Principal Investigator:
Dr. Anthony King
Dr. Anthony (Tony) King is a neuroscientist and licensed psychologist/psychotherapist who is committed to clinical and translational research aimed at elucidating the social, psychological, neural, physiological and genomic factors and processes underlying risk and resilience for mental health, and the relationships of social-emotional and mental health to physical health. He researches the neural and physiological mechanisms underlying effective psychotherapies, and is dedicated to developing improved, neuroscience-based treatments for trauma- and stress-related disorders such as PTSD and depression. He is also dedicated to clinical and translational research and service with underserved and health-disparity populations, including better understanding of early-life trauma and social and environmental stressors, including poverty, social marginalization, indignity, and injustice, and approaches to building resilience and growth.
Please find Dr. King’s OSU Faculty Page Linked Here
Clinical Research Assistants:
Arushi Badola
Arushi graduated from OSU in 2023 with a B.S. in Neuroscience, and joined the lab shortly after.
Wenfei Yu
Wenfei graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology. Her research interests primarily focus on psychotherapy in different cultural communities, especially with the presence of stigma. She is committed to advocate for cultural-specific therapeutic practices, and to enhance psychoeducation in stigmatized communities.
Group Leaders:
Tecca Thompson
Tecca is the owner of Sacred Healing Spaces, LLC. She is a self-care facilitator who uses somatic and embodiment practices to create spaces of rest, healing, and transformation for Black and WOC. Tecca also supports other healers and frontline workers by creating spaces for collective healing practices. She is a certified Somatic Stress Release™ Practitioner and a BreathZone® Breath instructor. Tecca also holds certifications in Yoga Nidra (Sleep Meditation), Community Storytelling, and Somatic Embodiment regulations strategies.
Tecca believes her work sits at the intersection of social and healing justice. She is excited to join the OSU Mindfulness lab team to deepen her work by offering mindfulness-based work for trauma and stress in historically marginalized communities.
Dr. Sophie Lazarus
Dr. Lazarus is an assistant professor and licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at OSUMC. She is a long-time mindfulness-practitioner and a certified teacher of MBCT through the UCSD Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute. She is dedicated to furthering the evidenced-based implementation of MBCT though research, education, and training. Dr. Lazarus established the MBCT clinical program at OSUMC and supervises a rotation focused on cognitive behavioral and mindfulness-based interventions for mood and anxiety disorders the predoctoral clinical psychology internship at OSUMC.
https://medicine.osu.edu/find-faculty/clinical/psychiatry-and-behavioral-health/sophie-lazarus-phd
Undergraduate Research Assistants:
Michelle Jiang
Michelle is currently an undergraduate majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Psychology at The Ohio State University. She is part of the Health Science Scholars program and on the Pre-Med track. Her passions include mental health awareness and was previously involved in various organizations that worked to spread mental health awareness in teens. Coming from a low-income household growing up, she is also very passionate about providing accessible healthcare and improving health literacy for individuals from low-income backgrounds. She volunteers at the Physician’s Free Clinic in Columbus whenever she can. Michelle is interested in health disparities around the world and is very excited for her Medical Internship with VAW (Volunteers Around the World) this summer to provide healthcare to individuals in one of the poorest regions of Panama. This is her first experience working in a research lab and is very excited to make contributions. She loves traveling, reading, listening to music, and food!
Bri Chakravarti
Bri is an undergraduate Psychology major at The Ohio State University with a minor in Child Abuse and Neglect. Her research interests involve developing treatments for trauma related disorders such as PTSD and ASPD. She is also interested in researching how childhood abuse and neglect impacts people even later on in life. After her undergraduate coursework is finished, she is hoping to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology as she has loved her time doing research as an undergraduate student. In her free time she loves to go to farmers markets, go thrifting, travel, and read at local coffee shops!
Maya Khelashvili
Maya is majoring in Neuroscience. In the future, she is planning on obtaining hermaster’s in Applied Neuroscience and then going to Physician Assistant school. She is interested in finding new ways to improve the mental health of individuals. Specifically, she is interested in improving the quality of the life for individuals with depression and anxiety. Outside of academics, she plays on The Ohio State Women’s Water Polo Club team, work as a Patient Care Technician at Riverside Methodist Hospital, and enjoys reading.
Sammy Thotapalli
Sammy is an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University majoring in neuroscience and minoring in philosophy. He is on the pre-med track and has interests in reducing the stigma of mental health, spreading mental health awareness, and learning about the neurobiology of mental health disorders. He is currently involved with Buckeyethon, a Neuro Ambassador for his major and volunteers at free clinics with Remote Area Medical whenever he can. Some of his interests include listening to music, reading, playing sports and hanging out with friends.
Nika Duhkan
Nika is a third year Medical Anthropology major on the pre-medicine track. She is drawn to the Mindfulness Lab because of the positive environment, meaningful work, and a deep-rooted passion for behavioral medicine. After graduation, she hopes to volunteer abroad and then attend medical school. She loves spending as much time outdoors as possible, reading, and making sure to try every coffee shop around.
Valeria Esis
Valeria graduated from Florida International University with a BA in Psychology. She joined the Mindfulness Lab to advance and deepen her understanding of neuroscience techniques, and how mindfulness can improve mood disorders. She is very passionate about how by integrating neurological methods into the field so that we can change and improve the ways we diagnose and treat psychological disorders.
Gaelle Lubin
Gaelle is a second-year psychology major on the pre-medicine track. She wanted to join this lab to experience what it’s like to work on a lab project. After graduation she plans to go to medical school to become a psychiatrist, so she also feels like participating in this lab will help her to prepare for her future career. In her free time, she loves to read, crochet, play video games, and she also plays the flute and the piano.
Micah Marshall
Micah graduated with a degree in Neuroscience from OSU in 2022 and now works full-time in a neuroimmunology lab, driven by a curiosity about how brain networks influence psychology and human connection. He joins the lab to integrate these interests with mindfulness, community-building, and movement-based methods. Outside his academic and coaching roles, Micah enjoys dancing, rock climbing, and spending time in nature.
Lab Alumni
Alexis Berry, Clinical Research Assistant, 2021-2023
Megan Bartoszek, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2022-2024
Emily Axner, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2022-2024
Andrew Dombrowski, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2022-2024
Garrett Hosterman, Clinical Research Assistant, 2022-2024
Matthew Dressel, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2021-2024