Leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-22-at-12.46.20-PM.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nChristopher Beevers, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/h3>Laboratory Director | Email:\u00a0beevers@utexas.edu<\/a>
<\/span>Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
ORCID:\u00a0https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4480-0902<\/a>
Publications:\u00a0Google Scholar<\/a>
Christopher Beevers, Ph.D., director of the Mood Disorders Laboratory, received his doctorate in adult clinical psychology from the University of Miami in 2002. He completed his internship and post-doctoral training at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island and joined the psychology department at the University of Texas in January 2005. He has received the\u00a0President\u2019s New Researcher Award<\/a>\u00a0from the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy and was a Beck Scholar at the\u00a0Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research<\/a>. He is currently Associate Editor at\u00a0Clinical Psychological Science<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0a member of several editorial boards for leading journals in his research area, including the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Cognitive Therapy and Research. Dr. Beevers\u2019 primary research interest focuses on the cognitive etiology and treatment of major unipolar depression.\u00a0He is very interested in using experimental psychopathology methods to identify factors that maintain depression and translating these findings into effective interventions for depression and related psychopathology (e.g., anhedonia, negative affect).<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2018-04-04-at-1.14.18-PM-260x260-1-edited.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nJason Shumake, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/h3>Research Faculty\/Post-Docs | Email:\u00a0shumake@utexas.edu<\/a>
<\/span>Biostatistician \/ Research Assistant Professor
Jason Shumake received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Texas in 2004, with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience and a supporting portfolio in statistics and computational modeling, and he completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg, Germany, in 2007. Dr. Shumake\u2019s primary research interest is building models from longitudinal data sets to classify and predict behavior and responses to interventions. He is excited by the advancement of personalized medicine through data science, which he believes is critical for translating prediction research into individualized treatment recommendations. He is particularly interested in using statistical and machine learning algorithms to search for novel combinations of genetic, neural, and behavioral features that predict treatment response. His current projects involve mining anatomical and functional brain imaging data, eye tracking data, and psychometric data from depressed individuals to predict longitudinal mood changes that occur both naturalistically and in response to antidepressant medication and cognitive therapy.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nGraduate Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/Molly-e1534180594940-260x260-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMary (Molly) Eileen McNamara, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0molly.mcnamara@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mary (Molly) received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. While at Stanford, she worked in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Lab on research investigating both the use of interpretation bias training with adolescents, as well as how parenting styles might affect neural development in teens with varying levels of suicidal ideation. After graduation, Molly worked as a project coordinator in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic at UC Berkeley, launching a randomized controlled trial of a novel, adjunctive intervention designed to support patient memory for treatment.
Molly joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory as a doctoral student in 2018. She is interested in how cognitive biases and cognitive control might contribute to differences observed in depression both intra and inter-individually. She is also interested in the ways that translational research can help identify and influence treatment targets, as well as inform more personalized treatment planning<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/Mackenzie-260x260-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMackenzie Rae Zisser, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mzisser@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mackenzie received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology from the University of California- Berkeley in 2017. During her time at Berkeley, she worked with Dr. Sheri Johnson studying mental health in entrepreneurs and the interaction of gender, social dominance, and unipolar depression. After graduation, she worked as a project coordinator at the UC Berkeley CALM Laboratory managing an online treatment program for people with high levels of aggression and emotion-related impulsivity. She also worked as a research associate in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab gathering psychophysiological data in patients with dementia and their caregivers.
Mackenzie joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. She is interested in using technology to enhance the study and treatment of depression through internet- based interventions and ecological momentary assessment techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/Andrew-260x260-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nAndrew\u00a0Levihn-Coon, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0alevihncoon@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Andrew\u00a0graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating, he was a research coordinator for Mark Powers, Ph.D., and Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at The University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated two randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of virtual reality as treatment for arachnophobia and as a pain management intervention for hospital patients at Dell Seton Medical Center. At UT he also assisted in projects examining treatments for social anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and smoking cessation, with an emphasis on CBT\u00a0and exercise augmentation. Andrew then worked as a clinical research coordinator for Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center coordinating a randomized placebo-controlled clinical drug trial of doxazosin for PTSD nightmares, sleep disturbance, and overall PTSD symptoms.
