Dr. Nancy Jao is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Health, Behaviors, and Tobacco Use (HaBiT) Research Lab in the Department of Psychology at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS). Dr. Jao completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Behavioral Medicine/Health Psychology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She completed her clinical psychology internship at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and remained as an NIH Post-Doctoral Research Fellow funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) T32 Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Research Fellowship. 

She joined the Department of Psychology at RFUMS in 2022. 

Peyton Erb joined the HaBiT Research Lab as a research assistant in May 2025. Peyton earned a B.S. in Psychology from Indiana State University, with minors in Human Resource Development and Counseling. She began her career in the HR field before transitioning into research, where she hopes to apply her HR experience to her passion for mental health. Peyton hopes to pursue a Clinical Psychology PhD in the future.

Vanessa Fishel joined the HaBiT Research Lab as a Clinical Psychology PhD student in August 2023. After graduating with a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, Vanessa worked as a research assistant in the Center for the Evaluation of Nicotine in Cigarettes (CENiC) on clinical trials research examining the effects of reduced nicotine cigarettes on cessation, and then in the Clinical Neurophysiological Research Lab (CNRL) examining biomarkers for psychosis using EEG, MEG, and fMRI/MRI. She has also worked as a Project Manager on the Texas Twin Project investigating individual differences in behavioral genetics. Vanessa’s work experience has allowed her to gain familiarity with various research methodologies, including neuroimaging, behavioral genetics, biomarkers, and survey data. Her research interests lie in using these and other modalities to investigate factors related to smoking cessation, including stigma, relapse, and long-term health outcomes.  

Crystal Ebeh joined the HaBiT Research Lab as a Clinical Counseling MS student in November 2024. Crystal graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Texas where she worked as a research assistant in the Center for Psychosocial Health Disparities Research, examining diversity percentages in graduate school programs. Currently, she works as a mental health professional in a residential mental health facility that specializes in serious cases of mental illness. Crystal's research interests focus on the biological and psychological mechanisms underlying the progression of psychosis, with particular emphasis on the role of substances in influencing its development and course.