UAB Psychology Update

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UAB 2015

FALL


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04. 06.

DEPARTMENT NEWS 2015 has been an exciting year for UAB Psychology and we can’t wait to see what the new academic year has in store!

FACULTY Dr. Christianne Strang joins our faculty as fellow faculty members make headlines with breakthrough research

2 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015

08. 09.

POSTDOCS Department postdocs are spotlighted as they move their research to UAB and call “The Magic City” home.

GRADUATE STUDIES

Directors name Outstanding Graduate Students at Ost while others continue to collect scholarships and more.


Birmingham skyline from Railroad Park

10. 12.

UNDERGRADUATE NEUROSCIENCE PROGRAM UNP students continue to excel as the program remains one of the most sought after undergraduate degrees at UAB.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES PY undergrads compete in the 27th Annual Ost Research Competition and win big at national research conferences.

14. 15.

ALUMNI Psychology alumni continue to win awards and make headlines as they use their knowledge to change the world.

UPCOMING EVENTS Mark your calendars as we gear up for guest speakers, homecoming week and many other department events you won’t want to miss!

3 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


UNP Karlene BALL, PH.D.

Department Chair Dr. Karlene Ball has been awarded a five year renewal of the NIH funded Roybal Center. The Center is in the 21st year.

Robert SORGE, PH.D.

Faculty member Dr. Robert Sorge was named a 2015 Rita Allen Foundation Pain Scholar.

The Undergraduate Neuroscience Program is proud to announce the appointments of Department of Psychology Associate Professors David Knight, Ph.D. and Rajesh Kana, Ph.D. as Co-Directors of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program.

Laura STOPPELBEIN, PH.D.

Faculty member Dr. Laura Stoppelbein was promoted to Vice President of Clinical Services at Glenwood where she will oversee outpatient clinics in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Montgomery.

Ameen BARGHI

Recent neuroscience graduate and 2015 Rhodes Scholar Ameen Barghi is one of several students who will be appearing in the latest UAB commercials in their 2015 recruitment campaign.

Gitendra USWATTE, PH.D.

Faculty Member Dr. Gitendra Uswatte was appointed as Senior Scientist in the UAB Center for Exercise Medicine.

UAB Psychology was well represented at the 14th Annual Alabama Autism Conference held in Tuscaloosa on February 27, 2015. UAB faculty from Psychology, Pediatrics, and Public Health serve on the conference planning committee each year, including Drs. Fred Biasini and Sarah O'Kelley from UAB Psychology, and the UAB LEND program, which is administered through Psychology, serves as a sponsor. This year Dr. O'Kelley chaired the planning committee and conference, which brought several nationally and internationally renowned speakers to Alabama to share their research and clinical expertise to an audience of nearly 500 educators, interdisciplinary professionals (psychologists, speech-language pathologists, physicians, nurses, counselors, etc.), trainees, parents, and self-advocates from across the state. The theme of this year's conference was "Understanding Associated Features in Autism Spectrum Disorder: “Challenges in Diagnosis and Intervention." UAB psychology undergraduate students and graduate students from the Medical/Clinical and Lifespan Developmental programs represented 6 of the 15 research posters presented at the statewide conference.

4 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


WHAT’S

Scott MORAN

GOING ON?

Psychology Alumni Chapter President Scott Moran and son traveled to NCAA Basketball Tourney to cheer on the Blazers in their 60-59 victory over no. 3 seed Iowa State.

WEBSITE LAUNCH

In the Lab with Dr. Mary Boggiano

Dr. Boggiano and Med Psych graduate student, Emilee Burgess, are seeing much success with a scale they developed called the “Palatable Eating Motives Scale” or PEMS which identifies reasons why individuals eat sweets, desserts, junk food and fast foods, for reasons other than hunger. The four main motives are for Coping, Reward Enhancement, Social, and Conformity motives. Coping predicts increased body weight in a way that cannot be explained by concurrent binge-eating, “food addiction” traits, age, sex, or ethnicity.