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/IMG_4013-260x260-1.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/maria_dekhtar-260x260-1.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-01-22-at-1.40.10-PM-260x260-1.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nChristopher Beevers, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/h3>Laboratory Director | Email:\u00a0beevers@utexas.edu<\/a>
<\/span>Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
ORCID:\u00a0https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4480-0902<\/a>
Publications:\u00a0Google Scholar<\/a>
Christopher Beevers, Ph.D., director of the Mood Disorders Laboratory, received his doctorate in adult clinical psychology from the University of Miami in 2002. He completed his internship and post-doctoral training at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island and joined the psychology department at the University of Texas in January 2005. He has received the\u00a0President\u2019s New Researcher Award<\/a>\u00a0from the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy and was a Beck Scholar at the\u00a0Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research<\/a>. He is currently Associate Editor at\u00a0Clinical Psychological Science<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0a member of several editorial boards for leading journals in his research area, including the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Cognitive Therapy and Research. Dr. Beevers\u2019 primary research interest focuses on the cognitive etiology and treatment of major unipolar depression.\u00a0He is very interested in using experimental psychopathology methods to identify factors that maintain depression and translating these findings into effective interventions for depression and related psychopathology (e.g., anhedonia, negative affect).<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nJason Shumake, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/h3>Research Faculty\/Post-Docs | Email:\u00a0shumake@utexas.edu<\/a>
<\/span>Biostatistician \/ Research Assistant Professor
Jason Shumake received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Texas in 2004, with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience and a supporting portfolio in statistics and computational modeling, and he completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg, Germany, in 2007. Dr. Shumake\u2019s primary research interest is building models from longitudinal data sets to classify and predict behavior and responses to interventions. He is excited by the advancement of personalized medicine through data science, which he believes is critical for translating prediction research into individualized treatment recommendations. He is particularly interested in using statistical and machine learning algorithms to search for novel combinations of genetic, neural, and behavioral features that predict treatment response. His current projects involve mining anatomical and functional brain imaging data, eye tracking data, and psychometric data from depressed individuals to predict longitudinal mood changes that occur both naturalistically and in response to antidepressant medication and cognitive therapy.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nGraduate Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMary (Molly) Eileen McNamara, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0molly.mcnamara@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mary (Molly) received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. While at Stanford, she worked in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Lab on research investigating both the use of interpretation bias training with adolescents, as well as how parenting styles might affect neural development in teens with varying levels of suicidal ideation. After graduation, Molly worked as a project coordinator in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic at UC Berkeley, launching a randomized controlled trial of a novel, adjunctive intervention designed to support patient memory for treatment.
Molly joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory as a doctoral student in 2018. She is interested in how cognitive biases and cognitive control might contribute to differences observed in depression both intra and inter-individually. She is also interested in the ways that translational research can help identify and influence treatment targets, as well as inform more personalized treatment planning<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMackenzie Rae Zisser, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mzisser@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mackenzie received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology from the University of California- Berkeley in 2017. During her time at Berkeley, she worked with Dr. Sheri Johnson studying mental health in entrepreneurs and the interaction of gender, social dominance, and unipolar depression. After graduation, she worked as a project coordinator at the UC Berkeley CALM Laboratory managing an online treatment program for people with high levels of aggression and emotion-related impulsivity. She also worked as a research associate in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab gathering psychophysiological data in patients with dementia and their caregivers.
Mackenzie joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. She is interested in using technology to enhance the study and treatment of depression through internet- based interventions and ecological momentary assessment techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nAndrew\u00a0Levihn-Coon, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0alevihncoon@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Andrew\u00a0graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating, he was a research coordinator for Mark Powers, Ph.D., and Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at The University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated two randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of virtual reality as treatment for arachnophobia and as a pain management intervention for hospital patients at Dell Seton Medical Center. At UT he also assisted in projects examining treatments for social anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and smoking cessation, with an emphasis on CBT\u00a0and exercise augmentation. Andrew then worked as a clinical research coordinator for Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center coordinating a randomized placebo-controlled clinical drug trial of doxazosin for PTSD nightmares, sleep disturbance, and overall PTSD symptoms.
