Attention!

Portfolio is being decommissioned. This portfolio page will be available to view until July 2024, but will no longer be updated. For the most updated information, please go to our new Digication page at https://du.digication.com/cahss-psych

These resources are intended to help current and prospective psychology students understand our degree requirements and experiential opportunities.

You can access our anonymous input survey here.

We are excited to welcome four new faculty to the department!

Kamilah Legette, PhD, will be joined us in Fall 2021 in the developmental area.  Kamilah joined us from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. Her interdisciplinary research investigates individual and institutional racial biases in teachers and schools, and their impact on Black youth academic performance and identity development as well as the implications of these biases on teachers’ curricular placement and discipline decisions.  Having lived in the South all her life, Kamilah is looking forward to living by the mountains for a change in scenery, and to bask in Colorado's 300 days of sunshine. She is excited about the collaboration opportunities across campus, as well as the University’s focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with impact areas specifically focused on addressing and supporting the lived experiences of Black community.

Nicholas Perry, Ph.D. has joined the department this fall as a research assistant professor. He completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Utah in 2018 and completed his clinical internship and T32-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University. His program of research focuses on the intersection of sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ) health and romantic relationship functioning, as well as HIV prevention among sexual minority men. He has been PI of several foundation grants focused on sexual minority couples' health. He currently works with Dr. Rhoades and Dr. Stanely in the Center for Marital and Family studies on program evaluation projects of relationship education interventions to low-income or minority individuals and couples.

Sarah Perzow, Ph.D., joined the clinical area faculty this fall as a Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor. Dr. Perzow completed her graduate training in child clinical psychology at the Pennsylvania Stata University, predoctoral internship at the University of Michigan, and postdoctoral fellowship here at the University of Denver.  Her work emphasizes the integration of developmental science and clinical practice with the themes of reaching traditionally underserved and under-resourced children and families, and reducing barriers to accessing behavioral healthcare.  Dr. Perzow's interests include the development of coping and psychopathology in the context of chronic stress, the application of person-centered methods to inform interventions for children and families facing adversity, and training future clinical scholars in the use of empirically supported treatment modalities.  In her free time, Sarah enjoys outdoor adventures, cooking, and live music.

Heidi Vuletich, PhD will be joining us in the ASC area in the fall of 2022. Heidi is currently an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Indiana University Bloomington.  She received her PhD in Social and Developmental Psychology from UNC at Chapel Hill.  Heidi's research examines the consequences of intergroup inequalities, as well as some of the factors that sustain inequality. She investigate questions relevant to disparities by race, age, gender, and socioeconomic status and examine both the aggregate (system-level) and individual effects of inequality. Having grown up in Colorado, Heidi is excited to be near the mountains again, and close to so many hiking and camping spots.  She also can't wait to be a city with access to great performing arts and sporting events.  Heidi is eager to get to know her new colleagues. Their research is already inspiring to her and she anticipates many exciting and fruitful conversations and collaborations.  Related, Heidi can't wait to join a department that has a collegial and supportive culture where members can thrive.

We have 12 new PhD students who have just joined us in the department this past fall! These new students have entered into each of our three areas, clinical, developmental, and ASC. We are so excited for them to be a part of our community.  We will be interviewing for Fall 2022 incoming class in February 2022. 

Congrats to our colleagues on their awards this year!

Elysia Davis with co-Investigator Jena Doom, NIH

“Reducing Maternal Prenatal Depression to Improve Child Cardiovascular Health”  

1/15/21-12/31/25, $3,405,384

Galena Rhoades, University of Miami

“Evaluation of Nationwide Online Relationship Education for Underserved Couples”

1/1/21-3/31/21, $388,016

Jena Doom, Mental Research Institute

“Testing a Brief Social Belonging Intervention to Improve Social Relationships and Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic”

3/1/21-2/28/22, $23,500

Catherine Demers, NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship

“Prenatal Maternal Depression Exposure and infant Neurocircuitry Development”

8/1/2021-7/31/22

Jena Doom, Mental Research Institute

“When Parents Become Ineffective Social Buffers, Do Siblings Step In?”

8/1/21-7/31/22, $25,000

Kamilah Legette, Foundation for Child Development

“Teachers’ Racialized Behavioral Appraisals: Exploring Emotion Regulation as a Mechanism to Reduce Racial Disparities in Discipline”

8/1/21-6/30/22, $15,000

Pilyoung Kim, National Science Foundation

EAGER: Collaborative Research: SaTC: EDU: Teach High School Students about Cybersecurity and AI Ethics via Empathy-Driven Hands-On Projects

7/1/21-6/30/23, $97,822

Erika Manczak and Elysia Davis, NIH

“Inflammatory trajectories across pregnancy: Investigating novel markers of risk for postpartum depression”

5/20/21-4/30/23, $241,434

Eliza Kramer, National Science Foundation

Graduate Research Fellowship

6/1/21-5/31/26, $138,000

Samantha Scott, National Science Foundation

Graduate Research Fellowship

6/1/21-5/31/26, $138,000

Galena Rhoades, Mathematica Policy Research

“Strengthening the Implementation of Marriage and Relationship Programs Involvement”

4/1/21-9/30/22, $147,990

Jessica Purcel, Washington Park Research & Evaluation

“Evaluation of Family Expectations”

3/1/2021-12/31/2025, $106,751

Kathryn Fox received an award from the Upswing Fund

“Leveraging Social Media to Enhance Access to Brief, Evidence-Based, and Low-Cost Mental Health Treatment for LGBTQ+ Adolescents”

12/15/2020-11/30/2021  $380,490.