Since 2014, Dr. Boggiano’s team has uncovered many more findings with the PEMS which have resulted in 4 scientific articles, one a validation of an adolescent version of the scale, the K-PEMS. Two additional papers are under editorial review and one other paper, a real-time event sampling validation of the PEMS, is being prepared for publication submission. “Seven manuscripts of data is a lot of data over just one year,” said Boggiano. The PEMS has also already drawn international interest. It is being translated by clinicians and researchers in Italy, the U.K., Turkey, Iran, Israel, and in the U.S. at the Univ. of Michigan. It is also being used with patients at UAB’s Weight Loss Medicine EatRight program. It has drawn internet attention on nutrition-based websites.

The College of Arts and Sciences Digital Media Team will launch the new UAB Psychology site is set to launch in September. The new site features media updates, faculty profiles, and much more. Be sure to check it out! www.psy.uab.edu

The PEMS should personalize and hence improve treatments for obesity and binge-eating.

Currently Dr. Boggiano’s team is exploring if certain PEMS-based motives can predict success or failure of tDCS treatment to reduce craving and binge-eating. tDCS is “transcranial direct current stimulation,” a neuromodulating technique that has not been tested on binge-eating until now by Dr. Boggiano’s team at UAB.

5 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


Faculty welcomes Dr. Zina Trost has joined the UAB Department of Psychology as Assistant Professor. Dr. Trost received her Bachelor’s in Psychology in 2003 from Fordham University in New York City where she grew up. She received her doctorate in Clinical Health Psychology from Ohio University in Athens, OH where she first began to explore her interests in chronic pain and illness. During her internship at the University of Washington Medical Center Dr. Trost further developed interests in the area of rehabilitation psychology, particularly factors that influence individuals’ adjustment to traumatic injury. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University in Montreal and has developed a number of international collaborations with colleagues in the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada. She joined the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in August 2015. Her research addresses how individuals cope with pain and injury – specifically cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to pain that can contribute to disability or facilitate positive adjustment. Dr. Trost’ teaching interests include research methods, clinical and health psychology, the psychology of pain, as well as rehabilitation psychology.

Christianne Strang PhD, ATR-BC is a Board-Certified Art Therapist with 25 years of clinical art therapy experience. She earned her M.A. in Art Therapy from Vermont College of Norwich University in 1987, and has served as the Treasurer of the American Art Therapy Association and as Treasurer of the Art Therapy Credentials Board. Dr. Strang received her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2004, followed by a position as a Research Associate in the lab of Dr. Kent Keyser. She joined the Faculty of the Department of Vision Sciences at UAB in May 2011. Dr. Strang’s primary research focus is the study of the expression patterns and physiological roles of nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the retina. Her work uses RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescence microscopy to identify the complement of AChR mRNA transcripts and proteins in the mammalian retina, and patch clamp electrophysiology to characterize the effects of AChR activation on basic retinal processing. Recently, Dr. Strang has begun extending her research towards increased clinical relevance using molecular, imaging, and electrophysiological techniques to characterize the pathophysiological changes in the retinas of transgenic mice that serve as a model for Alzheimer’s disease. She is also actively involved in the didactic and laboratory training of students in the Departments of Vision Sciences, Psychology, and Neurobiology and received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in March of 2015. She is Co-Course Director for the UAB introductory undergraduate and graduate introductory neurobiology courses held at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, in Dauphin Island Alabama. Dr. Strang has participated in collaborations resulting in abstracts and publications with researchers from UAB, Brown University, and Boston College, and is involved in several current collaborations with UAB and non-UAB researchers.

