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Research Team

Lab Director

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Dr. Allison Skinner-Dorkenoo is the director of the GABBA Lab. She completed her B.A. and M.A. in psychology at California State University, Chico and her Ph.D. in experimental psychology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  She completed postdoctoral training in developmental and social psychology at University of Washington and psychophysiology and social psychology at Northwestern University. Allison is currently an assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of Georgia. 

Lab Managers

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Evana Darby is a UGA Alumni who majored in Psychology with minors in Human Services and Horticulture. She is applying to graduate schools for Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is one of the GABBA Lab Managers. Her research interests include intersectionality bias effects on adolescents and how the effects permeate adulthood. Her goal is to help others become the best versions of themselves with self-compassion, mindfulness, and positive coping skills.

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Dana Theoc is a junior studying psychology with a minor in sociology. She is interested in researching how discriminatory workplace standards of professional attire and hairstyles affect people of color.

Graduate Students

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Chloe André is a fourth year graduate student studying social psychology. She recently completed her M.S. at UGA. Broadly, she is interested in how individual acts of stereotyping and discrimination perpetuate racism on a systemic level within the US. 

André Curriculum Vitae

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Becky Harmata is a 4th year PhD student in in the industrial organizational psychology program. They completed their M.S. at San Diego State University and their bachelor's degree at CUNY Brooklyn College. The goal of Becky's research is to not only create equitable access to work, but also equitable experiences. Currently, Becky is focused on defining and measuring microaggressions in the workplace. In their free time, Becky plays tennis in some local leagues, watches reality TV, and trying local food joints. 

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Arturia Melson-Silimon is PhD candidate in the industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology program. Arturia is primarily interested in understanding experienced discrimination and prejudice among persons with marginalized or stigmatized identities. Starting Fall 2024, Arturia will be starting a new position as an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Virginia Tech.

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Melson-Silimon Curriculum Vitae

Bhumi Patel is a fifth year graduate student at the University of Georgia in the behavioral and brain sciences (BBS) program. 

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Apoorva Sarmal is a fourth year PhD student in the Psychology Department at the University of Georgia where she works with Dr. Allison Skinner-Dorkenoo. She is interested in investigating underlying mechanisms of stereotyping and prejudice. Specifically, Apoorva researches race and gender disparities to promote diversity and inclusion.

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Sarmal Curriculum Vitae

Undergraduate Research Assistants

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Mithila Ophelia Chakraborty is a third-year currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. As a GABBA research assistant, she is interested to explore how personality traits correlate with socioeconomic changes and political affiliations especially how changes in personality traits might influence views and perspectives. She plans to attend graduate school for psychology in the future. 

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Natalie Rose DeVooght is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Work. As a research assistant in the GABBA Lab, she is interested in the role that gender biases play throughout contemporary society, as well as the development of such biases. She hopes to one day attend graduate school in order to pursue a Master’s degree in Child Psychology. 

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Trinity Davis is a graduating fourth year Biology major, Psychology minor at Spelman College. She is interested in implicit racial biases in healthcare and how early childhood exposure to racial biases affect mental growth and development. She expects to begin post-undergraduate endeavors and attend medical school to become an OB/GYN. 

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Ciara Gamble is a fourth-year currently pursuing her Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Human Services. As a GABBA research assistant, she in interested in subtle social biases that contribute to racism and working with kids. After graduation, she will work at Georgia Behavioral Associates where she will work with kids with Autism as a Registered Behavioral Technician!

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Hannah Hu is a fourth-year undergraduate student currently pursuing her Bachelor's in Psychology. She is interested in investigating attitudes towards interracial relationships and how biases play a role in interpersonal relationships. She plans to obtain a Masters in Mental Health Counseling after she graduates in 2024.

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Dasha Kissina is a fourth-year currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Psychology at UGA. As a GABBA Lab research assistant, she is passionate about how implicit racial biases affect the ways that people interact with one another in the workplace and form relationships. She plans to attend graduate school and pursue a Master’s degree in I-O Psychology.

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Abigail Lassiter is a fourth-year student majoring in Biology and Psychology with a Neuroscience emphasis. She hopes to go to medical school and become a physician, with her research interests revolving around understanding biases in healthcare that lead to differential outcomes for patients within marginalized groups. More specifically, she is interested in the persistent stigmatization of HIV/AIDS as well as how better education on harm reduction could decrease prejudice and improve outcomes for people dealing with addiction.

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Tionna McClean is a fourth-year undergraduate student currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor Deaf studies. As a GABBA research assistant, she is interested in observing the effect that bias has on people of color with multiple stigmatized identities (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality). With a concentration in cultural health, she aspires to continue with graduate school learning with hopes to find a health psychology related career. Outside of the lab, she enjoys binge watching shows and doing hair. 

