Lab Members

(Pronunciation: th-un-vee) I am interested in understanding anxiety, depression, and suicidality real-world to understand how environment, context, and everyday interactions influence the trajectories of symptoms. To do so, I use digital technology for ecological data collection and passive sensing. My work is motivated by a desire to increase intervention efficacy through personalized and adaptive interventions, as well as to increase access to interventions for diverse populations of adults and adolescents within existing care settings and systems, to maximize their reach.

My research interests include ways to adapt digital and mobile mental health interventions for anxiety and mood disorders to be more inclusive and accessible, including alongside active and passive sensing techniques in developing just-in-time adaptive interventions. I am particularly interested in developing scalable versions of these interventions including micro-sessions and single-session interventions, examining what the short-term benefits can be and how symptoms can be assessed and alleviated in-the-moment using ecological momentary assessment.

My research applies tools from complex systems science to psychological problems like anxiety and loneliness. In particular, I am interested in identifying the dynamic interactions among psychological and social factors that contribute to these problems. To do so, I use experimental paradigms, real-time data collection methods (e.g., passive physiological sensing; ecological momentary assessment), and computational modeling to iteratively develop, formalize, test, and refine psychological theories and examine how psychological processes unfold across timescales and contexts. My NIMH-funded dissertation (1F31MH136730) uses differential equation modeling to formally evaluate hypotheses derived from psychological and social theories about how loneliness develops and becomes chronic. I hope this work will advance our understanding of the mutually reinforcing interactions among components of complex systems that produce and reinforce states of mental disorder so that we may ultimately improve treatment.

I pursue two primary lines of research: the first is concerned with improving dissemination of and engagement with evidence-based digital mental health tools in community and health care settings. My research in this area explores collaborative and integrated care models, using qualitative and mixed methods that center patient experience and seek to understand real-world implementation hurdles. Secondly, I am interested in discerning the impact of minority stress on cognitive biases in anxious LGBTQ+ individuals. I hope to apply technology such as EMA (ecological momentary assessment) to better understand the day-to-day stressors impacting this population, with the ultimate goal of synthesizing scalable digital interventions to improve anxiety in LGBTQ+ individuals across the lifespan.