6 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015

In July 2015 she will take office as the President-Elect of the American Art Therapy Association.


research Autism detection

improved by neuroimaging

multimodal

from UAB news article by Jeff Hansen

In an ancient Indian parable, a group of blind men touches different parts of a large animal to find what it is. Only when they share the descriptions of an ear, tail, trunk and leg do they know it is an elephant. Rajesh Kana, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham has brought a similar approach to the classification, and eventual diagnosis, of autism. Kana and colleagues are the first to combine three different measures of the brain — anatomy, the connectivity between different brain regions, and levels of a neurochemical — to distinguish people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from matched, typically developing peers. This multimodal approach, published online this week in the journal “Cortex,” is distinct from many previous studies that have used a single neuroimaging measure. While those studies uncovered widespread functional and anatomical brain abnormalities in ASD, the results were not highly consistent, possibly reflecting the complex brain pathology in autism spectrum disorders. At this time, autism diagnosis is based on behavior. Kana’s multimodal neuroimaging-based classification is a step toward a possible biomarker for autism and possibly diagnosing autism at an early age, perhaps as early as 6 months, when the brain is very plastic and intervention might be more effective. “But that’s a long, long way off,” said Kana, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences and an associate scientist in UAB’s Civitan International Research Center.

This preliminary study needs to be validated with a larger sample, Kana said; but it “emphasizes that the brain abnormalities in autism may not be confined to a single area. Rather, they are distributed across different areas at multiple levels and layers.” Kana, corresponding author of the study, examined 19 highfunctioning adults with ASD and 18 typically developing peers, who were matched for age and intelligence. Using the 3-Tesla scanner in the UAB Civitan Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Kana’s group performed structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure brain cortical thickness (volume data), diffusion tensor imaging to measure the connectivity of white-matter fibers of the brain, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure brain neurotransmitters like N-acetylaspartate. Kana’s group found significant differences in some specific measurements using each of the three neuroimaging approaches. They then combined certain of these key differences into a decision tree model — akin to the differential diagnosis flowchart used by clinicians. This decision-tree model gave a classification accuracy of 91.9 percent for distinguishing ASD subjects from the controls. This start by Kana and colleagues to unlock the neuropathology of autism needs to be validated using a larger sample of subjects to improve the generalizability of these preliminary findings. Kana also wants to look at lower-functioning ASD subjects, younger ASD children and a larger number of female participants. To read more, visit http://www.uab.edu/news/innovation/item/5809-autismdetection-improved-by-multimodal-neuroimaging

7 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


Meet the PSYCHOLOGY LaRITA Dr. Jones, a developmental psychologist, is currently a NIMH-funded Postdoctoral Fellow in the Psychology Department at UAB. During her time as a graduate student in the Lifespan Developmental Psychology Program at UAB, Dr. Jones studied the emotional health effects of aging with diabetes under the mentorship of Dr. Olivio Clay. Since earning her Doctorate in December 2014, Dr. Jones has worked under the mentorship of Dr. Sylvie Mrug examining developmental timing and racial and gender differences in chronic health conditions as risk factors for depression and anxiety.

8 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015

JOANNE

PARIYA

Dr. Lin graduated from the University of Auckland in New Zealand with a Bachelor of Pharmacy with First Class Honors in 2008.

In 2012, Pariya Fazeli received her Ph.D. in Lifespan Developmental Psychology with an emphasis on cognitive aging as well as a Gerontology certificate from UAB.

After practicing as a registered pharmacist, she completed her Ph.D. in 2013. Her doctoral research investigated the effects of methamphetamine addiction on the human brain with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging and pharmacotherapies for addiction.

Her interests and research in graduate school began with cognitive aging and cognitive interventions with non-pathological older adults and progressed to her current primary focus of cognitive aging in HIV. Shortly after graduating, Pariya began her first Postdoctoral Fellowship in the UC San Diego (UCSD) Psychiatry Department and the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP) where she continued to conduct research in her primary area of interest of aging with HIV, examining lifestyle factors associated with successful cognitive aging with HIV as well as intervention strategies to prevent and/or reverse cognitive impairment in HIV.

Joanne joined Dr. Jarred Younger's lab in December 2013 and is working on several projects with Prof. Younger, including measuring the neural effects of chronic opioid exposure in the treatment of various pain conditions and investigating pain pathways with MRI. Her primary research interests involve neuroimaging, pain, and the effects of prescription/recreational drug use.

