Meet the Team
Dr. Jamie Spiegel, PhD
Director
Dr. Spiegel received her PhD in clinical psychology from Florida State University. She completed her clinical internship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and her postdoctoral fellowship at Florida International University. Her work focuses on addressing functional difficulties associated with externalizing behavior disorders, such as ADHD and ODD. Her research centers around the development and assessment of interventions aimed at addressing the school readiness, academic, social, and behavioral needs of young children with behavior disorders. She has begun extending her work to examine the effectiveness of such interventions for use with those children who are most at-risk, such as those currently experiencing homelessness.
Luisa M. Bermeo
Graduate Student
Luisa M. Bermeo is a first year doctoral student in the Clinical-Counseling Psychology program. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a minor in Psychology from Florida International University. As a post-bacc, she worked as a counselor for the Summer Treatment Program for Pre-K which helps children with externalizing disorders (e.g. ADHD and ODD) get ready for kindergarten. In addition, Luisa worked as a Project Coordinator for the AHEAD Project in the S.E.L.F. Regulation lab at Florida International University which focused on a multidisciplinary understanding of ADHD. Her research interests are comorbidities of ADHD in young children, parental diagnosis as modulators of their child's treatment outcomes, and long term mental health outcomes of children with an early ADHD diagnosis.
Madison Parfait
Project Coordinator
Primary Mentor: Dr. Powell
Madison is a second year student in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program at The University of South Alabama. She is currently working on a meta-analysis for her thesis assessing the impact of school-based interventions on executive functioning in students with autism. She works as Dr. Spiegel's research assistant for Fall 2022 through Spring 2024. Madison obtained her Bachelors degree in psychology at The University of South Alabama. Working with children with developmental and intellectual disabilities is one of her greatest passions. She is a registered behavioral technician, and she spends her free time volunteering with PASSAGE USA. She plans to to continue her education in medical school in Fall 2024 upon finishing her masters. Her primary interest currently lies in developmental pediatrics.
Meet the Collaborators!
Courtney Lewis
Primary Mentor: Dr. Powell
Courtney graduated from The University of South Alabama with a degree in psychology in December 2022. She is currently a first year student in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program. This is her second year as a member of the REACh Lab. She has research experience in comparitive psychology with Dr. Lynn. Her research interests include children with adhd and anxiety based disorders.
Mackenzie Robeson, MPS
Primary Mentor: Dr. Zlomke
Mackenzie Robeson, M.P.S. is a first year doctoral student in the Clinical-Counseling Psychology program. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Rice University in Houston, Texas and her Masters in Professional Studies in Clinical Psychological Science from University of Maryland-College Park. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in the Biobehavioral Mechanisms Explaining Disparities lab, which focused on the effects of psychosocial variables on physical health, such as inflammation. As a graduate student, she has worked as a lab manager for the Big Emotions Across Development Lab, which focused on the relation between parent psychopathology, child psychopathology, and the role of emotion. Her research interests broadly focus on parent-child interactions, emotion regulation within family systems, and associated health outcomes
Hayley Mullinax, MS
Instructor: Introduction to Psychology; Lifespan Development
Hayley is a 2x graduate of the University of South Alabama. She completed her BA in psychology in Spring 2022 and her MS in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences program in Summer 2023. Under the mentorship of Dr. Turner, she successfully defended her thesis on active learning experiences in anxious undergraduates. She plans to pursue a PhD and specialize in educational research.
Meet the Undergraduates!
Annie Edwards
Annie is working towards her Psychology degree with a minor in criminal justice. She is excited to get some research experience in Dr. Spiegel’s lab and learn about behavioral issues and academic impairments in children. Her interests are primarily in child psychology and criminal psychology. She plans to pursue a masters degree.