CRISIS LAB
Graduate Students
Janelle Y. Wee, M.S.
Janelle Wee is a sixth year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. She has completed practicum training at Neuropsychology and Cognitive Health, Swedish Multiple Sclerosis Center, and Swedish First Hill Family Medicine Residency.. She has experience working as a Behavioral Health Assistant in a Primary Care clinic administering SBIRT surveys in a primarily Korean-speaking population.
Research Interests: Mental health and suicidality in Asian American and Asian immigrant populations. Gut microbiome composition, somatization, and neurobiological risk factors of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.
Yuchin (Gina) Lin, M.S.
Yu-Chin Lin is a fifth-year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. She received her master’s degrees from California Lutheran University and Seattle Pacific University. She has experience with R and R Studio for data management, visualization, and statistical modeling procedures.
Research Interests: Suicidality in Taiwanese population, role of shame as both protective and risk factors in suicide-related processes and outcomes.
Nicole Moreira is a fourth-year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. She is a trained mental healthcare professional with experience treating forensic and adult outpatient populations. She also has experience in involuntary assessment and intervention in her role as a Designated Crisis Responder.
Research Interests: Biopsychosocial factors contributing to psychopathy, recidivism, violent offending and suicide risk in forensic and civilly committed populations. She is also interested in applications of DBT and trauma-informed care to treat suicidality and psychopathology.
Nicole Moreira, MS, MA, LMHC-A
Katherine O'Connell is a fourth-year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. She is a former counterterrorism analyst and army veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2021, she was selected by the Pat Tillman Foundation for her remarkable service and high potential for impact as demonstrated through a proven track record of leadership, the continued pursuit of education and the commitment to service beyond self.
Research Interests: Crisis Intervention, trauma and acute suicidality in 911 community and veteran population.
Katherine O'Connell, M.S.
Anna Gilbert, M.S.
Anna Gilbert is a third-year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. Before joining the us, Anna served as a clinical research assistant at the PediMIND Program through The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her research thus far has focused primarily on suicide and NSSI, specifically in adolescent and LGBTQ+ samples.
Research Interests: Ideation-to-action models of suicide; Emotion dysregulation; Non-suicidal self-injury; The role of intersectionality in diagnosis, intervention, and management of suicide risk
Ben Barnette, M.S.
Ben Barnette is a second-year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. Ben has experience providing behavioral assistance and crisis stabilization in a day treatment program. He was selected for the US Navy’s Health Professions Scholarship Program and will serve three years in active duty as a staff psychologist following his predoctoral internship training.
Research interests: Biopsychosocial factors impacting suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and capability among military service members and veterans, particularly justice-involved veterans. Best practices in suicide risk management and application of psychophysiological markers in the measurement of suicide risk and capability.
Erin McMeekin, B.S.
Erin McMeekin is a second-year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Washington State University and was a research assistant focused on political and cognitive psychology. She has experience as a counselor at a residential treatment center providing crisis support and therapeutic skills.
Research Interests: Suicidal gestures and escalation in borderline personality disorder population, crisis intervention, emotion regulation.
Daniella Ekstein, M.A.
Daniella Ekstein is a first-year doctoral student in the CRISIS Lab. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto Canada, and her Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. Daniella's research focuses on suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescent and young adult populations who she has worked with in hospitals, schools, and outpatient programs.
Research Interests: How social factors contribute to the development of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescents and young adults. Prevention, early risk detection, and real-time risk elevation through novel assessment measures (EMA, digital phenotyping, smartphone use tracking).
Becca Spigel, B.A.
Becca Spigel is a first-year doctoral student in the CRISIS lab. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Health & Society at the University of Texas at Austin. She has experience as a clinical research assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital, managing studies aimed at improving clinical care for transgender youth and patients with eating disorders. She has also served as a sexual assault crisis counselor in Boston and case manager for survivors of domestic violence experiencing homelessness in the Seattle area.
Research interests: suicide prevention in marginalized communities, particularly those with LGBTQIA+ identities and histories of domestic violence; emotion regulation and resilience factors; qualitative methodology
On Internship
Joshua ‘Rocky’ Marks, M.S.
Rocky Marks is doctoral candidate in the CRISIS Lab. He is completing his pre-doctoral internship at Utah State Hospital.
His proposed dissertation is titled: "The Survivability Hierarchy Behind Bars: Themes, Reforms, and Prevention Program Evaluations in Washington State Jail Suicides"
Samantha Jacobson, M.S., LMHCA
Samantha Jacobson (she/her/hers) is a doctoral candidate in the CRISIS Lab. She is completing her pre-doctoral internship at UConn Medical/VA Consortium.
Her proposed dissertation is titled: “Impact of DBT Skills Training Modules on Suicidal Ideation, Internalized Stigma, and Community Connectedness in LGBTQ+ Adults”
Alumni
Jingyan (Joel) Gu, M.S.
Jingyan Gu graduated from SPU with his Master of Science degree in 2021. He is now teaching AP psychology and taking care of student mental health in a private high school in Chengdu, China