As of January 1, 2015, Dr. Fazeli has transitioned back to UAB as a Postdoc working under Dr. Karlene Ball in the Psychology Department and the Center for Research on Applied Gerontology (CRAG) conducting cognitive rehabilitation research in older HIV+ adults using cognitive training and transcranial direct current stimulation which is part of her NIH Career Development Award (K99/R00).


behavioral neuroscience

studies

lifespan developmental medical clinical

GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDS Gregg Steele Outstanding Graduate Student in Behavioral Neuroscience: Rachel Besing (Mentor: Dr. Karen Gamble) Outstanding Graduate student in Lifespan and Developmental Psychology: Jiabin Shen (Mentor: Dr. David Schwebel) Outstanding Graduate student in Medical/Clinical Psychology: Molly Hensler Gardner (Mentor: Dr. Sylvie Mrug) Overall Outstanding Graduate Student in Psychology: Molly Hensler Gardner The Department's nominee for the Dean's Graduate Research Award: Molly Hensler Gardner Associates: Danielle M. Vincent, Eva P. Trinh Scholar: Meredith A. Henry Has received the Civitan Emerging Scholars Award, The Peterson-Homer Award and placed second in her session at Graduate Student Research Day. Her poster "Examining the Driving Characteristics of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders," also won an award at the Simpson Ramsey Conference. Paper submission, on the role of IQ in autism symptomatology among children born prematurely, has been selected as one of the two Student Research Awards for APA Division 33 were named IMFAR Travel Award Recipients

Developmental Graduate Student Meredith Henry was selected to serve on SRDC’s Teaching Committee on the Student and Early Career Council. This is an office with the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), an international professional organization for developmental psychology. Henry was chosen for this position via an election in which all current members were allowed to vote. Currently, there are around 5,500 members comprised of researchers, practitioners, and human development professionals representing over 50 countries. Within SRCD, there are 14 committees. One of these is SECC--the Student and Early Career Council.

BN Graduate Student Stacie Totsch has been chosen an award recipient for this years NORC "Creativity is a Decision" Competition. The Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, supported in part by generous gifts from Mars Incorporated and Pfizer, sponsors a unique competition for submission of the most creative ideas for grant proposals in obesity-related research. This program has already proven successful in helping investigators to put forward their most creative ideas – the ones they might have even been afraid of being laughed at for – and getting them funded. Totsch received a $1,000 cash prize award for her research piece, “Activating brown adipose tissue as a means to combat obesity through natural processes provides a unique potential for interventions.” 9 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


undergraguate neuroscience program A New Batch of Alumni This spring, The UAB Undergraduate Neuroscience Program graduated its strongest class since the program’s creation in 2008. Perhaps the best index of the students’ success is by the numbers. 11 of 17 of this year’s UNP class will graduate Summa Cum Laude with the remaining 6 very close behind. This accomplishment is taken in the context of a very demanding curriculum, the substantial commitment each student has made to a research laboratory and the large number of other activities and volunteer work each student has engaged in. Congratulations to all of the Neuroscience graduates! Below is listed each graduate is listed with his or her plans for the fall.

Kara Arps: Emory University, Physical Therapy Doctoral Program

Ameen Barghi: After fulfilling his Rhodes Scholarship activities in Oxford, England, he will attend medical school at Harvard University (full tuition scholarship). Clair Crider: UAB School of Medicine Kristin Ford: UAB Physical Therapy Doctoral Program Jonathan Hamilton: After completing a master’s degree in Biology, he plans to attend the University of Mississippi Medical School. Alan Howard: UAB School of Medicine or Rural Medicine Program at UAB Ian Michalak: Medical school at either the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center or the University of North Carolina Grace Nix: University of South Alabama Physical Therapy Doctoral Program Shejuti Paul: UAB School of Medicine Brynna Paulukaitis: MD/Ph.D. Program at Vanderbilt University, full tuition/room and board fellowship. Ashleigh Tomkovitch: University of South Alabama Medical School (Full Army Scholarship) Sara Robicheaux: MPH Program at UAB Alan Schumann: University of South Alabama Medical School (Full Army Scholarship) Jared Smith: Post-baccalaureate MD/PH.D. Preparation program at IUPUI Kristen Smith: University of South Alabama Medical School (Full Army Scholarship) Sarah Terry: UAB Department of Psychology Medical Psychology Doctoral Program Anjali Wagle: UAB School of Medicine 10 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015

