Faculty Advisor
Jennifer S. Cheavens, Ph.D.
Dr. Cheavens joined the faculty of OSU in September, 2007. Her research interests are related to increasing the efficacy of treatments for depression and borderline personality disorder through both basic and applied research efforts. She is particularly interested in identifying and targeting constructs that interfere with (e.g., avoidant emotion regulation) or promote (e.g., validation, hope) efficacious treatments. For more details, please see:
https://psychology.osu.edu/people/cheavens.1
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=N-B6Ga0AAAAJ&hl=en
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer_Cheavens.
Graduate Students
Daniel Brunette
Daniel joined the MAPS lab in 2020. He completed his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University, where he earned high honors in psychology with additional majors in sociology and statistics. At NU, Daniel researched the impact of mindfulness meditation on the intrusion of difficult thoughts as well as aiding in the adaption of couples ACT workshops for low SES and Latinx communities. In his senior year, he independently developed an Honors Thesis related to his research interest of ‘personalized treatment.’ For his Honors Thesis, Daniel investigated potential moderators impacting outcomes of two brief emotion regulation techniques, cognitive reappraisal and defusion. Daniel is primarily interested in studying the individualization of psychotherapy by understanding what mechanisms and features work for whom in what circumstances, in order to improve treatment outcome. Contact Daniel at brunette.4@osu.edu.
Cameryn Cooley
Cameryn joined the MAPS lab in 2022 after graduating from New York University in 2020 where she earned her bachelors in psychology with a triple minor. After graduation, Cameryn worked at the Mood and Personality Disorder Research Program at the Icahn School of Medicine and the Bronx VA. Cameryn worked on projects related to affective instability, emotional granularity, cognitive reappraisal by distancing, and social decision-making. In specific, she worked closely with people who have BPD. Her interests now lie in researching how those who have trouble regulating their emotions interact in social situations and to specifically look at this topic with diversity in mind. You can contact Cameryn at cooley.288@osu.edu.
For publications, please see: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=2cFREPQAAAAJ
Kassidie Harmon
Kassidie joined the MAPS lab in 2020 after earning her BS in psychology from The Ohio State University, where she studied the impact of stereotype activation on Black women with natural hairstyles. Her current research interests include improving treatment for mood disorders and studying emotion regulation difficulties. She is particularly interested in designing interventions to improve treatment outcomes for Black Americans with mood disorders. You can contact Kassidie at harmon.410@osu.edu.
Dorian Hatch
Dorian joined the MAPS lab in 2021 shortly after completing his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University, where he majored in psychology and minored in statistics. He is particularly interested in the research surrounding the etiology, implications, measurement, and treatment of BPD (a la DBT), along with other Cluster-B personality disorders. Moreover, he is also interested in psychopathology generally, particularly refining the treatments surrounding these disorders. Contact Dorian at hatch.143@osu.edu.
For publications, please see: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=26thWOIAAAAJ
Elana Schettini
Elana joined the MAPS lab in 2021 after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Miami, FL, and master’s degree at The Ohio State University. Elana’s research focuses on the biological underpinnings of emotion dysregulation in children and adolescents. For her master’s thesis, Elana investigated the interaction between internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children and its association with brain volumes implicated in reward processing. Using neuroimaging techniques, she is interested in investigating neural mechanisms of childhood psychopathology and how such vulnerabilities interact with environmental factors (risk and protective) to predict development and persistence of maladaptive coping behaviors across the lifespan. Ultimately, Elana aims to improve early diagnosis and early intervention efforts for high-risk youth. Contact Elana at schettini.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu.
For publications, please see: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=FS0iVmkAAAAJ
Ally Heiland
Ally joined the MAPS lab in 2022 after graduating from the University of Arkansas in 2020 with her bachelors in psychology. Ally worked in foster care administration following graduation while also working on research projects related to personality functioning, emotion, self-control failure, and distress tolerance at the University of Arkansas. Her current research interests generally involve transdiagnostic mechanisms underlying personality pathology and emotion dysregulation, with a specific interest in BPD and optimizing treatment outcomes. Contact Ally at heiland.14@osu.edu.
For publications, please see: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wuRgnTEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Tori Trimm
Tori joined the MAPS lab in 2021. She completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University with a major in Psychology and a minor in Global Health. During undergrad, Tori worked in both clinical and developmental psychology labs, studying emotion regulation, social perception, and borderline personality disorder as well as empathy and prosocial behavior in preschool children. After graduation, she worked with Integrative Mental Health at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center studying and evaluating clinical care at the intersection of spirituality and mental health, particularly those concerning experiences of moral injury. Tori is primarily interested in interpersonal relationships and identity as they relate to borderline personality disorder and incorporating elements of human flourishing (validation, hope, values) into clinical interventions. Contact Tori at trimm.8@osu.edu
Whitney Whitted
Whitney joined the MAPS lab in 2020 after working as a lab manager in a multidisciplinary neuroscience lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (FBRI) for two years. At FBRI, she managed research projects involving PTSD, BPD, MDD, and TBI clinical populations. Whitney completed her undergraduate degree at The Ohio State University in 2017 and has maintained an interest in treatment uptake and outcome for adults with mood disorders and emotion regulation difficulties. Whitney’s master’s thesis was on the effect of subtle communication about mental illness in social media on viewers’ beliefs about mental illness trajectories and personal agency in symptom improvement. Contact Whitney at whitted.29@osu.edu. Projects on which Whitney is currently collaborating:
- Specificity of emotion language over the course of cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy in relation to treatment outcome
- Education on psychopathology via social media in relation to self-diagnoses and illness identity
For publications, please see: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=EkIaM3YAAAAJ
Peyton Brock
Peyton joined the MAPS lab in 2024. She earned her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing from Virginia Tech in 2021. During her undergraduate studies, Peyton gained experience in various research labs focusing on emotion socialization, psychopathology, and personality. After graduation, she spent three years as a lab manager and research coordinator in the Translational Emotion Neuroscience and Development Lab at San Diego State University. There, she led behavioral data collection efforts for an R01 study investigating the neural mechanisms underlying irritability. Peyton’s research interests now center on exploring the intricate relationship between interpersonal dysfunction and emotion regulation in mood and personality disorders, with a particular focus on borderline personality pathology.
Postbaccalaureate Research Assistants
Kera N. Hampton
Kera joined the MAPS lab in June of 2024 as a post-baccuralate trainee in the Discovery PREP program at The Ohio State University (OSU). She graduated with honors and Summa Cum Laude from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. At RIT, Kera held various research positions and, most notably, assessed parent-child relationships pertaining to emotional regulation during heightened arousal states using EEG and eye-tracking procedures. Her current work focuses on emotional regulation in individuals experiencing psychopathology. Kera hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology in the near future. Kera can be reached at kera.hamptom@osumc.edu
Hana Nip
Hana (she/her) joined the MAPS lab in July of 2024. She graduated with honors and Cum Laude from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) with a B.A. in Psychological Science. During her time at UCI, Hana was involved in clinical, social, and health psychology research labs where she studied digital mental health, privilege, gender emotions in shame, and positive psychology. Her current research interests include developing, implementing, and evaluating positive psychological interventions to improve the mental health of at-risk and trauma-affected adolescents and adults. Hana is hoping to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology in the near future. She can be reached at nip.4@osu.edu