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Aaliyah Scott is in a gap year. She earned her BS in psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College and her BA in Sociology at Georgia State University. She is interested in research focused on racial-ethnic, gender, and sexual minorities. She is currently aiming to get a Master's degree in Social Psychology.

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Joanna Tran is a third-year majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. She is interested in learning more about how stereotypes against minorities, such as those with different racial backgrounds or those part of the LGBTQ community, may affect their thoughts, behaviors, and how they perceive society as a whole. She would love to become a counseling psychologist, especially one who helps those that struggle due to these stereotypes.

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Nikki Vu is a Third Year Undergraduate at the University of Georgia majoring in Psychology with an emphasis in Neuroscience. She is interested in studying the effects of stigma and stereotypes on first-generation students of immigrant households.

Alumni

**If you are a former member of the lab and have updates on where you are now please let me know**

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Itohan Aigbekaen

Saba Alemayehu 

Megan Anandappa (medical student, Medical College of Georgia)

Chelsey Beck

Brooke Blystone

Ayanna Brewton (Ph.D. student, Florida State University)

Leah Cha (Ph.D. student, University of California Los Angeles)

Neha Chaparala

Kathy Chavez (Clinical Research Assistant Women & Infants Hospital/Brown Medical School)

Vaishnavi Chennareddy

Cristina D'Alto

Maleehah De Almeida

Catherine Ellis (assessment counselor, Peachford Hospital)

Anna Evanson

Mahnoor Farooq (Masters of counseling student, Northwestern University)

Kaylee Friedman (patient screener, Athens Piedmont Regional)

Sarah Gage

Lillian Glushka

Zoe Grant

Keisha Hays

Sierra Hudson (Medical student, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine)

Bailey Jones Baldwin

Aliyah Kath 

Neha Kattoju (intern at Shaw Industries IT Digital Marketing)

Akshata Ketkar

Zainab Khawaja

Hannah Kim

Ashley Ko

Anchal Kumar

Alexandra Kunin

Gabrielle Lindquist (Associate Attorney, Williams Kastner)

Christine Li

Kara Litwin

Xiuling (Lynn) Liu (Graduate Student, University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, & Practice)

Alyssa Mack (Undergraduate student, Georgia Gwinnett College)

Boyd MacDonald 

Carsynn Miller

Suraya Mohidul (graduate student in epidemiology, Columbia University, anticipated MPH 2023)

Makenzie Muilenburg (Makenzie Muilenburg Counseling)

Mai Chi Nguyen

Megan Nguyen (Doctor of Physical Therapy Student, Touro College)

Shawnnae Nguyen

Gandalf Nicolas (Assistant Professor, Rutgers University-New Brunswick)

 Ogechi Ogbonna

Chinyere Ohuoba

Adilene Osnaya (Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student, Purdue University)

Meet Patel

Bradley Patterson

Sebastian Perdomo

Sydney Phillips (Strategic Communications Associate at Narrative DC)

Kaya Pollack

Sarah Punjani

Briana Purves

Elizabeth Quinn (Social Psychology Ph.D. student, University of California, Santa Barbara)

Elisa Rapadas (Social Psychology Ph.D. student, Northwestern University)

Madison Reeves

Jordan Ricketts (Psychology Ph.D. student, Georgia State University)

Kasheena Rogbeer (Psychology Ph.D. student, University of California Los Angeles)

Markayla Roland

Charlotte Román

Alexandra (Alex) Sanders 

Drew Siegenthaler (Law student, Boston University Law School)

Lindsey Smith (Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech, School of History and Sociology)

Sara Sohani

Iyana Stringer

Emily Summers (Dental student, Augusta University, anticipated DMD 2025)

Elizabeth Swank

Tamerra Thompson

 Furwah Turabi

Manasa Vemuri

Kira Ventura

Katherine Wadhwani (Research Technician, Loren Frank Lab, University of California San Francisco) 

Connor Ward

Cynthia Ware (graduate student, Georgia Southern University)

Sienna Ware

Mia Weed (graduate student, Fordham University)

Maia Williams

Titobioluwa Williams (US-UK Fulbright Student at Northumbria University)

Ericka Woods (Analyst at Civic Consulting Alliance)

Kenneth Xu (Doctoral student, Tulane University)

Harvey Yeager

Qianru (Tiffany) Yang (Doctoral student, Harvard University)

Ellen Zhang (Teaching fellow, Breakthrough Atlanta)

Jennifer Zhu 

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