UAB's Newest Rhodes Scholar Prepares For Oxford By Jeff Hansen and Charles Buchanan • Photo by Steve Wood

Even if you get an answer, you still need to know why. That advice from a high-school calculus teacher and math team coach sparked an intellectual awakening in Ameen Barghi. “Before that, my goals had just been utilitarian—I tried to circle the answer as soon as possible,” says the Birmingham native. “She instilled this constant curiosity, this constant passion.” Now that curiosity will lead Barghi to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar—the third in UAB’s history and one of 32 U.S. students selected for the prestigious honor for 2015. Barghi is a double major at UAB—in neuroscience and an individually designed major in translational research. He also is a member of the UAB Honors College, the Science and Technology Honors Program, Business Honors Program, and Early Medical School Acceptance Program. But his first experience with UAB was in 10th grade, when he began work as a hospital volunteer. Later, he joined the lab of Edward Taub, Ph.D., University Professor in psychology and a world-renowned behavioral neuroscientist who developed constraint-induced movement therapy to improve patients’ movement and function after stroke, multiple sclerosis, or other neurological injuries or diseases. Taub “just opened his door to me,” Barghi says. “I had the opportunity to learn clinical neuroscience at its finest,” from working on computational analyses of MRI neuroimaging to publishing five papers in peer-reviewed research journals. “I’m getting experiences at UAB that students from the best institutions around the world can’t get.” Barghi, named a Goldwater Scholar in 2013, “will be a first-class scientist,” Taub says. “He excels in almost everything—reasoning, strong application, and a firm sense of how to get things done and how to approach people.” Beyond the lab, Barghi has worked on health-related projects in Azerbaijan and Iran. (He speaks both Azari and Farsi.) Closer to home, he has supported the community by teaching an ACT prep class at Bessemer City High School and by volunteering with substance abuse programs, a crisis line, and hospital clinics. Barghi will begin his all-expenses-paid graduate education at Oxford University this fall. He plans to study clinical neuroscience, with an eye toward developing imaging systems and software that could help clinicians diagnose progressive diseases earlier.


This year’s UAB Bioethics Team repeated as national champions at the Bioethics Bowl, hosted by Florida State University. UAB advanced against Dartmouth, UCLA, Georgetown, and Rutgers. UAB last won the Bowl in 2011. All of the team members are in UAB's Early Medical and Dental Acceptance Program, which is directed by their coach and Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Dr. Gregory Pence. The team is comprised of Kevin Shrestha, Biology, Honors College (UHP); Melanie Nichols, Biology, Honors College (UHP); Ameen Barghi, Neuroscience and CAS Individually Designed Major in Translational Research, Honors College (Science and Tech); Brynna Paulukaitis, Neuroscience, Honors College (Science and Tech); and Eric Kim Finance (School of Business), Honors College. Barghi—our 2015 Rhodes Scholar—led the team, which according to Dr. Pence, cemented its win with a passionate, articulate attack by Paulukaitis, a senior, and Nichols, a freshman. Pictured below from left to right: Professor and coach Gregory Pence, Kevin Shrestha, Melanie Nichols, Ameen Barghi, Brynna Paulukaitis and Eric Kim.

Ian Michalak Ian Michalak, a senior UHP Neuroscience major, and a stalwart on UAB Men's Soccer team has earned Capital One Academic All-America honors for the second year in a row. Ian's selection was announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), who recognize student-athletes who excel in their field of competition and in the classroom. After becoming just the second player in UAB's soccer program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors last year, Ian was selected again this year making him one of only six D-1 soccer players in the country to earn the honor for a second consecutive year. Ian also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 Team honors again this season and was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the second-straight year, as he helped the nationally-ranked UAB men's soccer team advance to its third NCAA Championship in four years. He has also been named UAB's Student Athlete of the Week. Ian has maintained an almost perfect GPA in a difficult Neuroscience curriculum in addition to completing the pre-med curriculum. He has earned the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal and has received the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll honors every year while at UAB and has also earned the league's Academic Medal each year while with the Green and Gold.

