Current Lipman Fellows

Kristen Buford 
Ph.D. in progress 
Kristen is pursuing a Ph.D. in experimental psychology under Dr. Matthew Kim, specializing in developmental social and health psychology. Her research focuses on how motivation drives changes in health behaviors, including substance use. Kristen aims to positively impact children, families, and society by transforming education by integrating educational concepts with developmental psychology and neuroscience.

Karallyn Fitisone
Ph.D. in progress
Karallyn is pursuing a Ph.D. in developmental, social, and health psychology under Dr. Peggy Keller, focusing on the biopsychosocial aspects of problem drinking (PD). Her research explores the societal impact of PD, its intergenerational transmission, and the effects of early alcohol exposure.

Eric Ingram 
M.S. '23 Psychology, Ph.D. in progress 
Eric is pursuing a Ph.D. in experimental psychology with a graduate certificate in biostatistics under Dr. Justin Karr, specializing in neuropsychology. His research focuses on assessing traumatic brain injuries and concussions, using within-person models to develop more targeted and personalized recovery and rehabilitation plans. With the Lipman Fellowship, he has conducted research on underserved populations, specifically women survivors of intimate partner violence.

Alexandra Kelly
M.S. '19 Psychology
Alexandra is pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She is also a clinical extern at the UK Clinic for Emotional Health. Her research interests include how behavioral and cognitive mechanisms interact with the development of substance use disorders. 

Sharon Leong 
Ph.D. in progress 
Sharon is pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology under Dr. Justin Karr. Her research focuses on the health outcomes associated with traumatic brain injury among women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), who often report high rates of alcohol use and symptoms related to alcohol use disorder. Thanks to the Lipman Fellowship, Sharon is set to co-author a manuscript on alcohol use among women IPV survivors in Kentucky.

Cassidy Leibold
Ph.D. in progress
Cassidy is pursuing a Ph.D. in experimental psychology under Dr. Mark Prendergast, specializing in behavioral neuroscience and pharmacology. Her research examines the excitotoxic effects of alcohol on the hippocampus, focusing on how long-term alcohol exposure impacts neurogenesis and cell survival. Additionally, she is working toward a certificate in college teaching and learning and plans to teach at a small university.

Mia Radevski 
Ph.D. in progress 
Mia is a doctoral student specializing in cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology. Her research examines sex differences in the cognitive, behavioral, and social effects of alcohol use. She is especially interested in how factors like attentional bias and behavioral control influence the progression and maintenance of problematic alcohol use.

Grace Seymour
Ph.D. in progress
Grace is pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology under Dr. Christal Badour, focusing on PTSD symptoms, sleep, and alcohol use. Her current study aims to explore the use of alcohol as a sleep aid among trauma survivors in Eastern Kentucky, Appalachia, addressing gaps in the literature on PTSD-related motives for alcohol use and highlighting regional disparities. The Lipman Award will support participant compensation for this research.

Koby Shaykin 
M.S. ’22 Psychology, Ph.D. in progress
Koby is pursuing a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience under Drs. Michael Bardo and Jill Turner. With the Lipman Fellowship, he was able to complete his master’s thesis, which examined the effects of social housing and adolescent alcohol exposure on adult drinking and nicotine co-use.

Jillian Silva-Jones 
M.A. ’22 Psychology, Ph.D. in progress 
Jillian is pursuing a Ph.D. in experimental psychology under Dr. Lauren Whitehurst. Her research interests focus on identifying physiological and psychosocial factors associated with the negative health effects of racism and developing interventions to mitigate these impacts among Black Americans.

Former Lipman Fellows

Emily Atkinson
M.S. ’20 Psychology, Ph.D. '24 Psychology
Emily is a Veteran Affairs staff psychologist at the University of Michigan.

Caleb Bailey
M.S. ’20 Psychology, Ph.D. '24 Psychology
Caleb is a postdoctoral fellow at the UK College of Medicine Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center. 

Heather Davis
M.S. ’16 Psychology, Ph.D. '20 Psychology
Heather is an assistant professor of psychology at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on the risk factors and consequences of disordered eating and related psychopathology, specifically how the role of shame in eating disorders is linked with other issues such as alcohol misuse, depression, anxiety, and self-harm.

Shannon Eaton
M.S. ’18 Psychology, Ph.D. '21 Psychology
Shannon is an assistant teaching professor at Arizona State University. Her professional interests include the biology of sex differences.

Holley Jamison
M.S. ’20 Psychology, Ph.D. '24 Psychology
Holley is a postdoctoral fellow at the White River Junction VA Medical Center. Her clinical interests include evidence-based psychotherapy, rural mental health care, PTSD treatment, and exposure-based therapies. 

Sarah Peterson
M.S. '17 Psychology, Ph.D. '22 Psychology 
Sarah is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago examining the trends in and explanations of persistent, heavy, and problematic drinking in adolescents and young adults. 

Hannah Prassel McGee
M.S. '16 Psychology, Ph.D. '21 Psychology 
Hannah is a licensed psychologist and an adjunct professor of psychology at Eastern Kentucky University. She specializes in generalized anxiety, social anxiety, health anxiety, trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and low self-esteem. 

Beth Ann Rice
M.S. '15 Psychology, Ph.D. '18 Psychology 
Beth Ann is an associate professor at Slippery Rock University in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the role of hormones in learning, motivation, and the development of drug addiction-like behaviors. She is exploring potential behavioral and pharmacological treatments for these behaviors.

Elizabeth Riley
M.S. '15 Psychology, Ph.D. '20 Psychology
Elizabeth is an assistant professor at the Center for Innovation in Population Health and the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Kentucky. She is a member of the Board of Health in Lexington/Fayette County, representing a mental health and substance use-focused perspective.

Jessica Rivera Rivera
M.S. '18 Psychology, Ph.D. '21 Psychology
Jessica is a research scientist in the Healthcare Delivery Research Network at MedStar Health Research Institute and a research affiliate in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research interests include cancer survivorship, colorectal cancer, genetic testing, cancer disparities, behavioral interventions, and implementation science. 

Meredith Saunders-Mattingly
B.S. '13 Psychology, M.S. '16 Psychology, Ph.D. '18 Psychology
Meredith is a team trainer and safety AI data trainer at Invisible Technologies. Her work is focused on training large language models to improve their ability to generate accurate responses.

Stephen Semcho 
M.S. ’23 Psychology, Ph.D. '24 Psychology
Stephen is a staff psychologist at the University of Kentucky Counseling Center. His interests include transdiagnostic change mechanisms and psychotherapy outcomes.

Justin Strickland
M.S. '16 Psychology, Ph.D. '19 Psychology
Justin is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine. His research applies behavioral economics as a framework to address public health issues, including addiction and sexual health.

Ashley Strzelecki 
Ph.D. ’24 Psychology 
Ashley earned her doctorate in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience, where she studied neural and hormonal risk factors for alcohol use in young adults.

Hannah White
B.S. '14 Biology, B.S. '14 Psychology, M.S. '16 Psychology, Ph.D. '20 Psychology
Hannah is an assistant professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri. Her research explores cognitive and social development through an interdisciplinary approach that combines behavioral, physiological, and survey methodologies.