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Graduate Students
Ava Fergerson (she/they)
Ava Fergerson, M.S., is a 4th year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at USM. Ava earned her Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Western Kentucky University, where her research focused on the relationship between sexual trauma, PTSD, and suicide risk among young adults. Since beginning her doctoral program, her research has focused on the experiences of LGBTQ adults in relation to PTSD, suicide risk, and health. Her dissertation focuses on the relationship between LGBQ minority stress and dysregulated stress processes that are associated with long-term physical and mental health risks. Kylee Behringer (she/her)
Kylee Behringer is a second year clinical psychology Ph.D. student from Hartville, Ohio. Excited to be joining the Psychopathology, Emotionality, and Treatment (PET) Lab, Kylee looks forward to continuing her work on rumination and depression within the context of emotion regulation. Kylee graduated from the University of Akron Summa Cum Laude in 2018 with a degree in psychology. After graduating, she continued to work in the Emotions & Aging Lab at the University of Akron, and later joined the Depression & Rumination Lab at Kent State University, where she had the opportunity to author her first manuscript. Since joining the PET lab, Kylee has co-authored multiple manuscripts and assisted with meta-analyses. Kylee is interested in pursuing projects that focus on the psychological risks of bereavement, as well as physiological grief and the recovery process. In her free time, Kylee enjoys ballet, reading, and snuggling with her dogs Luna & Sirius. |
Faith Wilbourne (she/her)
Faith Wilbourne is a first-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student from Monticello, Indiana. Faith received her undergraduate degree in Psychological Sciences from Ball State University in 2021. Faith was an undergraduate research assistant in the Psychophysiological Attention, Cognition, and Emotion (P.A.C.E.) Lab. She continued her education at Ball State University and received her M.A. in Counseling in 2023. During her master’s degree program, she was involved in the Counseling Psychology Neuroscience Lab and Ball State University’s Action Research Collective. She also served as counseling intern at a local cancer center and completed an inter-professional healthcare fellowship. Faith’s research interests include post-traumatic growth, end-of-life issues, and the impacts of negative emotionality on the well-being of individuals with life-threatening illnesses. In her free time, Faith enjoys listening to music, watching podcasts, and baking. |
Sonal Johal
Sonal Johal is a first year clinical psychology Ph.D. student originally from the Bronx, New York. Sonal graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Economics. Sonal graduated from Mississippi College in 2022 after completing her Masters in Mental Health Counseling. She worked for three years in a Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Psychology lab at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, MS where she had the opportunity to co-author her first manuscript and begin her contribution to the academic community. She later joined a lab focused on trauma, pain, and cardiovascular diseases at UMMC. Sonal is interested in pursuing projects that focus on emotional distress, trauma and internalizing symptoms and its neural mechanisms that link emotional dysregulation to health conditions such as cancer. In her free time, Sonal enjoys spending time with her family and kids, reading, and exercise and traveling. |
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Kameron Yates (she/her)
Kameron is a junior transfer student at The University of Southern Mississippi. She hopes that being involved in the PET lab will help further her knowledge of psychological research. She is looking forward to learning about emotional dysregulation's effect on chronic illness risks. Kameron is currently working to obtain her bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in December 2023. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school with dreams of getting a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology. She wants to pursue a career as a therapist. Kameron enjoys playing the ukulele, painting, listening to music, and roller skating in her spare time. |
Hope Hudson (they/them)
Hope is a junior Psychology major who is minoring in English. They hope to earn their doctorate in Clinical Psychology with goals of teaching and conducting research in the future. With their involvement in the PET Lab, they hope to learn more about correlations between physical and mental health and how these affect biological functioning. Hope is from Vicksburg, MS, and is highly involved in the theatre when they are at home. This past summer, they earned the role of Ellie Blake, one of two leads in the musical Freaky Friday. In their free time, they enjoy playing ukulele and electric guitar, as well as attending as many concerts as possible. |
Sara Beauti
Sara is a junior Biomedical Sciences major who is minoring in Psychology and Chemistry. Although in pursuit to attend dental school, Sara still strives to continue her psychological research in the future. With her participation in the PET lab, Sara hopes to increase her knowledge on how biological functions are influenced by various mental and physical health conditions. She also hopes to develop skills that will be applicable in the future such as critical thinking, communication, data collection, data analysis, and more. In her spare time, Sara loves to travel, paint, bake cakes, and cuddle with her cats. |
Pets of the PET Lab!
Finn Renna Contributions to science: fighting the computer for space on mom's lap while she is writing, barking at the neighborhood cats during zoom meetings Luna & Sirius Behringer Contributions to science: Both investigators have co-written a manuscript with Behringer, and have participated in many lab meetings via Zoom. Although their mom's favorite Harry Potter movie is the 3rd one, they enjoy the 5th one the most, as both of their namesakes make an appearance |
Binx Hudson, Regulus and Andromeda Horner
Binx's Contributions to science: As a dorm cat, one of his favorite pastimes is contributing to video assignments and Zoom calls. His absolute favorite thing is giving Mom motivation by laying on their face while they are typing important documents. Regulus and Andromeda Horner: When they visit, Binx is suitably distracted with zoomies, and while this unfortunately means he can't make his very important contributions, they keep him amused. |