VIS 456 NBL 356

Neuroscience Majors Lead Bioethics Team to National Championship

CH 235

Neuroscience major Oluwagbemiga Olamide Larinde “Nathan” has been awarded the prestigious UNCF Merk Science Scholarship. This award provides up to $30,000 in financial support, mentoring and the opportunity to intern at a Merck Facility over the summer. Approximately 15 awards are given each year to students throughout the nation. This is not the first time a UNP student has taken home this award. Several years ago, neuroscience alumna Ashton Wheeler won this award.

PY 101

Oluwagbemiga Olamide “Nathan” Larinde

In his spare time, Ian also competed in the Mercedes Benz Marathon this spring in Birmingham finishing with a time of 4:06:35 alongside his sister. This was a 9:25 minute/mile pace and placed him 315/842 overall and 234/536 among male finishers which was a great outing for a first-time marathon. In his efforts, Ian raised over $3,000 for Luisa, a young girl with Rhett’s Syndrome, with whom Ian has been working with weekly at the Bell Center.

Brian Nykanen Brian Nykanen has been named a finalist for the 2015 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is one of the most prestigious scholarships in the country and is reserved for students devoted to a career in public service. Brian is a neuroscience major, pre-med student and is also a member of the Army ROTC and of the UAB Honors College’s Experiential Learning Scholars Program. 11 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


LIFE

A recap of the 27th annual Each year the Department of Psychology hosts an Undergraduate Research Competition that honors the memory of Professor John W. P. Ost. Professor Ost served as chair of the Department of Psychology from 1973 until 1977 and continued to serve as an active faculty member until his untimely death in 1988. The John Ost Undergraduate Research Competition commemorates Dr. Ost’s dedication to undergraduate research training.

Guest Speaker,

Dr. Josh Klapow This year, Joshua C. Klapow, Ph.D., served as our guest speaker. Dr, Klapow is a clinical psychologist and Chief Behavioral Scientist for ChipRewards, a health engagement technology company and

a former faculty member in Psychology. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Care Organization and Policy. He is the author of more than 100 professional articles, abstracts, and book chapters in the area of behavioral medicine and health psychology. He is also the author of “Living SMART: 5 Essential Skills to Change Your Health Habits Forever” a consumer focused book on lifestyle change. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Klapow works extensively with local and national media in the dissemination of behavioral science content. He has made over 700 media appearances across a variety of television and radio outlets. He presently serves as the resident psychologist for 94.5FM WJOX, The Opening Drive. Dr. Klapow received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a specialization in Behavioral Medicine from the University of California, San Diego in 1995. He also completed a fellowship in Geropsychiatry at the University of California, San Diego in 1996.

Passey Prize for the Outstanding Student in Psychology, Briana M. Watkins

UAB Psychology Department Achievement Award, Indya L. Woods

Undergraduate Neuroscience Program Awards Ameen Barghi & Brynna Paulukaitis

Presentation of Excellence in High School Research Award, Juan Cruz V

Teaching Awards

Psi Chi Faculty of the Year Award, Dr. Bridgett Kennedy

2015 Ost Research Competition Winners Claire Crider & Morgan Parr

Judges

Mr. Tyler Bell, Dr. Michael Crowe, Dr. Eric Gampher, Ms. Meredith Henry, Dr. Maria Hopkins, Dr. Rajesh Kana, Dr. Sarah O’Kelley, Mr. Jiabin Shen, Ms. Eva Trinh, Ms. Shannon Wittig

Participants

Anooshah Ejaz Ata, Ameen Barghi, Jamie E. Bice, Claire E Crider, Miah K. Daniel, Samantha Rose Golf, Shyla R. Hossain, Kimberlee D. Krubinski, Denise I. Lee, Bhavan A. Modi, Mohamad M. Moughnyeh, Morgan Nicole Parr, Brynna S. Paulukaitis, Ranjani Ponnazhagan, Sara E. Robicheaux, Kaitlyn N. Rody, Margaret Thornton, William P. Wagner, Briana M. Watkins, Lindsey R. Yessick 12 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


