Health, Equity, & Addiction Lab (HEAL)

Krutika Rathod (she/her), M.A., Glickman-Lauder Fellow is a graduate student on the Generalist Clinical Track of the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maine. She graduated from the University of Maryland College Park in 2021 with a B.S. in Biology. During her time at the University of Maryland, she did research on co-morbid substance use at the Johns Hopkins Neurocognitive Imaging Characterization and Adolescent Substance Use Disorders lab. In 2022, Krutika worked at a residential mental health facility as a Mental Health Technician. As a graduate student at the University of Maine, she is interested in the psychosocial determinants of substance use, along with harm reduction in the emerging adult population. She is the graduate lab manager of HEAL.

Leah Cingranelli (they/them), B.A., Flagship Doctoral Research Fellow is a graduate student on the Generalist Clinical Track at the University of Maine. They received their Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Binghamton University, and they were a project manager at the Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Intimate Relationships (CTROIR). During their time at CTROIR, they researched the unique role of emotions in perpetrators of sexual assault against transgender individuals. Leah’s current research interests are centered on exploring substance use prevalence, severity, and risk mechanisms among LGBTQIA+ individuals. Their goal is to develop tailored substance use interventions that address the unique minority stressors gender and sexual minority individuals experience.

Sabrina Muzac (she/her), B.A., is a graduate student on the Generalist Clinical Track of the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maine. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Sociology in 2021. Before joining HEAL lab, she was the Lead Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) technician for the Delray Center of Healing, a Comprehensive Outpatient Mental Health Treatment center in South Florida. Sabrina specialized in clinical research and administering treatment to patients with treatment-resistant mental health conditions. As a graduate student at the University of Maine, she is interested in further understanding social determinants of substance use, sleep disturbances, and mental health problems and improving culturally competent interventions to reduce health disparities in marginalized communities.

Luis Solorio (he/him), B.A., is a graduate student on the Generalist Clinical Track of the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maine. Prior to joining the HEAL lab, he was a full time Research Lab Manager in a health psychology research lab at the University of California, Merced, and part-time Research Associate in a private environmental research company based in Berkeley, CA. He graduated with honors from the University of California, Merced, earning a B.A. in Psychology and Public Health in 2023. During his time at the University of California, Merced, Luis completed a year-long undergraduate clinical internship with the Merced County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Center under the Substance Use Disorder Division. As a doctoral student, Luis is interested in researching how stressful psychosocial and cultural factors within historically underrepresented and at-risk minority groups impact substance use decision-making and addiction.

Cassandra Rowan (she/her), M.A. is a graduate student on the Child Track of the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maine, co-mentored by Drs. Rebecca Schwartz-Mette and Patricia Goodhines. She received her B.A. in psychology from Middlebury College in 2015. Her research interests focus on ethical questions in the delivery of clinical care and the expansion of access to treatment, particularly on complex questions of informed consent and confidentiality with adolescent clients. She is additionally involved in research on care provision to LGBTQIA+ youth, especially for gender diverse and gender non-conforming adolescents. Previously, Cassandra has worked in research focusing on harm reduction-based approaches to substance use. She attempts to deliver clinical care through an integrative, skills-based approach that uses a client-centered, Motivational Interviewing-based framework while drawing from evidence-based treatments such as CBT, DBT, exposure and response prevention (ERP), and trauma-informed approaches including cognitive processing therapy (CPT). She particularly values opportunities to work with gender- and sexuality-diverse adolescents and young adults.

Cormac Mack (he/him) is a senior undergraduate student, majoring in Psychology with a minor in French. Before coming to UMaine, he gained experience using statistical software for data analysis/visualization and participated in a programming internship at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, wherein he contributed to the development of user interfaces for visualizing protein molecules through electron microscopy. Currently, he applies his programming skills to support research projects at the HEAL lab. He is interested in the psychosocial factors that affect criminality and other deviant behavior, primarily how the stigma associated with minority identities influences drug use and violent crime.

Dellana Kessler (she/her) is an undergraduate Psychology student with a WGS minor. She is passionate about human rights issues with a background in DEI promotion in curriculum, as well as a travel study abroad for Human Sexualities. Prior to joining the HEAL lab, Dellana had pursued her interest in developmental psychology by joining a mentorship program, taking developmental psychology courses through the University of Maine, and attaining a job at MAS Community Health. She hopes to gain experience and knowledge in research skills, primarily interested in the environmental factors of minority households that dictate epigenetics.

Kalina Chazin-Knox

Audrey Tesi (she/her), M.S. is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Akron and volunteer research collaborator with the Goodhines Lab. She graduated from Syracuse University in 2017 with a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Psychology from Lipscomb University in 2021. Clinically, she is interested in working with young adults in marginalized communities, specifically the Black community. Broadly, her research interests include the study of socioeconomic issues and their relationship with mental health as well as issues affecting the Black community, particularly colorism. She is currently writing her dissertation on the relationship between colorism and socioeconomic issues among darker-skinned Black women.