Lab Director:
Rachel Farr Email: rachel.farr@uky.edu PhD from University of Virginia, Developmental and Community Psychology (BS from Cornell University) Dr. Farr's research focuses on diverse families, particularly those parented by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) adults and formed through adoption. Overarching themes in Dr. Farr's writings include how empirical research on LGBTQ+ parent families and on adoption may be informative to public policy, practice, and law, especially given that her research has been influential in media circles, public debates, and legal and policy domains. She serves on her local county school's LGBTQ+ advisory committee, as well as in multiple leadership roles in her department and university, especially as related to diversity and inclusion efforts. Founded the FAD lab: Summer 2015 |
Graduate Students:
Madison Diomede Email: mdi268@uky.edu PhD expected 2025 (Class of 2020, University of Texas at Tyler) My research interests revolve around identity development, identity saliency, and socialization. In the past, I have researched developmental and psychological predictors of LGBTQ+ attitudes in college students. Currently, I am exploring the intersection between diverse family structures and identity in adolescents and young adults. I am also interested in perceived social status amongst these populations— more specifically, the relationship between perceived social status and various identities such as racial/ethnic, geographic, gender, or sexual identities. Joined the lab: Summer 2020 |
Emily Lapidus Email: emilylapidus@uky.edu PhD expected 2025 (College of Charleston, 2019) My primary research interests focus on how and to what extent childhood development is influenced by public policy. Developmental research focused on adoption into same-gender households is still controversial and there can be a lot of changes that can be made for the better. Specifically in the FAD lab, I am interested in seeing how we can better understand development of children in same-gender households so we can better the current adoption systems. Joined the lab: Summer 2020 |
Kevin McAweeney (he/him) Email: kamcaweeney@uky.edu PhD Expected 2027 (University of California Davis 2021) Major: Psychology, Minor: Women & Gender Studies Key Professional Goals and Interests: My research interests revolve around LGBTQ+ families and populations with a focus on the impacts of geographic environment and research centered on plurisexual individuals. My research in the FAD lab currently focuses on the experiences of LGBTQ+ parents and the influence of external factors such as community on LGBTQ+ headed families. Joined the lab: Summer 2022 |
Research Assistants:
Grant Biggerstaff (he/him) Email: gbi227@uky.edu Expected Graduation: Spring 2024 Major: Psychology Key Professional Goals and Interests: My goal is to become a clinical psychologist. Joined the lab: Summer 2022 |
Simon Boone (he/him) Email: srbo240@uky.edu Expected Graduation: Spring 2023 Major: Psychology, Minor: Women & Gender Studies Key Professional Goals and Interests: The next step in my career is to enroll in Graduate school to obtain my Ph.D. in counseling psychology. I hope to open a community center in my hometown that supports LGBT+ youth by providing counseling resources. I enjoy horror and playing video games with my friends, including Dungeons and Dragons on the weekends. Joined the lab: Spring 2022 |
Mary Rome Daniel (she/her) Email: mvda223@uky.edu Expected Graduation: Spring 2023 Major: Psychology, Minor: Family Sciences Key Professional Goals and Interests: After I have earned my bachelor's degree, my goal is to attend graduate school to earn a master's degree in family & marriage therapy. Pursuing a career in family & marriage therapy has always been an interest of mine. Specifically, I am interested in diversity among families, and someday I hope to provide treatment or counseling to families with various conflicts. Outside of my academic career, I practice with the UK Saddle Seat Team and I am a member of Kappa Delta sorority! Joined the lab: Spring 2022 |
Ryder From (he/him) Email: rnfr225@g.uky.edu Expected Graduation: May 2023 Major: Psychology, Minors: Spanish, Journalism My biggest interest is people. I love trying to understand why some people act and think the way they do. The psychology classes I’ve taken have shed so much light on these mentalities and behaviors. I plan on becoming a child and adolescent therapist in the future and put this learning into action. I want to help children with mental disorders such as anxiety and depression in order to build emotional skills as early as possible and tackle the stressors in their lives right away. In addition to that, my hobbies include singing (very high and very loud), creative writing, digital design, and walking. I also hope to self-publish a book in the future, one that’s already in the works. Joined the lab: Fall 2021 |
Abby Graham (she/her) Email: amgr298@uky.edu Expected Graduation: Spring 2023 Majoring in Psychology, Minoring in Classics I am very interested in public policy and the ways that psychology and research shape them. My more specific interests are LGBTQ+ issues, sexual assault victims and the legal system, and women’s issues. I believe that these groups are still not treated with equality in many of our institutions, and as psychologists, we have the power to change that. Some organizations I’m a part of at U.K are Alpha Phi Omega, the Student Activities Board, the Classics Honors Society, and YDSA. My hobbies are reading, yoga, horticulture, crafting, cooking/baking, and tennis. Joined the lab: Summer 2021 |
Mandy Martin (She/Her) Expected graduation: May 2023 Email: ama456@uky.edu Majors: psychology, sociology; Minors: gender and women’s studies, criminology After graduation, I hope to get a PhD in clinical psychology then practice therapy and teach. I have a strong interest in mental health, specifically that of marginalized populations such as women, POC, LGBTQ+ populations, children, and survivors of trauma. |
