New2Neuropsychology

Andrea’s Story:

Andrea’s “I want to become a clinical neuropsychologist” moment was while working with a neuropsychologist who did neuropsychological assessments of Spanish speakers on death row. As part of the evaluation, the neuropsychologist would test the inmate’s neurocognitive functioning and travel to the inmate’s hometown to collect collateral information from family members (regarding neurodevelopment, family history, exposure to pesticides, etc.). Together with the neuropsychologist, she would review the data the neuropsychologist gathered, as well as previously conducted neuropsychological reports and available school, medical, and legal records. This is when she truly began appreciating the biopsychosocial model for understanding an individual’s functioning and behaviors.

In her spare time, Andrea loves to spend time outdoors with her husband and 10-year-old pup, Savannah.

Fun Fact: Andrea was introduced to the field of neuropsychology by her older sister, who is also on the journey of becoming a clinical neuropsychologist. 

Professional Interests:

1.         Cognitive aging
2.         Behavioral interventions
3.         Health disparities, particularly working with the Latinx population

Education/Training Locations:

1.         Bachelor’s in Psychology: University of North Carolina Wilmington
2.         Master’s in Psychology:  University of North Carolina Wilmington
3.         Currently a 6th year doctoral student at the University of Florida on internship at the James A. Haley VA

Current Organizational Affiliations:

1.         Hispanic Neuropsychological Society
2.         Cultural Neuropsychology Council 
3.         New2Neuropsychology 

Desmond’s Story:

Desmond is a Clinical Neuropsychology Ph.D. student at Georgia State University. Neuropsychology became a passion of his for a couple reasons. For one, he has always been intrigued by the human brain and how it impacts behavior and daily functions. Secondly, he realized there is a significant lack of research and treatments concerning Black populations in this field of study. He’s interested in how adverse experiences intersect with race-related neuropsychological outcomes to better comprehend how diversity of social experiences relates to paths of recovery.

Professional Interests:

1. Brain health and health disparities 

1. Cognitive interventions/rehab, cognitive aging, neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, dementia), neuroimaging, neuromodulation, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)

1. Cultural Neuropsychology

Education/Training: 

1. B.A. in Psychology: Governors State University

1. M.A. in Clinical Psychology: Governors State University

1. Clinical Neuropsychology Ph.D. student: Georgia State University

Current Organizational Affiliations:

1. American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN)

1. Association of Neuropsychology Students and Trainees (ANST)

1. Black in Neuro

1. Georgia State University ANST Interest Group

1. New2Neuropsychology (N2N)

1. Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN)

1. Society for Black Neuropsychology (SBN)

Jennifer’s Story:

Jennifer was initially interested in health psychology. She was introduced to neuropsychology through her graduate research lab as she learned to administer neuropsychological assessments for research purposes. Her interest grew and expanded as she began to learn more about clinical health status as well as one’s diverse backgrounds and their relations to cognition.

Fun Fact: She lived abroad for two years before attending a doctoral program.

Professional Interests:

1. Working with adults and geriatrics with a wide range of health issues (particularly epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders)
2. Culturally informed neuropsychology

Education/Training Locations:

1. College (Bachelor’s degree): Adelphi University in NY
2. Graduate School (PhD): Yeshiva University in NY
3. Internship Year: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
4. Postdoctoral Fellowship: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Current Organizational Affiliations (Leadership roles):

1. Asian Neuropsychological Association

Kritika’s Story:

Kritika’s interest in brain and behavior was sparked at an early age having grown up with her grandmother who exhibited the prototypical positive signs for schizophrenia and having worked closely with minimally verbal autistic children. At this time, she only knew about neuroscience and psychology as two separate entities. It wasn’t until after her undergraduate studies that she learned about the intersecting field of clinical neuropsychology, where she could bridge her two interests to serve pediatric patients with disabilities in a comprehensive manner. In her work as a research coordinator at the pediatric neuroscience lab at NYU, she could see how the puzzle pieces fit together to build a story that was individually and uniquely capturing the child. Through Kritika’s graduate training, she learned that neuropsychologists really did it all—liaise with the school, collaborate with medical providers, and most importantly, empower caregivers to enact change needed to help patients be the best version of themselves across psychosocial, educational, and medical platforms. Fellowship is where Kritika has been able to further address a noticeable gap in our field, as she begins to develop a niche area of expertise by molding together her work in medical neuropsychology and autism. This has allowed her to unveil the final missing piece of the puzzle for her families, engendering a sense of relief as they begin to understand how their child is interacting with their world through the lens of autism in the context of their neurological condition. In her personal life, Kritika enjoys exploring the food and culture scenes, and is particularly interested in locating all the best Asian/South Asian restaurants. She also has a cat named Dude, and enjoys dancing, practicing yoga, and meditating in her spare time.