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
ORCID:\u00a0https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4480-0902<\/a>
Publications:\u00a0Google Scholar<\/a>
Christopher Beevers, Ph.D., director of the Mood Disorders Laboratory, received his doctorate in adult clinical psychology from the University of Miami in 2002. He completed his internship and post-doctoral training at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island and joined the psychology department at the University of Texas in January 2005. He has received the\u00a0President\u2019s New Researcher Award<\/a>\u00a0from the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy and was a Beck Scholar at the\u00a0Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research<\/a>. He is currently Associate Editor at\u00a0Clinical Psychological Science<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0a member of several editorial boards for leading journals in his research area, including the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Cognitive Therapy and Research. Dr. Beevers\u2019 primary research interest focuses on the cognitive etiology and treatment of major unipolar depression.\u00a0He is very interested in using experimental psychopathology methods to identify factors that maintain depression and translating these findings into effective interventions for depression and related psychopathology (e.g., anhedonia, negative affect).<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nJason Shumake, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/h3>Research Faculty\/Post-Docs | Email:\u00a0shumake@utexas.edu<\/a>
<\/span>Biostatistician \/ Research Assistant Professor
Jason Shumake received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Texas in 2004, with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience and a supporting portfolio in statistics and computational modeling, and he completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg, Germany, in 2007. Dr. Shumake\u2019s primary research interest is building models from longitudinal data sets to classify and predict behavior and responses to interventions. He is excited by the advancement of personalized medicine through data science, which he believes is critical for translating prediction research into individualized treatment recommendations. He is particularly interested in using statistical and machine learning algorithms to search for novel combinations of genetic, neural, and behavioral features that predict treatment response. His current projects involve mining anatomical and functional brain imaging data, eye tracking data, and psychometric data from depressed individuals to predict longitudinal mood changes that occur both naturalistically and in response to antidepressant medication and cognitive therapy.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nGraduate Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMary (Molly) Eileen McNamara, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0molly.mcnamara@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mary (Molly) received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. While at Stanford, she worked in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Lab on research investigating both the use of interpretation bias training with adolescents, as well as how parenting styles might affect neural development in teens with varying levels of suicidal ideation. After graduation, Molly worked as a project coordinator in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic at UC Berkeley, launching a randomized controlled trial of a novel, adjunctive intervention designed to support patient memory for treatment.
Molly joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory as a doctoral student in 2018. She is interested in how cognitive biases and cognitive control might contribute to differences observed in depression both intra and inter-individually. She is also interested in the ways that translational research can help identify and influence treatment targets, as well as inform more personalized treatment planning<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMackenzie Rae Zisser, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mzisser@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mackenzie received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology from the University of California- Berkeley in 2017. During her time at Berkeley, she worked with Dr. Sheri Johnson studying mental health in entrepreneurs and the interaction of gender, social dominance, and unipolar depression. After graduation, she worked as a project coordinator at the UC Berkeley CALM Laboratory managing an online treatment program for people with high levels of aggression and emotion-related impulsivity. She also worked as a research associate in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab gathering psychophysiological data in patients with dementia and their caregivers.
Mackenzie joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. She is interested in using technology to enhance the study and treatment of depression through internet- based interventions and ecological momentary assessment techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nAndrew\u00a0Levihn-Coon, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0alevihncoon@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Andrew\u00a0graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating, he was a research coordinator for Mark Powers, Ph.D., and Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at The University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated two randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of virtual reality as treatment for arachnophobia and as a pain management intervention for hospital patients at Dell Seton Medical Center. At UT he also assisted in projects examining treatments for social anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and smoking cessation, with an emphasis on CBT\u00a0and exercise augmentation. Andrew then worked as a clinical research coordinator for Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center coordinating a randomized placebo-controlled clinical drug trial of doxazosin for PTSD nightmares, sleep disturbance, and overall PTSD symptoms.
