory projects that investigate the genetic, psychological, and social influences on adolescent eating behaviors, excessive weight gain, and metabolic characteristics such as insulin resistance, which lead to type 2 diabetes. A particular interest is how adolescent depressive symptoms may contribute to the onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Findings from this program of research are pertinent to informing prevention and intervention efforts targeting adolescent obesity and problematic eating behaviors.

Contact: shomakel@mail.nih.gov

Dr. Kelly Theim is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology. Dr. Theim works jointly at the Uniformed Services University with Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, PhD, and in the Section on Growth and Obesity at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with Jack A. Yanovski, MD, PhD. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2012 from Washington University in St. Louis and completed her clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Theim's clinical training has been broad-based, with a focus on psychosocial correlates of negative health behaviors. Her primary research interests include the etiology and treatment of eating behaviors that pose risk for excessive weight gain among youth, including loss of control (LOC) eating.

Contact: kellytheim@gmail.com

L. Adelyn Cohen received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Virginia in 2012. As an undergraduate, she worked in neuroscience and psychology labs studying disordered eating, sleep and wake cycles, and cognitive bias. She also worked as an intern for the UVa Center for Addiction Research and Education and the National Institute of Mental Health, where she studied both narcotic addiction and pediatric anxiety. Adelyn currently works as a research assistant at USUHS with Dr. Tanofsky-Kraff on a study for the prevention of obesity in children of military personnel.

Contact: lauren.cohen.ctr@usuhs.edu

Sara Field received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Anthropology from Colby College in 2011. As an undergraduate, Sara worked in a cognitive psychology lab studying language and memory. Sara is currently a research assistant at USUHS and at the Section on Growth and Obesity at the NIH working with Dr. Tanofsky-Kraff on an obesity prevention trial and on a study examining the connection between the brain and eating behaviors in adolescent girls.

Contact: sara.field@nih.gov

Louise Hannallah received her B.A. in Psychology and a concentration in research from Vanderbilt University in 2012. As an undergraduate, Louise worked in a health psychology laboratory where she examined health disparities associated with residents living in food desert areas in the state of Tennessee. Louise also researched the prevalence of eating disorders among female collegiate athletes and the role social media plays in female body image and eating behaviors. Louise currently works as a research assistant at the NIH working with Dr. Tanofsky-Kraff on a parent-child study for the prevention of excessive weight gain in middle childhood.

Contact: louise.hannallah@nih.gov