Embedded Files
December 2025
Congratulations to Shelby McGrew for interviewing for pre-doctoral internship programs with great hope, expertise, and skill! We are all rooting for her every step of the way!!
November 2025
Congratulations to graduate student, Savannah Woller, for presenting her poster project in collaboration with principal investigator, Dr. Anka Vujanovic, lab coordinator, Fiorela Ruiz, and graduate students, Shelby Woller and Kayla Hall, at the 2025 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention in New Orleans. The poster topic was “Posttraumatic Cognitions and Drinking Behaviors among Women Sexual Trauma Survivors: Examining the Role of Anxiety Sensitivity.”
Hitting the papers once again: Dr. Anka Vujanovic's first responders research and work were featured in Texas A&M's College of Arts and Sciences news section. Read featured article here.
Dr. Anka Vujanovic's multi-site clinical trial, co-led by Dr. Adam Gonzalez of Stony Brook Medicine and Dr. Rebecca Schwartz of Northwell Health, was featured in Texas A&M's College of Arts and Sciences news section. Read featured article here.
A big hurrah to graduate student Kayla Hall as she published three first-author journals:
Hall, K. E., Woller, S. J., Vitus, D., Ruiz, F., McGrew, S. J., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2025). Associations of sensitivity to reward and punishment with alcohol use severity in a trauma-exposed community sample: The role of drinking motives. Substance Use & Misuse, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2580510
Hall, K. E., Tull, M. T., & Gratz, K. L. (2025). Negative emotion regulation self-efficacy moderates the association between PTSD symptom severity and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in a trauma-exposed community sample of adults. Journal of Clinical Psychology, X(X). http://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.70046
Hall, K. E., Shacklewood, C., Sege, C., Hahn, A., & Danielson, C. K. (2025). Rumination mediates the relationship between potentially traumatic events and positive affect in a sample of youth. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-025-00740-y
October 2025
Congratulations to our undergraduate research assistant, Juan Emilio-Davila, for presenting his poster project in collaboration with principal investigator, Dr. Anka Vujanovic, and graduate student, Savannah Woller, at the 2025 San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference. The poster topic was “Emotion Regulation Mediates Effect of Impulsivity on PTSD Symptoms in Veterans and First Responders.”
Davila, J.-E., Woller, S. J., Vujanovic, A. A., & Cuthbert, K. (2025, October 20-21). Emotion Regulation Mediates Effect of Impulsivity on PTSD Symptoms in Veterans and First Responders [Poster presentation]. 2025 San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, San Antonio, TX, United States.
September 2025
Congratulations to Dr. Vujanovic for her newly funded R01 grant (R01 MH137282) from the National Institute of Mental Health!
The study is entitled "A Large-Scale Efficacy Trial of a Resilience Training Program for First Responders." This will be a multi-site trial with Stony Brook University School of Medicine in collaboration with Dr. Gonzalez and Dr. Schwartz!
Congratulations to graduate student Kayla Hall for presenting her poster at the ISTSS Conference.
Title: Mental Health Outcomes in Trauma-Exposed Firefighters: Sex Differences in PTSD Symptoms, Sleep Quality, Occupational Stress, Alcohol Use, and Anxiety.
Our TaSSC lab team: Alexis Berry, Fiorela Ruiz, and Kayla Hall at the ISTSS Conference.
Congratulations to graduate student Alexis Berry for presenting her poster at the ISTSS Conference.
Title: Examining Workplace Trauma in Female Firefighters: A Mixed-Methods Study of Mental Health and Occupational Risks.
Our team was excited to visit with colleagues and friends, Drs. Sudie Back and Debra Kaysen, in Baltimore at the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies!
Pictured left to right: Alexis Berry, Kayla Hall, Fiorela Ruiz, Dr. Anka Vujanovic, Dr. Sudie Back, and Dr. Debra Kaysen
Congratulations to Kayla Hall for receiving a travel award from the TAMU Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences for her poster presentation at the annual International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies meeting in Baltimore, MD.
Hall, K. E., Ruiz, F., Ojerinde, O., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2025). Mental Health Outcomes in Trauma-Exposed Firefighters: Sex Differences in PTSD Symptoms, Sleep Quality, Occupational Stress, Alcohol Use, and Anxiety. Poster presented at the 41st annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), Baltimore, MD. https://istss.org/meetings-events/upcoming-events/.
Our team is excited to welcome TAMU graduate students, Vishaka Kalra and Greg Vogt, as Relapse Prevention Study Therapists on our ongoing multi-site trial (in collaboration with Dr. Sudie Back, Medical University of South Carolina), entitled Integration of Cognitive Processing Therapy and Relapse Prevention for Alcohol Use Disorder and Co-Occurring PTSD: A Randomized Clinical Trial (R01AA030157).
Vishaka is advised by Dr. Sherecce Fields, and Greg is advised by Dr. Israel Liberzon.
August 2025
In collaboration with Dr. Temi Salami of Prairie View A&M University, Dr. Vujanovic received a grant award entitled "Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Human Trafficking: A Collaborative, Trauma-Informed Training and Research Initiative."
Congratulations to Dr. Nate Healy for successfully defending his dissertation project at the University of Houston!! Dr. Healy's project was entitled "PTSD Symptom Severity and the Perceived Ability to Refrain from Suicidal Action among First Responders Who Served During Hurricane Harvey: Associations with Stigma and Social Support and Connection."
Congratulations to Alexis Berry for receiving the TAMU Graduate & Professional School Travel Award for her poster presentation at the annual International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies meeting in Baltimore, MD.