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
Jason Shumake received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Texas in 2004, with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience and a supporting portfolio in statistics and computational modeling, and he completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg, Germany, in 2007. Dr. Shumake\u2019s primary research interest is building models from longitudinal data sets to classify and predict behavior and responses to interventions. He is excited by the advancement of personalized medicine through data science, which he believes is critical for translating prediction research into individualized treatment recommendations. He is particularly interested in using statistical and machine learning algorithms to search for novel combinations of genetic, neural, and behavioral features that predict treatment response. His current projects involve mining anatomical and functional brain imaging data, eye tracking data, and psychometric data from depressed individuals to predict longitudinal mood changes that occur both naturalistically and in response to antidepressant medication and cognitive therapy.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Graduate Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMary (Molly) Eileen McNamara, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0molly.mcnamara@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mary (Molly) received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. While at Stanford, she worked in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Lab on research investigating both the use of interpretation bias training with adolescents, as well as how parenting styles might affect neural development in teens with varying levels of suicidal ideation. After graduation, Molly worked as a project coordinator in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic at UC Berkeley, launching a randomized controlled trial of a novel, adjunctive intervention designed to support patient memory for treatment.
Molly joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory as a doctoral student in 2018. She is interested in how cognitive biases and cognitive control might contribute to differences observed in depression both intra and inter-individually. She is also interested in the ways that translational research can help identify and influence treatment targets, as well as inform more personalized treatment planning<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMackenzie Rae Zisser, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mzisser@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mackenzie received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology from the University of California- Berkeley in 2017. During her time at Berkeley, she worked with Dr. Sheri Johnson studying mental health in entrepreneurs and the interaction of gender, social dominance, and unipolar depression. After graduation, she worked as a project coordinator at the UC Berkeley CALM Laboratory managing an online treatment program for people with high levels of aggression and emotion-related impulsivity. She also worked as a research associate in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab gathering psychophysiological data in patients with dementia and their caregivers.
Mackenzie joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. She is interested in using technology to enhance the study and treatment of depression through internet- based interventions and ecological momentary assessment techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nAndrew\u00a0Levihn-Coon, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0alevihncoon@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Andrew\u00a0graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating, he was a research coordinator for Mark Powers, Ph.D., and Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at The University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated two randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of virtual reality as treatment for arachnophobia and as a pain management intervention for hospital patients at Dell Seton Medical Center. At UT he also assisted in projects examining treatments for social anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and smoking cessation, with an emphasis on CBT\u00a0and exercise augmentation. Andrew then worked as a clinical research coordinator for Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center coordinating a randomized placebo-controlled clinical drug trial of doxazosin for PTSD nightmares, sleep disturbance, and overall PTSD symptoms.
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nMary (Molly) Eileen McNamara, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0molly.mcnamara@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mary (Molly) received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. While at Stanford, she worked in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Lab on research investigating both the use of interpretation bias training with adolescents, as well as how parenting styles might affect neural development in teens with varying levels of suicidal ideation. After graduation, Molly worked as a project coordinator in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic at UC Berkeley, launching a randomized controlled trial of a novel, adjunctive intervention designed to support patient memory for treatment.
Molly joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory as a doctoral student in 2018. She is interested in how cognitive biases and cognitive control might contribute to differences observed in depression both intra and inter-individually. She is also interested in the ways that translational research can help identify and influence treatment targets, as well as inform more personalized treatment planning<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMackenzie Rae Zisser, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mzisser@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mackenzie received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology from the University of California- Berkeley in 2017. During her time at Berkeley, she worked with Dr. Sheri Johnson studying mental health in entrepreneurs and the interaction of gender, social dominance, and unipolar depression. After graduation, she worked as a project coordinator at the UC Berkeley CALM Laboratory managing an online treatment program for people with high levels of aggression and emotion-related impulsivity. She also worked as a research associate in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab gathering psychophysiological data in patients with dementia and their caregivers.
Mackenzie joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. She is interested in using technology to enhance the study and treatment of depression through internet- based interventions and ecological momentary assessment techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nAndrew\u00a0Levihn-Coon, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0alevihncoon@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Andrew\u00a0graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating, he was a research coordinator for Mark Powers, Ph.D., and Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at The University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated two randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of virtual reality as treatment for arachnophobia and as a pain management intervention for hospital patients at Dell Seton Medical Center. At UT he also assisted in projects examining treatments for social anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and smoking cessation, with an emphasis on CBT\u00a0and exercise augmentation. Andrew then worked as a clinical research coordinator for Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center coordinating a randomized placebo-controlled clinical drug trial of doxazosin for PTSD nightmares, sleep disturbance, and overall PTSD symptoms.
