People
Graduate Students
Gilly Acedo
Gilly Acedo is a developmental psychology PhD student working with Dr. Doom. She earned a BA in English from University of California, Irvine in 2011 and graduated from California State University San Marcos with her MA of Psychological Science in 2020, where her thesis investigated inflammation and depressive symptoms in preschoolers. Her research continues to focus on developmental psychopathology and physiological correlates, particularly examining the biological mechanisms underpinning the association between mental health disorders and stress responses in children and adolescents, with hopes of contributing to early identification, prevention, and informed care for those at risk. As a native Californian, she loves the beach, spending time with family and friends outdoors on hikes and camping trips, and crafting with her cat, Mowgli.
Emily Walsh
Emily is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of Denver, mentored by Dr. Doom. She received her BA in Neuroscience from Bates College in 2024, while working as an undergraduate research assistant in the Labs of Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston Children’s Hospital. She then spent two years as a Clinical Research Assistant for the nationwide HEALthy Brain and Child Development study. Emily’s research interests broadly focus on understanding the mechanisms by which perinatal stress shapes lifelong mental, physical, and relational health outcomes. She is particularly interested in identifying factors promoting parental resilience to perinatal stress, and ultimately hopes to use these insights to develop clinical interventions that promote long-term wellbeing for diverse families. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with friends, creative writing, crafting, and practicing yoga.
Julianna Collazo Vargas
Julianna ‘Juli’ Collazo Vargas is a clinical psychology graduate student working with Dr. Doom and Dr. Zoe Smith. She earned her BS in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience from Loyola University Chicago. Following graduation, she worked as a research associate at NYU Grossman School of Medicine under Dr. Lauren Shuffrey’s RESILIENT Lab. She hopes to investigate how prolonged individual and neighborhood adversity contribute to sex-specific pathways underlying dysregulation in ADHD symptoms and broader biophysiological outcomes during pregnancy.
Trudy Mickel
Trudy is a clinical psychology PhD student. Her research examines risk and resilience factors that shape physical and mental health across the lifespan. She is especially interested in how youth sport can promote lifelong health, particularly for underserved youth. She is also studies psychosocial predictors of eating behaviors. In her free time, Trudy loves skiing, mountain adventures, and spending time with her dog, friends, and family.
Lab Alumni
Kenia Rivera, PhD
Kenia graduated from the developmental psychology PhD program at the University of Denver. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee in 2015. Afterwards, she volunteered in the Marquette Autism Project lab at Marquette University for 3 years and worked as lab coordinator in the Child Neurodevelopment Research Lab at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee for over a year. Kenia’s research interest broadly focuses on how stress and adversities influence cognitive development and physical health through the lifespan. She is particularly interested in examining the biological and behavioral pathways of how stress influences health and development in the lifespan. Additionally, she is interested in further understanding aspects of resilience and stressors in diverse populations, especially among Latinos.
Deborah Han, PhD
Deborah graduated from the developmental psychology PhD program at the University of Denver. She received her B.S. in Human Development with a concentration in neuroscience at Cornell University in 2017. Before coming to DU, Deborah worked at a non-profit called Child Trends, where she conducted policy-relevant research in early childhood topics such as child care access and quality, positive parenting practices, and social-emotional development. Her research interests include the effects of early adversity and stress on children's development, and social buffering as a protective factor. She is also interested in the development and evaluation of high-quality early care and education programs, policies, and practices.
Nathalie Dieujuste, PhD
Nathalie graduated from the Developmental Psychology PhD program at the University of Denver. In 2016, she received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from Auburn University. Since earning her undergraduate degree, Nathalie worked as a project manager and research coordinator with the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Her research experience spans several topic areas, including trauma, suicidology, health services research, and Black maternal health. As a graduate trainee, Nathalie is interested in investigating the impact of early life trauma and chronic stressors on the physical and mental health of Black girls and women across the lifespan. She is especially interested in examining the impacts of racial trauma and gendered racism on critical periods such as adolescence and the perinatal period. Nathalie is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
Samantha Scott, PhD
Samantha Scott graduated from the clinical psychology PhD student in the Doom Lab. She graduated with honors from the University of Puget Sound with a BA in psychology in 2017. Following graduation, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute in the Palliative Care and Resilience Research Lab, where she worked on studies examining a resilience-based intervention in youth with chronic illness. She also implemented her own study investigating associations between interpersonal relationship experiences and cortisol synchrony in youth with brain cancer and their caregivers. Her research program focuses on associations between resilience resources and clinically-relevant biological processes (with a focus on cardiometabolic health) in healthy youth and youth with severe chronic illness.
