Undergraduate Research Assistants
Priyal Patel (she/her)
Research Assistant (2021-2022)
Priyal Patel was a Research Assistant from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022 and played an important role in allowing the TARDIS lab to establish itself at UTSA. Priyal graduate from University of Texas at San Antonio Spring 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in business administration. Her research interests include identity development, specifically within the veteran/military population and minority group. Priyal will be starting the M.S. program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Meredith College this Fall 2022.
Sharon Lopez (she/her)
Research Assistant (2021)
Sharon Lopez graduated in December 2021 with a B.A. in psychology from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Subsequently, Sharon was accepted into the M.S. Program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Kristie Robles (she/her)
Research Assistant (2017-2018)
Kristie Robles was a Research Assistant from Fall 2017 to Spring 2018. She played an important role in Stressors and Adaptation Among Latino Emerging Adults (SALEA), a cross-sectional study focused on exploring how cultural stressors affects Hispanic/Latino young adults (ages 18 to 26) in the Hampton Roads.
Kristie graduated from Old Dominion University in May 2019 with a Bachelors in Psychology and a Minor in Chemistry and was accepted to the MD program at Ponce School of Medicine.
Rachel Davis (she/her)
Senior Research Assistant (2017-2019)
Rachel Davis was a Research Assistant from Fall 2017 to Spring 2019 and she played a critical role in establishing the TARDIS lab and contributed to nearly every project conducted by the TARDIS lab including the Acculturation and Substance Use Research Team (ASURT), Psychometric on Identity and Cultural Scales (PICS), and the Addressing Issues in Measurement of Cultural Identity (AIM-CI) study. Moreover, Rachel greatly contributed to expanding the scope of the TARDIS lab to also include academic and educational outcome, assisting in fostering a collaboration with Dr. Tony Perez in the College of Education.
Rachel graduated from Old Dominion University in May 2019 with a Bachelors in Psychology with Honors and was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Developmental Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Richie Kublius (he/him)
Senior Research Assistant (2017-2019)
Richie Kubilus was a Senior Research Assistant in the T.A.R.D.I.S. Lab at Old Dominion University. Richie was a Psychology major, minoring in Human Services, and a member of the Perry Honors College. His research interests include all aspects of substance abuse and the etiology of addiction. Upon graduation, Richie hopes to combine his passion for teaching others with his desire to create a legacy of change in society’s current understanding of the disease of addiction. Richie’s original research, “A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Identity Development and Harmful Alcohol Use within a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample”, under the mentorship of Dr. Meca, was designed to examine the role of identity development in psychosocial outcomes and explored the links between identity development, alcohol expectancies and valuations, and alcohol use/abuse among adolescents.
Tedra Ballard (she/her)
Research Assistant (2018-2019)
Tedra Ballard was a Research Assistant from Spring 2018 to Fall 2019 and was instrumental in extending the TARDIS’s focus on academic and educational outcome. Indeed, Tedra’s research proposal on minority women in ODU’s engineering program was selected by the University Undergraduate Research Committee at Old Dominion University to receive funding ($3,000). As part of this project, Tedra collected mixed-methods data from African American women in engineering by targeting the effects of the unique experiences of these women on multiple educational outcomes. This study has since served as the foundation for the Study of Ethnic/Racial Minority Engineering Students (SEMES).
Tedra graduated from Old Dominion University Spring 2020 with a Bachelors in Psychology and Human Services and was accepted into the Masters in Social Work-Clinical Practice at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Jennise Higgins (she/her)
Senior Research Assistant (2018-2020)
Jennise Higgins was a Research Assistant in the T.A.R.D.I.S. lab from Spring 2018 to Spring 2020. Jennise played a significant role in lab management and worked closely on a range of projects including the Warrior Identity and Reintegration Study (WIR) in collaboration with Dr. Michelle Kelley. Jennise graduated from Old Dominion University in Fall 2019 with a Bachelors in Psychology and plans to attend dental school in the future.
Alicia Moulder (she/her)
Research Assistant (2020-2021)
Alicia graduated from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) with an A.S. in General Studies in the Spring of 2019. She is currently a senior at ODU majoring in Psychology and planning to pursue a degree in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include mental health diagnoses, effectiveness of treatment methods, and the long-term validity of pediatric/adolescent diagnoses.
Brittani Wysockil Garcia (she/her)
Research Assistant (2020-2021)
Brittani Garcia received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Jacksonville University and her Master of Science in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include academic motivation and cultural/social identity. She currently serves as an Academic Advisor Sciences at Old Dominion University.
Eneyda Nunez-Valencia (she/her)
Research Assistant (2019-2021)
Eneyda Nunez-Valencia is an alumnus of Old Dominion University having graduated with a Bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Business Management. At the moment, she is planning on continuing her education in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Isis Cowan (she/her)
Senior Research Assistant (2019-2021)
Isis Cowan received ODU’s M-MARC Fellowship and completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Old Dominion University in Spring 2021. Shortly after, Isis has been working as a Research Specialist in the Changing Brains lab under Dr. Allyson Mackey at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests are grounded in neuroscience and a focus on the detrimental role of discrimination across marginalized populations.
Kyla Carr (she/her)
Senior Research Assistant (2019-2021)
Kyla Carr graduated with her Bachelors in psychology and minor in chemistry from Old Dominion University in Fall 2020. In the future she intends to obtain her doctorate in psychology and would like to become a college professor. Her interests are in both developmental and cross-cultural psychology.
Sangeeta Sharma (she/her)
Senior Research Assistant (2019-2021)
Sangeeta Sharma graduated with her Bachelors in psychology from Old Dominion University in Fall 2020. Sangeeta began the Master’s Program in Counseling Psychology at Northwestern Spring 2021. She plans on furthering her education with the end goal being a doctorate. Her interest includes stereotypes, cultural identity, and identity development within minority groups.
Taityana Ray (she/her)
Research Assistant (2019-2021)
Taityana Ray is an undergraduate student and a member of the Blue Key Honor Society at Old Dominion University. She is majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. Upon graduation, Taityana aims to return to Old Dominion University to earn her Master’s Degree. Ultimately, she is working towards a PhD in psychology in order to pursue a career in research. Her wish is to conduct research on topics that include mental health disorders.
Taylor Webb (she/her)
Lab Manager & Senior Research Assistant (2018-2021)
Taylor Webb graduated from Old Dominion University Fall 2020 with a Bachelors in Psychology and Sociology and a minor in Health and Wellness. She is a brother of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. Taylor began the Ph.D. program in Health Psychology at Old Dominion University in Fall 2021 working under Dr. James Paulson. Her research interests include anxiety/mood disorders and identity, especially within minority populations.
Tim Sipes (he/him)
Research Assistant (2019-2021)
Timothy Sipes graduated with his bachelor’s in psychology and minor in biology from Old Dominion University in Fall 2020. He has a long-term goal on earning a doctorate and becoming a research/clinical psychologist.