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
Molly joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory as a doctoral student in 2018. She is interested in how cognitive biases and cognitive control might contribute to differences observed in depression both intra and inter-individually. She is also interested in the ways that translational research can help identify and influence treatment targets, as well as inform more personalized treatment planning<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nMackenzie Rae Zisser, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mzisser@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Mackenzie received her bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology from the University of California- Berkeley in 2017. During her time at Berkeley, she worked with Dr. Sheri Johnson studying mental health in entrepreneurs and the interaction of gender, social dominance, and unipolar depression. After graduation, she worked as a project coordinator at the UC Berkeley CALM Laboratory managing an online treatment program for people with high levels of aggression and emotion-related impulsivity. She also worked as a research associate in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab gathering psychophysiological data in patients with dementia and their caregivers.
Mackenzie joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. She is interested in using technology to enhance the study and treatment of depression through internet- based interventions and ecological momentary assessment techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nAndrew\u00a0Levihn-Coon, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0alevihncoon@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Andrew\u00a0graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating, he was a research coordinator for Mark Powers, Ph.D., and Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at The University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated two randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of virtual reality as treatment for arachnophobia and as a pain management intervention for hospital patients at Dell Seton Medical Center. At UT he also assisted in projects examining treatments for social anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and smoking cessation, with an emphasis on CBT\u00a0and exercise augmentation. Andrew then worked as a clinical research coordinator for Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center coordinating a randomized placebo-controlled clinical drug trial of doxazosin for PTSD nightmares, sleep disturbance, and overall PTSD symptoms.
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
Mackenzie joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. She is interested in using technology to enhance the study and treatment of depression through internet- based interventions and ecological momentary assessment techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nAndrew\u00a0Levihn-Coon, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0alevihncoon@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Andrew\u00a0graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. After graduating, he was a research coordinator for Mark Powers, Ph.D., and Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at The University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated two randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of virtual reality as treatment for arachnophobia and as a pain management intervention for hospital patients at Dell Seton Medical Center. At UT he also assisted in projects examining treatments for social anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and smoking cessation, with an emphasis on CBT\u00a0and exercise augmentation. Andrew then worked as a clinical research coordinator for Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center coordinating a randomized placebo-controlled clinical drug trial of doxazosin for PTSD nightmares, sleep disturbance, and overall PTSD symptoms.
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
Andrew joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2019. He is deeply interested in improving treatments for depression with a focus on behavioral change interventions that target exercise, sleep, diet, and social engagement. He is also interested in using mobile sensing data to personalize treatments for depression and to study a treatment\u2019s effectiveness. Andrew remains passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness so more patients in need seek effective evidence-based treatments.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nRachel Weisenburger, B.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0rachelweisenburger@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Rachel graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, with a dual degree in Psychology and the Comparative History of Ideas in 2017. While at UW, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Katie McLaughlin\u2019s Stress and Development Lab and in the Department of Psychiatry\u2019s Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. After graduating, Rachel spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Nashville, TN, where she worked as a college access counselor. Rachel then joined the Stanford SNAP Lab as a research coordinator, where she managed a longitudinal study examining the effects of early life stress on neurobiological, behavioral, and cognitive development across adolescence.
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
Rachel joined the Mood Disorders Laboratory in 2021. She is interested in the role cognitive biases play in the development and maintenance of depression, and how these biases impact the way people think about themselves and their interpersonal relationships. Rachel is also interested in psychopathology classification and utilizing dimensional and symptom-level approaches to studying depression in her research.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nMaria Dekhtyar, M.A.<\/strong><\/h3>Email:\u00a0mdekhtyar@utexas.edu<\/a><\/span>Maria graduated from Boston University with a degree in neuroscience and psychology. She was a research assistant at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital\/Harvard Aging Brain Study, and later a lab manager at Boston University Aphasia Research Lab.
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearch Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
Maria joined the Mood Disorders Lab in 2022 during her 4th year of doctoral training (she was initially working in the Haley Clinical Neuroscience Lab). Maria is interested in the treatment of depression in post-stroke populations.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Research Staff & Volunteer Research Assistants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/labs.la.utexas.edu\/beevers\/files\/2024\/07\/IMG_3375-768x768-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n