People

Dr. Renee Thompson is an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and a licensed clinical psychologist (California license #26195). She graduated with a B.S. in psychology with honors and a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She completed a clinical psychology internship at the Charleston Consortium Psychology Training Program in South Carolina. Both UIUC and Charleston Consortium are American Psychological Association-approved and members of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science, an alliance of programs committed to the training of clinical scientists. After internship, she completed a four-year National Institute of Health-funded  postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Dr. Thompson’s research centers on understanding the everyday emotional experience in individuals with depressive psychopathology. She uses multi-method approaches, including ecological momentary assessment, to examine  temporal dynamics of emotional experience. She is also interested in how components of emotion regulation (e.g., emotional awareness) affect the emotional experience of depressed and healthy samples. Her research is currently funded by the National Institute of Aging (R01AG070139; Role: Co-PI).

Currently, she is an associate editor at the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science (previously Journal of Abnormal Psychology) and Affective Science. She also serves as a consulting editor at Emotion. She was the program chair for the 2019 Society for Affective Science Conference and co-chaired the SPSP Emotion Preconference (2016-2018). She was elected to the Executive Board of the Society for Research in Psychopathology (2019-2021 term) and the Wash U Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (2021-2024 term).

Jocelyn (she/her/hers) is a postdoctoral research associate working with Dr. Thompson and Dr. English. She received her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and her doctoral degree at UC Irvine. Her research broadly focuses on examining factors that contribute to how emotions are experienced and managed across different populations. More specifically, she is interested in examining individual differences (e.g., emotional awareness) and socio-cultural contextual factors that predict when emotion regulation is initiated and perceived as successful. Jocelyn finds little moments of joy in jazz music, chai lattes, running in Forest Park, and all things corgi or black sesame related.

Matthew is a first-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. His research interests lie in understanding affective dynamics (e.g., emotional inertia and reactivity) in the context of internalizing psychopathology. He hopes to utilize multimodal measures (e.g., ecological momentary assessments, psychophysiological data) in this pursuit. Matthew graduated with a B.Socsc in Psychology from the Singapore Management University in 2021. Prior to joining the lab, Matthew was a research assistant supporting both the department of Psychiatry at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Rehabilitation Research Institute of Singapore. During his free time, Matthew keeps active at the gym and loves cooking.

Alison is a sixth-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Washington University in St. Louis. She is interested in the intersection between clinical and social sciences and in how these two domains interact to influence mood and emotion regulation, with a particular focus on Major Depression and anxiety disorders. Some of her specific interests include the influence of social media on emotion and mental health and the role of interpersonal emotion regulation in the course and etiology of mood disorders. Alison graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Binghamton University in 2016. She spent one year working as a research assistant at Yale University followed by two years working as a project coordinator at UC Berkeley before joining Dr. Thompson’s lab at WashU. Alison will be completing her pre-doctoral clinical internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School during the 2025-26 academic year.

Yiqin is a second-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. He is mainly interested in understanding transdiagnostic processes (e.g., repetitive negative thinking) underlying mood and anxiety disorders. In particular, he aims to delve deeper into these underlying mechanisms by leveraging computational methods and digital phenotyping (e.g., through smartphones and wearables). He has been named a McDonnell International Scholar in his pursuit of PhD at Wash U. He has also been appointed as the associated editor for the Clinical Psychologist (2022-2025), an official publication of the Society of Clinical Psychology (APA Div. 12). Yiqin holds an M.S. in Statistics from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Psychology from Peking University (i.e., Beijing University). Prior to joining Dr. Thompson’s lab, Yiqin spent two years working as a research assistant for an NIMH-funded LGBTQ+ suicide prevention trial and a MSRC-funded intensive daily assessment study on sleep and suicide at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rayanna is a senior from Long Island, New York. She is double majoring in Psychology and Creative Writing with a minor in Legal Studies. She is interested in mental health awareness and studying the relationship between internal and external perceptions of mental health disorders. She joined the lab to learn more about how different feelings and emotions towards mental health impact the development of these disorders, and is excited to research this through the lens of social media. In the future, she hopes to attend law school. In her free time, Rayanna is involved in Active Minds and enjoys photography.

Gigi is a senior from Chicago, Illinois majoring in Cognitive Neuroscience and minoring in Drama, with a focus in technical theatre and design. She is broadly interested in how mental illness impacts developing brains. She would also like to connect her previous research on criticality in the brain to the development and impact of depression on everyday life. In the future, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in clinical psychology in the pursuit of bettering mental health diagnosis and care for children and teenagers. Outside of the lab, Gigi enjoys creating sound and effect designs for live shows in the Edison Theatre, building puzzles and hiking with her family, and reading murder mysteries.

Shirley is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis from Nanjing, China. She is currently majoring in Psychological & Brain Sciences and Art History & Archaeology. She hopes to go to graduate school after receiving her bachelor’s degree. Shirley joined the lab because she would like to discover the role of emotion in people’s relations and the everyday decision-making process. During her free time, she loves drawing, watching comedies, and playing Oboe.