Emerson Palazzo Email: emerson.palazzo@uky.edu Expected Graduation: Spring 2025 Majors: Psychology and Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Key Professional Goals and Interests: After I graduate, I hope to go on to get a master's degree with the end goal of working in autism therapy. I am not sure which form of therapy I want to pursue, but I would love to go into both individual and group counseling. My main educational interests are disabilities, autism, and LGBTQ+ issues, so I hope to help individuals in those communities in my future career. In my free time, you can find me at the UK Visitor Center, playing ultimate frisbee on the UK Women's team, or spending time with those I love! Joined the lab: Spring 2022 |
Lizzie Schreyer (She/her) Email: Lizzie.Schreyer@uky.edu Expected Graduation: Spring 2024 Major: Psychology Minor: Spanish Key Professional Goals and Interests: After graduation I plan on attending graduate school to earn a Ph.D. My research interests are centered around family dynamics, specifically those within the LGBTQ+ community. Joined the lab: Fall 2022 |
Camryn Thompson (she/her) Email: clth245@g.uky.edu Expected Graduation: Spring 2023 Major: Psychology Minors: English, Gender and Women's Studies Key Professional Goals and Interests: After I graduate I plan to get my Master's of Social Work so that I can eventually become a therapist. Specifically I want to specialize in marriage counseling, family dynamics, and the LGBTQ+ community. My specific research interests include family dynamics/systems, mental health, and LGBTQ+ related research. Joined the lab: Fall 2022 |
Chase Myers Major: Psychology Key Professional Goals and Interests: I plan on obtaining an undergraduate degree in psychology and continuing my studies at graduate school. I hope to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology. My main research interests are mental health, abnormal psychology, social psychology, and clinical work. Joined the lab: Spring 2023 |
Kendall Cates (she/her) Expected graduation: Spring 2025 Email: mailto:keca258@uky.edu Major: Psychology Key professional goals and interests: After graduation I would like to obtain my masters degree and work towards a career in therapy. My research interests include mental health, specifically in children, and family systems. Joined the lab: Spring 2023 |
Lab Alumni:
Brittany Alexander |
Chelsea Bass Key Professional Goals and Interests: My goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and my main research interests surround the mental health of children and adolescents with chronic illnesses. Joined the lab: Fall 2018 |
Jordan Bernard |
Emma Breetz Key Professional Goals and Interests: After graduating, I plan to apply and join the Peace Corps and work with youth in development. Forming human connections and understanding individuals from all different perspectives is what brought me to study psychology. Outside of school you can find me outdoors, running, hiking, and partaking in the occasional barre or cycling class. Joined the lab: Fall 2020 |
Meg Brown |
![]() Samuel Bruun, PhD My broad research interests revolve around the ways in which people use cultural artifacts, such as toys, clothing, and fictional characters to represent and reinforce gender. My most recent research line has focused on understanding how LGBTQ+ people engage in gender presentation, and the unique pressures that these groups might face making presentation choices, in comparison to cisgender and heterosexual people. This line of research has led to a developing interest in discrepancy theory, examining how people’s mental health is impacted when their ideal self feels unattainable, or is blocked by social obstacles. My other research interests include the impact of children’s gender-typed play behaviors, how LGBTQ+ parents talk to their children about sexuality, and identity development in the intersection between race, gender and sexual orientation. Joined the lab: Summer 2016 |
Calisee Burand |
Amanda Campbell |
![]() Krystal Cashen, PhD PhD, 2020, University of Massachusetts Amherst (Class of 2013, Vassar College) Dr. Cashen earned her PhD in developmental science frm the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2020. Broadly, her research focuses on development in the context of diverse family systems (LGBTQ+ parent families, adoptive families). Her dissertation examined experiences of stigmatization and community among emerging adults with LGBTQ+ parent(s). She has also been involved in research looking at the close relationships of adopted people through the transition to adulthood. Joined the lab: Summer 2020 (Postdoc) |
Indrani Chatterjee |
Jessica Cherry |
Heather Evans |
Evelyn Gonzalez |
Erika Goodman |
Rachel Harden |
Camille Harn |
Morgann Hegge |
Cassie Johnson (she/her) |
Stefanie Jones |
Katie Kirk |
Madison Martin |
Caroline Miller |
Leo Miller |
Jillian Morrison |
Alex Nelson |
Reagan Rucker |
Kelsey Siebenthaler |
Kay Simon, PhD Broadly my research interests focus on how we as diverse individuals come to conceptualize sexual identity in relation to other identities (e.g., racial-ethnic, gender) and various ecological contexts particularly family life. Understanding the way sin which we come to create narratives for ourselves as well as the ways in which others view and perceive our identities is my primary interest. My current research is focused on ambiguous loss theory and boundary ambiguity in the context of LGBTQ+ identity development and family stress. Further, this work is often in the context of LGBTQ+ people's perceptions of parenthood, for those who are already parents, or those who want to be parents in the future. In addition, identity-based socialization such as sexual or gender identity, racial-ethnic identity, and adoption status are an additional line of research. A relatively new interest is perceptions of sexual or gender identity that are under-researched such as asexual-identified people. Joined the lab: Summer 2016 |
Ryan Stephens |
Teja Sudhakar |
Cristin Sullivan |
Queen-Ayanna Sullivan |
Anna Susini |
Casey Vázquez Primarily, I am interested in how parent-child relationships and communication in diverse family systems relate to adolescent and young adult's sexuality development. Specifically, I intend to explore how sexual minority and adoptive parents talk to their children about sexuality and how these conversations may influence child and family level outcomes and relationships. I am also interested in the perceptions and stereotypes of youth in foster care. Lastly, I have helped spearhead a project exploring birth relatives' experiences of contact with the adoptive families whom they are connected to. Joined the lab: Summer 2016 |
Joe Walden |
Madison Yee |
Kelsey Young |