Tiffany Phu, NIH

Research Fellowship Award

1/1/2022-12/31/22, $335,336

Michelle Rozenman, San Diego State University Research Foundation

“Video-visit behavior therapy for anxiety and depression in youth: A randomized effectiveness-implementation study in low-resource primary care settings”

9/18/20-7/31/22, $10,302

Kathryn Fox, Mental Research Institute

“Helping Parents Navigate Child Suicide Risk”

1/15/22-3/31/23, $25,000

Nicholas Perry, American Psychological Foundation,
“Relationship processes and daily health behaviors among sexual minority female couples with overweight and obesity”
10/5/21-9/30/22, $9,000

Nicholas Perry, Washington Park Research & Evaluation
“Evaluation of Responding to Relationships”
9/1/21-12/31/25, $615,369

Nicholas Perry, Washington Park Research & Evaluation
“Evaluation of Becoming ONE”
9/1/21-12/31/25, $148,188

Elysia Davis, Michigan State University
Genetic Influences on Infant Brain Development: Understanding the Developmental Origins of Mental Illness
5/17/21-3/31/22, $124,876

Pilyoung Kim, Michigan State University
Genetic Influences on Infant Brain Development: Understanding the Developmental Origins of Mental Illness
5/17/21-3/31/22, $135.442

Kimberly Chiew, Brain & Behavioral Research Foundation
“Investigating temporal dynamics of motivation-cognitive control interactions in children with ADHD using high-resolution pupillometry”
7/15/2021-7/14/2023, $67,998

Nathalie Dieujuste, National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship Program
9/1/21-8/31/26, $138,000

Melissa Brewster with Elysia Davis, NIH
Supplemental funds: Reducing maternal prenatal depression to improve child cardiovascular health
9/1/21-12/31/21, $646,268

Nathalie Dieujuste, National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship Program
9/1/21-8/31/26, $138,000

There are four DU/NJH collaborative Pilot Projects –

1. Drs. Genery Booster (NJH) and Michelle Rozenman (DU), “Addressing Pediatric Anxiety in Medical Care Settings: Development and Pilot Testing of a Web-Based Anxiety Toolkit"
2. Drs. Lisa Meltzer (NJH) and Jenalee Doom (DU) “Alterations in sleep health, early childhood stress and risk of cardiovascular disease”
3. Drs. Brian O’Connor (NJH) and Erika Manczak (DU) “Characterizing the Immunologic Landscape of Adolescent Depressive Symptoms Using Combined Single Cell Proteomics and Transcriptomics”
4. Drs. Eileen Wang (NJH) and Anne DePrince (DU) “Intimate Partner Violence and Asthma”

And two internal PROF Awards received in July 2021:

Erika Manczak, $19,996

Kateri McRae $19,337

The Elaine Kramer Magnificent Determination Fund

This fund was created to support children and families that need a neuropsychological evaluation from the Developmental Neuropsychological Clinic at the University of Denver and are unable to afford the cost of a comprehensive evaluation. This fund was created in memory of Elaine Kramer, who passed away in 2020. In addition to being an early feminist and activist, Elaine dedicated her entire career to supporting children and families. For more than 40 years, she worked as a social worker at the Child Development Center at the Jewish Board in New York City. Elaine prioritized personal connection with the families she helped. She invested herself in every parent and child that came through her clinic. She was warm, she was thorough, and she cared. To honor her lifelong work in social work, the fund in her honor is called "Magnificent Determination”; this was how she described the parents she worked with as they advocated for their children, and how her family members now describe her.

In short, these evaluations provide families with answers regarding their child's learning, developmental, and social/emotional functioning so they can receive the support they need at school and at home. These evaluations often make a huge difference for these kids, their families, and their trajectory toward success. Any amount you can donate will help us give free-of-cost evaluations and related services for families that make below a certain income. We really appreciate your part in helping us help families and honor Elaine’s legacy.

The Charlotte Henderson Memorial Undergraduate Research Fund

The Charlotte Henderson Memorial Fund is in memory of Charlotte Henderson, who passionately and tirelessly supported the research training and trajectories of undergraduate research assistants in the Psychology Department of the University of Denver. Mrs. Henderson was a staff associate in psychology for thirty-six years. She performed her role with distinction; recruited hundreds of parents, infants and children for research participation; and supervised undergraduate and graduate student research in psychophysiology and developmental methods. This award will recognize undergraduate students who have made substantive contributions to research and provide funding for independent research projects to support their scholarly engagement.

The Marshall and Sue Haith Visiting Scholar Spendable Fund

Dr. Marshall Haith was a long time DU Psychology professor and also served as Vice Chancellor of Research for 11 years.  His work with infant developmental psychology helped put DU’s program in the top ranked in the nation.  His paper entitled “Who put the COG in Cognitive Behavior” is still read by Psychology students today.  Dr. Haith came to DU from Harvard and Yale and generated many NIH grants for DU during his time in Denver.  He is a much respected and valued member of the DU Psychology faculty.  Marshall and Sue believe that it is very important for graduate students to have exposure to a variety of teachers and experiences and he said he benefited greatly from the diversity of thought and ideas that are provided by visiting scholars to the department. This fund will allow for a visiting scholar or scholars to come to DU. The scholar will visit classes, meet with students and faculty, and participate in a networking reception to facilitate connections between the visitor and the department.

Please go here to donate to any of the listed funds.