CV

Chris (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Fordham University in New York City. His research examines the development and classification of emotional disorders, including borderline personality disorder, anxiety, and depression. He focuses on stress-linked processes that affect the onset, time course, and treatment-response of these conditions. Chris is also part of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) consortium, which aims to build a quantitative model of the signs and symptoms of psychological disorders to improve diagnosis, research, and intervention in mental health fields. 

At Fordham, Chris teaches courses related to personality, psychological disorders, and statistics. He is a NY-licensed psychologist and supervises clinical PhD students in Fordham's Community Mental Health Clinic.

Chris graduated with a BS from Duke University in 2007 and then earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 2013. He was a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA's Anxiety and Depression Research Center and at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Grace (she/her) is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the clinical psychology program at Fordham University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in deaf studies in 2018 from Boston University. Grace’s research interests are in statistical methodology and the association between personality traits and emotion regulation. She is most interested in the lower-level constructs of emotion regulation (e.g., distress tolerance, negative urgency, emotional acceptance) and how they relate to personality (i.e., neuroticism) on a daily basis. In addition, her research focuses on underserved populations including those residing around Fordham in Inwood and the Bronx. 

Sara (she/her) is a sixth-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology Program at Fordham University. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in management studies in 2013 from St. Olaf College. Sara's research interest centers on the development and measurement of various internalizing disorders, with a particular interest in obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. She is also interested in understanding the development of various pathologies over time with the use of lower-level personality constructs as defined by an empirically derived classification system (HiTOP).

Gabs (she/her) is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program. Her research interests broadly include short- and long-term changes in personality processes and personality disorder symptoms, including suicide, nonsuicidal self-injury, and emotion dysregulation, especially in minoritized populations. Prior to joining the B-PER Lab, Gabs worked at McLean Hospital's Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute researching personality disorders. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and history with a concentration in global studies from Williams College. Gabs is originally from the Philippines, and enjoys board games, trivia, and being in the ocean. You can find a list of Gabs' research work here, and her CV here.

Reed (he/him) is a third-year Ph.D. student in the clinical psychology program at Fordham University. He is primarily interested in the role of emotional reactivity in anxiety and personality disorders, especially how distress tolerance can affect emotion regulation and psychopathology symptoms. Reed earned his B.A. in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles and worked as a Senior Research Associate & Project Manager in LMU’s HeadsUP! Lab prior to joining the B-PER Lab. Originally from Kailua, Hawaii, Reed loves collecting records, tending to his plants, and running. You can find a list of Reed’s research work here, and his CV here.

Kimmie (she/her) is a second-year M.S. student in the Clinical Research Methods program at Fordham University. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology in 2024 from California State University, Los Angeles. Kimmie's research examines personality pathology through dimensional and hybrid frameworks including the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP), focusing on the relationship between identity and interpersonal dynamics. She uses intensive longitudinal methods to capture real-time fluctuations in personality pathology, which she hopes will translate to just-in-time adaptive interventions for BPD.

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Ava Rutgers is a first-year M.S. student in Clinical Research Methods at Fordham University with a B.A. in Psychology from McGill University. Prior to joining the B-PER Lab, she worked as a Research Coordinator at the Treating and Understanding Life-Threatening Behaviour Lab at York University and volunteered as a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator at the Anxiety Research and Treatment Lab and Addictions and Mental Health Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. She has also worked as a Clinical Coordinator at the Cognitive and Interpersonal Therapy Centre and Patient Guide at the University Health Network (UHN), where she supported patients in applying CBT-based skills from an online transdiagnostic intervention addressing anxiety, depression, and trauma related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nicole Holbrook holds a BA in Psychology from Lehman College and is currently pursuing her MS in Clinical Research Methods at Fordham University. She previously worked as a research volunteer at the Lugo Lab at Columbia University Medical Center, where she contributed to projects examining hypervigilance and sleep among pregnant Latinx individuals. She now works at the Research Foundation of CUNY, focusing on sleep and mental health among NYC residents. In addition, Nicole serves as a tutor at Lehman College, where she supports undergraduate students in Introductory Statistics. Her research interests include self-esteem, hope, and distress tolerance, particularly as these factors impact underrepresented populations and individuals affected by socioeconomic disparities. She also serves as a Crisis Counselor at Crisis Text Line, where she supports individuals in crisis by guiding them toward a calmer state and offering emotional support through coping strategies and relevant resources. Nicole aspires to become a clinical psychologist with expertise in both research and clinical practice and plans to apply to Clinical Psychology programs.

Dr. Soroko is an Associate Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. She received a Fulbright scholarship to conduct research on dimensional models of psychopathology.

Trevor is a postbac student pursuing a bachelor of science in Psychology with a minor in marketing. After graduation, he plans to pursue a medical degree to become a psychiatrist. His research interests include personality disorders, emotional dysregulation, distress tolerance, and prosocial behavior.

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