Congratulations to the following students in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences (CBCS) who successfully defended their doctoral dissertations this semester:
Kevin Edward Antwi, a student of social work, successfully defended his dissertation, "In Search of Protective Factors against Gun Carrying for Black Male Youth: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of Secondary Data." Antwi's examining committee included Jessica M. Grosholz, PhD, who served as chair; Sondra Fogel, PhD, who served as major professor; Matthew Moore, PhD, who served as co-major professor; Dasha Rhodes, PhD; and Dane Minnick, PhD.
Tracy Bales, a student of behavioral and community sciences, successfully defended her dissertation, "Parent and Caregiver Engagement in Youth Cyberbullying Prevention." Bales's examining committee included Kathleen Moore, PhD, who served as chair; Bruce Levin, PhD, who served as co-major professor; Oliver Massey, PhD, who served as co-major professor; and Abraham Salinas-Miranda, PhD.
Marissa L. Del Vecchio, a student of applied behavior analysis, successfully defended her dissertation, "Trauma-Informed Care in Residential Settings: Staff Perceptions and the Impact of the Trauma-Informed Prevent-Teach-Reinforce Model." Del Vecchio's examining committee included Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW, who served as chair; Kimberly Crosland, PhD, BCBA-D, who served as major professor; Catia Cividini-Motta, PhD, BCBA-D; and Rose Iovannone, PhD, BCBA-D.
Joanne Elayoubi, a student of aging studies, successfully defended her dissertation, "Association of Social Isolation, Loneliness, Social Strain and Support with Cancer Onset, and Frailty and All-Cause Mortality in People with Cancer." Elayoubi's examining committee included Nan Sook Park, PhD, who served as chair; William E. Haley, PhD, who served as major professor; Brent Small, PhD; Alison Salloum, PhD; Karen L. Fingerman, PhD; and Gizem Hueluer, PhD.
Jocelyn Jarvis, a student of behavioral and community sciences, successfully defended her dissertation, "Disclosing Hunger: Psychosocial Predictors and Screening Strategies for Food Insecurity in Undergraduate University Students and Adult Contexts." Jarvis's examining committee included Heewon Gray, PhD, who served as chair; Marilyn Stern, PhD, who served as major professor; Linda Callejas, PhD, who served as co-major professor; and Svetlana Yampolskaya, PhD.
Mary Pyfrom, a student of communication sciences and disorders, successfully defended her dissertation, "Speech Under Competing Demands: A Multimodal Analysis of Acoustic, Behavioral, Perceived, and Neural Workload During Adaptive Dual-Task Performance." Pyfrom's examining committee included Ashwin Parthasarathy, PhD, who served as chair; Supraja Anand, PhD, who served as co-major professor; Jennifer Lister, PhD, CCC-A, who served as co-major professor; Michelle Arnold, PhD, CCC-A; and Pasquale Bottalico, PhD.
Madeline R. Risse, a student of applied behavior analysis, successfully defended her dissertation, "Using Technology-Enhanced Pyramidal Behavioral Skills Training to Train Clinical Staff." Risse's examining committee included Natalie Andzik, PhD, BCBA-D, who served as chair; Kwang-Sun Cho Blair, PhD, BCBA-D, who served as major professor; Kimberly Crosland, PhD, BCBA-D; and Raymond Miltenberger, PhD, BCBA-D.
James-Angelo Suarez, a student of behavioral and community sciences, successfully defended his dissertation, "Teachers' Pre-Implementation Perceptions of a Social-Emotional Competence Intervention Across Title I and Non-Title I Schools: A Mixed Methods Examination of Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility." Suarez's examining committee included Linda Callejas, PhD, who served as chair; Kimberly Johnson, PhD, who served as major professor; Kristin Kosyluk, PhD, who served as co-major professor; Anna Abella, PhD; and Nathaniel von der Embse, PhD.
Sharayah S. M. Tai, a student of applied behavior analysis, successfully defended her dissertation, "The Development and Evaluation of the Functional Analysis Screening Tool For Athletic Performance (FAST-AP)." Tai's examining committee included Jim Luiselli, BCBA-D, who served as chair; Kimberly Crosland, PhD, BCBA-D, who served as major professor; Catia Cividini-Motta, PhD, BCBA-D; and Bryon Miller, PhD, BCBA-D.
Emily Walker, a student of criminology, successfully defended her dissertation, "Race, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Human Trafficking Risk, Identification, and Investigation." Walker's examining committee included Ieke de Vries, PhD, who served as chair; Joan A. Reid, PhD, LMHC, who served as major professor; Fawn Ngo, PhD; and Mateus Renno Santos, PhD.
Emma J. Walker, a student of applied behavior analysis, successfully defended her dissertation, "Evaluating the Effect of Synchronous Music Reinforcement on Treadmill Pace: A Replication and Extension to Adults with Autism." Walker's examining committee included John T. Rapp, PhD, who served as chair; Raymond G. Miltenberger, PhD, who served as major professor; Bryon G. Miller, PhD; and Jennifer L. Cook, PhD.
Jessica Yauk, a student of aging studies, successfully defended her dissertation, "Intersectional Inequities in End-of-Life Care Quality: The Role of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender." Yauk's examining committee included Nicole Lampe, PhD, who served as chair; Debra Dobbs, PhD, who served as major professor; William E. Haley, PhD; Lindsay Peterson, PhD; and Hyo Jung Lee, PhD.
Emma Walker and Raymond Miltenberger
Mary Pyform
Joanne Elayoubi, William Haley and Alison Salloum
Debra Dobbs, Jessica Yauk, Hyo Jung Lee, William Haley, Lindsay Peterson, and Nicole Lampe
Raymond Miltenberger, Kimberly Crosland, Madeline Risse, and Kwang-Sun Cho Blair
Kimberly Crosland and Marissa Del Vecchio
In addition, the following CBCS students were admitted into doctoral candidacy:
Sahar Heydari
Behavioral and Community Sciences
Sahar Heydari earned a Master of Science in Nutrition Science from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Science from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. Her research areas are diet and nutrition in the etiology and prevention of cancer, food insecurity, and hunger.
Mykenzie King
Behavioral and Community Sciences
Mykenzie King earned a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from USF. Her research areas are reproductive stigma, mental health stigma and women's mental health.
Sridevi Unni Nair
Aging Studies
Sridevi Unni Nair earned a Masters in Applied Aging Science at USF and a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery from the University of Calicut, Kerala, India. Her research interests center on the gut microbiome's role in the physical and cognitive decline among older adults, with a focus on specific microbial pathways and their downstream effects on aging-related functional decline, with implications for neurodegenerative risk and future intervention development.
Layla Katharine Santana
Aging Studies
Layla Katharine Santana earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Pernambuco, Brazil and a graduate certificate in gerontology from Educational Development Institute College in Pernambuco, Brazil. Her research interests are cognitive aging, social and digital interventions (including gerontechnology), non-invasive approaches to cognitive health and occupational therapy for healthy aging.
Jennifer Venne
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Jennifer Venne earned a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of New Hampshire and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Syracuse University. She has been a clinical speech-language pathologist for more than 15 years. Her research focus is on implementation of language and literacy interventions in the school setting.