Berry, A. M., Ruiz, F., Ojerinde, O., Cuthbert, K., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2025, September 17-20).
Examining Workplace Trauma in Female Firefighters: A Mixed-Methods Study of Mental Health and Occupational Risks. ISTSS 2025 (September 17-20) Conference, Baltimore, MD. https://istss.org/meetings-events/upcoming-events/.
Pictured: Dr. Vujanovic with APA Division 56 President, Dr. Jessica Punzo
Dr. Vujanovic was honored by the American Psychological Association (APA) - Division 56 (Trauma Psychology), and she received the Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Trauma Psychology Award at the annual meeting in Denver, CO!
June 2025
Congratulations to Shelby McGrew for being honored as the 2024 O'Neill Addiction Science Education Award by the Texas Research Society on Alcohol! This award recognizes excellence in communicating addiction science to broader audiences. As part of the award, Shelby recently served as a guest speaker at the 48th Annual Research Society on Alcohol / International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism in New Orleans, LA!
McGrew, S. J. (2025, June). The Trauma-Alcohol Connection: Bridging Science, Community, Education, and Practice. Invited presentation conducted at the 48th Annual Research Society on Alcohol/International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism Scientific Meeting, New Orleans, LA. *Recipient of the TRSA O’Neill Addiction Science Education Award.
Congratulations to Darya Vitus on successfully defending her MS thesis, entitled "Childhood Maltreatment and Alcohol Use Among College-Enrolled Women: The Role of Distress Tolerance and Negative Urgency."
Congratulations to Savannah Woller for receiving the Clinical Science Student Training Award from the Academy of Psychological Science!
Congratulations to Nate Healy on successfully proposing his dissertation (at the University of Houston), "PTSD Symptom Severity and the Perceived Ability to Refrain from Suicidal Action among First Responders Who Served During Hurricane Harvey: Associations with Stigma and Social Support and Connection."
May 2025
Congratulations to Savannah Woller for publishing two first-author papers this month!
Woller, S. J., Hall, K. E., McGrew, S. J., Anderson-Fletcher, E., Norman, S. B., & Vujanovic, A. A. (in press). Examining moral injury and posttraumatic stress among first responders. European Journal of Psychotraumatology.
Woller, S. J., McGrew, S. J., Hall, K. E., Vitus, D., Leonard, S. J., Lebeaut, A., Albanese, B. J., & Vujanovic, A. A. (in press). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and suicide risk among Latinx university students: Examining perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Traumatology.
Congratulations to Alexis Berry and Savannah Woller for having their work accepted for presentation at national/international conferences!
Berry, A. M., Cuthbert, K., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2025). Examining workplace trauma in female firefighters: A mixed-methods study of mental health and occupational risks. Poster session accepted for presentation at the 41st annual International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Woller, S. J., McGrew, S. J., Hall, K. E., Ruiz, F., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2025). Posttraumatic cognitions and drinking behaviors: Examining indirect effects of anxiety sensitivity among women sexual assault survivors. Poster session accepted for presentation at the 59th annual meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, New Orleans, LA.
April 2025
Congratulations to Savannah Woller on receiving the TAMU Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Outstanding Paper Contribution in Clinical Psychology for her paper, "PTSD symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide risk among university students: The mediating role of shame"!
Congratulations to our undergraduate research assistant, Emma Ledbetter, who will be attending the University of Arkansas in Fall 2025 to pursue her masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with the goal of obtaining her LPC. She aims to become a counselor to help populations affected by mental health disparities including child and adolescent trauma while also working with individuals suffering from chronic illness.
March 2025
Hearty congratulations to our undergraduate research assistant, Joshua Schultz! He has been accepted into Northern Illinois University's Clinical Psychology PhD program, and he will be joining Dr. Holly Orcutt's lab. Under Dr. Orcutt, Josh will be investigating trauma-related mechanisms such as emotion regulation, experiential avoidance, and acceptance, as they relate to the maintenance and recovery from trauma. He's excited about diving further into trauma-related research and contributing to the lab in the Fall!
Huge congratulations to our undergraduate research assistant, Jackie Quiroga! She has been accepted into the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of Houston, where she will be working under the mentorship of Dr. Matthew Gallagher. Her research will continue to explore trauma-related psychological mechanisms, with a focus on understanding the risk and resilience factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of stress-related conditions, such as PTSD. She looks forward to collaborating with the team at UH and advancing this important area of study!
Congratulations to our undergraduate research assistant, Sierra Rambo, for presenting her poster project in collaboration with research coordinator Fiorela Ruiz and graduate student Kayla Hall at Texas A&M University’s Student Research Week.
The project topic was “Distress Tolerance Explains the Relationship Between Childhood Emotional Neglect and Alcohol Use in a Community Sample of Adults.”
February 2025
Congratulations to Savannah Woller for having her research highlighted by CAMS-care for her suicide prevention efforts!
Woller, S. J., Boffa, J. W., Viana, A. G., Albanese, B. J., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2025). PTSD symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal risk among university students: The role of shame. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 17(1), 145.
January 2025
Kayla Hall recently fulfilled the role of Editorial Assistant for ISTSS StressPoints, an award-winning online eNewsletter that shares news and opinions about traumatic stress, highlights ISTSS and affiliate societies' activities, and offers informational resources and feature articles of interest to the field. Kayla's role includes assisting the editorial team in reviewing and tracking issues for each column, facilitating communication between contributors, and maintaining organization of column and meeting materials. She is looking forward to continuing her involvement in this role!
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