Will Wagner

49th Annual NCHC meeting in Denver, CO. UAB UHP Wins 3 of 9 categories Honors students from all over the country gave poster presentations at the 49th Annual National Collegiate Honors Council meeting in Denver Colorado (November 6-9th). There are close to 900 member institutions in NCHC, the majority of whom were represented at this year's conference. Each poster presentation was judged by 3-4 faculty members, typically Honors Directors or Deans from honors colleges and programs throughout the US and abroad (Netherlands, Qatar). Students from honors programs and colleges across the nation presented posters in nine different categories: Arts & Humanities; Business, Engineering, and Computer Science; Diversity; Education & Pedagogy; Environmental Science, Health Sciences; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Social & Behavioral Sciences; and Visual Arts. “It is quite an achievement for an honors program or college to have a student winner in any of the nine categories and an extremely rare event for a program or school to have multiple winners (The University Honors Program achieved this feat previously in the inaugural NCHC Student Poster competition several years ago, when UHP students won 3 of the 9 categories), said UHP Director, Mike Sloane. Neuroscience majors shared the title as co-winners in Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Ranjani Ponnazhagan (UHP), a junior Neuroscience Major mentored by Dr. David Standaert (Department of Neurology), whose presentation was titled "Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 4 Positive Allosteric Modulators Attenuate LPS-Induced Inflammation in Microglia Cells" and John Decker (UHP) a junior Neuroscience Major mentored by Dr. Paul Gamlin (Dept. of Ophthalmology), whose presentation was titled "Voluntary EyeMovements to Cyclopean, Monocularly-Invisible Targets" The UAB students received their awards from NCHC President, Dr. Jim Reubal at the NCHC Awards Ceremony on Saturday night. Pictured above are award recipients (left to right: Lily Deng, John Decker, Mike Sloane, and Ranjani Ponnazhagan)

Psychology major Will Wagner is the recipient of the 2015-16 Gloria Goldstein Howton Scholarship. Gifts from friends and former colleagues of Gloria Goldstein Howton have been used to create an endowed scholarship in her honor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Income from the Gloria Goldstein Howton Endowment Fund is used to award an annual scholarship to a student enrolled in creative writing at UAB. The scholarship recipient is selected by the creative writing faculty on the basis of merit, character, and promise. Will was honored on Awards Day at the Spencer Honors House. Will was also accepted for participation in the TRIP 2015 program with Dr. Despina Stavrinos as his advisor.

Psychology Majors Take Home Awards at Research Conference The 14th Annual University of Alabama System Honors Research Conference was held at the University of Alabama and UAB Psychology students walked away winners. As has been the case in previous years, UAB's honors students were well represented at this prestigious honors conference which brings together honors students from UA, UAH, and UAB for podium and poster presentations that are assessed by a panel of judges from the various campuses. Four of the eight categories were won by UAB students and two of those winners are psychology majors.

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Lindsey Yessick, " An examination of pain catastrophizing and experimental pain sensitivity in patients with chronic low back pain." Department of Psychology Honors Program Mentor: Dr. Burel Goodin, Dept. of Psychology

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Sarah Terry, "Effects of habitual caffeine consumption on pain sensitivity." Science and Technology Honors Program Mentor: Dr. Burel Goodin, Dept. of Psychology 13 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


Staying Connected to UAB Psychology

Donate to Psychology by visiting www.uab.edu/give/now and write -in Psychology

SADHVI BATRA Pictured: Dr. Karlene Ball (Left) and Dr. Leanne Cianfrini (Right) at the CAS 2014 Alumni Awards Ceremony

LEANNE CIANFRINI, Ph.D. from CAS News

Our alumni are more than former students. They are ambassadors of the institution, representatives of the quality of the education available to students at UAB, and advocates for the College and university in a broad and complex world. The honorees whom we recognized at this year’s College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Awards celebration have accomplished great things since they left UAB, and they are shining examples of what we value: hard work, dedication, service, and compassion. - Remarks from CAS Dean Dr. Robert Palazzo

