Director, Youngmee Kim, Ph.D.
Youngmee Kim is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and a Member in the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Center on Aging. She is also a Fellow of Society of Behavioral Medicine, Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, Association of Psychological Science, and American Psychological Association. She has served as Associate Editor of Quality of Life Research and Translational Behavioral Medicine. She is a standing member of Social Psychology, Personality and Interpersonal Processes Study Section of the NIH. Her research focuses on various aspects of quality of life of cancer survivors and their family members and close friends, such as psychological and spiritual adjustment, coping with caregiving stress, gender, relationship quality, cancer preventive behaviors, and co-experiences of cancer between adult patients/survivors and their adult family members/caregivers. She enjoys the time with friends, Tntn, and Jahng.
Graduate Research Assistant, Thomas Tsai, BS
Thomas (Tommy) Tsai is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Psychology’s Health Clinical track. He graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2014 with a BS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and a minor in Psychology. Prior to joining the FAMILY Lab, Tommy worked in the Positive Emotion and Anxiety Research Lab, where he developed an interest in the effects of positive emotion on stress resilience. Tommy plans to extend this interest to Health Psychology by studying the psychological and physiological impact of benefit finding and self-regulation in cancer patients and their family caregivers. In his free time, Tommy enjoys exercising, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Graduate Research Assistant, Nirvi Ajmera, BS
Nirvi is a second-year graduate student in the Department of Psychology’s Health Clinical track. Originally from Wichita, KS, she graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2021 with a BS in Psychology with minors in Statistics, Child Psychology, and Neuroscience. Prior to joining the FAMILY Lab, she was a member of the Brain and Behavioral Processes Lab at the University of Minnesota where she examined the longitudinal impacts of substance use initiation on cognition, personality, and emotion. After taking a pivotal health psychology class and experiencing a family cancer scare, she developed an interest in working with cancer patients and their families using a biopsychosocial lens. Nirvi is now interested in examining sleep and the interpersonal processes between cancer patients and their family caregivers. In her free time, Nirvi enjoys taking care of her plants, learning how to rollerblade, and taking lots of pictures as she explores her new home of Miami.
Research Project Coordinator, Rachel Russman, BS
Rachel is a project coordinator for the FAMILY Lab. Originally from Chicago, she graduated from Indiana University in 2021 with a BS in Psychology. Prior to joining the FAMILY lab, she was involved in research topics such as substance abuse, youth mental health and aesthetic chills. After serving in the military as a medic, she developed a deep interest in the intersection between physical and mental health and plans to attend graduate school in Clinical Health Psychology. In her free time, Rachel enjoys running, spending time outdoors and travelling.
Current Undergraduate Research Assistants:
- Elizabeth Cruz
- Zach Coats
- Ashna Ahya
- Devi Patcha
- Jiapei Sun
- Alex Buchanan
- Anna Amirov
- Ashytn Decoster
- Bryce Mielke
- Joshua Bornstein
- Emily Guo
- Kelci Grooms
Former Members (Selected)
- Olajide Bamishigbin, PhD, Co-founder of the Restoring Equity in Education, Arts, Communities, and Health (REACH) Consulting Firm.
- Kelly M. Shaffer, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of Training for the Center for Behavioral Health and Technology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
- Hannah-Rose Mitchell, PhD, Assistant Professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY
- Amanda Ting, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, Palo Alto VA, Palo Alto, CA
- Alison Blumstein, Graduate Student, Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
- Stephany Giraldo, MD, Resident Physician in Hollywood, FL
- Stephanie Guedj, PsyD, Health Psychologist, Washington DC VAMC
- Kadeja Kahn, Graduate Student, Medicine, University of Miami, FL
- Merica Lang, Graduate Student, Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL
- Janice Leon, MD, Resident, Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, FL
- Caroline Mazzer, Graduate Student, Hofstra University, NY
- Sivanne Mendelson, Graduate Student, University of Central Florida, FL
- Alexis Milton, Graduate Student, Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, TX
- Mark Oppenheimer, Post-baccalaureate fellow, NIMH
- Cara Patete, Graduate Student, Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
- Stefania Pinto, Graduate Student, Psychology, University of Florida, FL
- Xenia Rodriguez, Florida Department of Health, FL
- Tava West, Graduate Student, Howard University, DC
- Sierra Winings, RN, New York- Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, NY