Fun Fact: Kritika is in the process of learning how to drive.

Professional Interests:

1. My clinical interests lie in the space intersecting neurology/complex medical conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. It is especially important to me to practice culturally-responsive neuropsychology including working with families who have access to fewer resources, experience health disparities, and are from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
2. My research primarily aims to extrapolate brain-behavior endophenotypes in ASD that may uncover clinically-homogenous subgroups of autistic individuals in an effort to improve treatment outcomes. Specifically, my work takes a family study approach to achieve this goal, which further contributes to studies aimed at unlocking the genetics behind autism as well as helping to unpack the heterogeneous treatment outcomes in ASD.
3. I am dedicated towards teaching and mentoring trainees pursuing clinical neuropsychology, autism research, and those from international communities. I am additionally determined to streamline the process for international students to complete the necessary training requirements to become a practicing neuropsychologist in the United States.

Education/ Training Locations:

1. Secondary School: Island School, Hong Kong
2. College (Bachelor’s degree): New York University, New York City
3. Graduate School (MS in Biostatistics, PhD in Clinical Psychology): Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago
4. Pre-doctoral Internship: Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
5. Post-doctoral Fellowship: Rush University Medical Center—Autism Assessment, Research, & Treatment Services (AARTS), Chicago

Current Organizational Affiliations:

1. Association of Neuropsychology Students and Trainees (ANST)
2. Asian Neuropsychological Association (ANA) – Optional Practical Training (OPT) Task Force
3. Houston Conference Update Guidelines (Minnesota Conference) At-large Delegate

Rosalia’s Story:

Rosalia began her clinical psychology program with the intention of becoming a therapist. Upon beginning her assessment courses, however, she was immediately intrigued by the ways in which neuropsychologists gather data (through interview, formal assessment, observation, understanding of communities and social determinants, etc.) as “puzzle pieces” in an attempt to comprehensively understand the way that patients function in their worlds. She also loved the niche expertise neuropsychologists were able to offer interdisciplinary medical teams with an understanding not only of research and cognition, but of psychosocial and cultural factors. In her personal life, Rosalia is married with two dogs (Sadie and Penny Lane). She and her family enjoy traveling (most often to the various landscapes of Mexico), hiking, and exploring food and cocktail culture from city to city. 

Fun Fact: Rosalia worked as a bartender at a James Beard-winning cocktail bar in Chicago during her graduate school training and was recently published in a book on cocktail methodology.

Professional Interests:

1. Working with kids who have medical problems (pediatrics)

1. Bilingualism and cultural responsiveness
2. Health disparities

Education/Training Locations:

1. College (Bachelor’s degree): Loyola University Chicago

1. Graduate School (PsyD): Adler University in Chicago

1. Internship Year: University of Minnesota Medical Center
2. Postdoctoral Fellowship: Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital

Current Organizational Affiliations:

1. Association of Neuropsychology Students and Trainees

1. Cultural Neuropsychology Council 

1. New2Neuropsychology 

Tasha’s Story:

Tasha’s interests in the brain and behavior began in college where she studied a variety of subjects including behavioral neuroscience, linguistics, computer science, and philosophy. She discovered the intersection of these disciplines was a field called cognitive science, so she pursued a major in psychology with minors in cognitive science and neuroscience. After college, she moved to Chicago for a research assistantship during which she ran grant-funded clinical drug trials with humans. It was in this research lab that she was first exposed to the field of neuropsychology. She chose to begin a graduate program in clinical psychology with a specialization in neuropsychology to develop skills in cognitive assessment of adults with complex medical problems. Additionally, she completed her dissertation with a focus on patients living with chronic pain and broadened her interests to encompass pre-surgical cognitive evaluations. During fellowship, she plans to deepen new areas of specialization including assessment of patients with movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s disease) and epilepsy.  

Fun Fact: Tasha loves traveling and has been to a variety of countries in Europe and Asia. She studied abroad in Berlin, Germany in college and lived in Zürich, Switzerland for a year in high school. Most recently, she traveled to Iceland and Norway after completing her PhD.

Professional Interests:

1. Working with adults who have neurological or medical problems 

1. Cultural neuropsychology & working with interpreters (non-English evaluations) 

1. Health disparities

Education/Training Locations:

1. College (Bachelor’s degree): Carleton College (Northfield, MN)

1. Graduate School (PhD): Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (North Chicago, IL)

1. Internship: Minneapolis VA Medical Center (Minneapolis, MN)

1. Postdoctoral Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH)

Current Organizational Affiliations:

1. AACN Board of Directors Student Representative

1. Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN) Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee

1. National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) Student and Postdoc Resident Committee

1. Asian Neuropsychological Association (ANA) INS 2023 Taiwan Task Force

1. New2Neuropsychology