About Dr. Cianfrini

Dr. Cianfrini graduated from UAB with an M.S. in Psychology in 2002, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2004. After UAB, she completed Pre- and PostDoctoral Fellowships (Health Psychology and Pain Psychology) from the University of Florida Health Sciences Center. Today, she is a clinical/medical psychologist at the Doleys Clinic/Pain and Rehabilitation Center in Birmingham. As Program Director of the clinic, she coordinates community workshops and develops unique evidence-based interdisciplinary programs for clinic outpatients. She is an Adjunct Professor at UAB and teaches graduate courses in medical psychology. She has received the President’s Award for Excellence in Pain Management from the Southern Pain Society (2008), was an Exchange Intern at the University of Oxford (2004), received a Merit Fellowship from UAB (2003), and a Preceptorship from the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation (2002). 14 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015

Neuroscience alumna Sadhvi Batra was recently awarded the Humanity in Action Fellowship. This highly-selective scholarship allows Sadhvi to spend the month of June in Europe studying human rights. Sadhvi is one of only 40 students selected from a national applicant pool of more than 700 young adults. As an undergraduate, Sadhvi majored in neuroscience and was a member of the UAB Honors College’s Science and Technology Honors Program. She is currently completing the fifth-year fast track Masters in Public Health program at UAB. In addition, Sadhvi has been admitted to UAB School of Medicine, and will likely continue her studies at UAB this fall.

LUKE STOECKEL, Ph.D. By Matt Windsor

Barbecue and brain cells: Training the brain to fight obesity UAB alumnus Luke Stoeckel is expanding exploration of the neuroscience of obesity and diabetes as the leader of a new program in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). What is really happening when you are pondering an extra helping of ice cream? Could a brain scan help you understand and rethink your urge to eat and overeat spareribs? These are some of the research questions supported by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. This past summer, the Institute tapped clinical neuropsychologist Luke Stoeckel, Ph.D., a UAB Psychology alumnus, to lead its new Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience of Obesity and Diabetes Program. “There’s a growing area of research coming from various corners of neuroscience that is clearly showing that there are aspects of brain function — outside of regulating hunger — that are important for the development and maintenance of diabetes and obesity,” said Stoeckel, who received his doctorate in medical/clinical psychology at UAB in 2009. “This is an important and understudied area that can help us understand the growing epidemics of obesity and diabetes.” To read more, visit https://www.uab.edu/mix/stories/brain-training-and- obesity


fall 2015

New Psychology Website Launches www.psy.uab.edu

9/30

CME SPEAKER*: Peter Hendricks, Ph.D. “Everything Old is New Again: Making the Case for Classic Psychadelics for the Promotion of Mental Health”

*All CME approved colloquia held in Campbell Hall 327 @ 3:30 PM

10/04 - 10/10

Homecoming Week

11/23 - 11/27

Fall / Thanksgiving Break

10/07

12/04

Last Day of Class

12/09

Department of Psychology Distinguished Alumni Awards Colloquium* Larry Hawk, Jr., Ph.D.

CME SPEAKER*: Timothy Levine, Ph.D. “Improving Accuracy in Deception Detection”

Reception to follow at The Wine Loft 5PM - 6:30PM

Final Examinations

10/09

Psychology Fall Gathering @ UAB MiniPark

12/07 - 12/11 12/12

Commencement

THIS EDITION OF THE PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE WAS PRODUCED BY*

KARLENE BALL, Ph.D. executive editor MARY FRANCES THETFORD, M.Ed. editor + content LAUREN VARDAMAN content + design *contributing articles and content from UAB News, CAS Magazine & Department of Psychology faculty and staff

15 PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE / Fall 2015


The Psychology Update is a newsletter written for students, faculty, alumni and friends of the UAB Department of Psychology.

UAB Department of Psychology Campbell Hall Suite 415 | 1300 University Blvd | Birmingham, AL 35294 205.934.3850


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