Talia is a first-year from Evanston, Illinois. She plans to study Psychological and Brain Sciences with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She hopes to pursue a career in mental health as a therapist after graduating from WashU. Talia is interested in emotion regulation, anxiety and depressive disorders, and neurodivergence. In her free time, she loves to listen to music, spend time outside, and explore new restaurants.

I am interested in the mental health, emotion regulation, and well-being of children and adolescents, as well as the treatment and therapy for adolescents with developmental disorders. I plan to pursue a career in child psychology and possibly applied behavior analysis therapy. In my free time, I enjoy singing in choir, playing tennis/pickleball, and spending time with friends.

I am a sophomore from Lagos, Nigeria but residing in Atlanta, Georgia. I am majoring in Psychology & Brain Sciences. I am interested in how social media affects our ability to regulate our emotions and our mental health. I plan to go to medical school. I love reading books, listening to music, doing hair, learning more about skincare, buying perfume and trying new fun things.

I’m currently a sophomore student studying psychology with minors in children’s studies and educational studies. I’m specifically interested in adolescent mental health and wellbeing. I hope to pursue a career in counseling as a therapist or social worker. Apart from academics, I’m involved in theater and volunteer work in the local community.

Mythili is a rising junior at WashU hoping to go into medicine, and is interested in exploring how mental wellness affects physical wellness. Outside of lab, she is a part of Uncle Joe’s, a peer counseling organization. She also loves spending time outside (especially with her dog) and drawing with henna.

Nikol is a first-year from Hickory Hills, Illinois, planning to major in English and Psychological and Brain Sciences. She is interested in emotion regulation and the effects social media has on mental health and is excited to learn more through participating in this lab. Nikol is also considering a future career in Clinical Psychology. In her free time, she likes to read books, travel, watch movies with her family, and go on hikes with her friends.

Mariana is a sophomore from Chicago, Illinois. She is majoring in Cognitive Neuroscience with a minor in Marketing. She is interested in studying the biological components behind mental health disorders, and is excited to learn more through this lab. She is also interested in social media influence over adolescents and how that can affect their daily life. She hopes to pursue Neuroscience in the future either through research or therapy. In her free time, Mariana is involved with a cappella and Washu’s Association of Latin American Students.

Anvita is a junior from Bangalore, India majoring in Cognitive Neuroscience. Her current research interests include the biological and neural basis of mental disorders, and how cognitive therapy and emotional regulation can be developed further to treat more severe mental disorders. In the future, she intends to pursue a Ph.D or Psy.D in clinical psychology to further explore these interests. Outside of research, Anvita spends her time singing with her acapella group, volunteering as a part of the national service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, and enjoys spending her time reading, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family.

Ankitha is a junior from Hyderabad, India. She is studying biology and psychology with a minor in WGSS. She has a passion for mental health advocacy and is keen to get involved with research that studies mental health & it’s impact. In the future, she plans to apply to medical school. She loves photography, travelling and spending time with her family.

Adam is a Sophomore from Woodside, California majoring in Biomedical Engineering. His research interests include the relationship between aging and brain development, and mood disorders. After graduating he hopes to practice medicine or pursue a career in the biotech industry. At WashU Adam is a PLTL leader for general chemistry, and in his free time he enjoys playing the guitar, playing basketball, cooking, and hiking.

Natasha is in her sixth year in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Washington University in St. Louis. She is currently on clinical internship at University of Chicago Medicine. She is interested in the role of emotion dysregulation in psychopathology, and has a particular interest in the negative reactions that people often have to their own emotional experiences. She graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Pomona College in 2012, after which she spent three years working as a research assistant at Brown University/Butler Hospital.

Analise majored in Psychological & Brain Sciences and minored in Computer Science and French. She is interested in the intertwining relationships between emotion, depression, and anxiety. In the future she hopes to work in UX Research. In her free time she enjoys running, playing the flute, shuffle dancing, and drinking tea.

Jordan was the Emotion and Psychopathology Lab’s lab manager (2013-2015). She is interested in the diagnosis and treatment of Major Depressive Disorder and anxiety disorders. She believes that understanding the emotional experience of individuals with these disorders is critical to the process of diagnosis and treatment.  She is currently a graduate student in the clinical psychology at Temple University (mentor: Dr. Philip Kendall). She would like to use this degree towards a career as a practicing clinician, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of MDD and anxiety disorders. 

Nate Eckland was a postdoctoral researcher on the MARCER study (2021-2022). Nate received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research has gone on to examine affective processes in relation to psychopathology and aging. Since leaving the lab he has pursued a career in clinical practice and research consultation. 

Beatris was a graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research centers around the study of the transdiagnostic features of mood and anxiety disorders in daily life. She is currently interested in exploring how perseverative thinking (e.g., worry, rumination) influences an individual’s emotion regulatory behaviors (e.g, strategy selection and flexibility). At WashU, she worked to expand this program of research to study the phenomenological experience of these transdiagnostic mechanisms of psychopathology. Beatris graduated with a B.S. in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018. She then spent two years as a postgraduate research associate at Yale University followed by one year as research associate at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic before joining the Emotion and Mental Health Lab.

Haijing is an alumni of the lab, earning her doctoral in clinical psychology in 2020. During graduate school, Haijing researched the role of emotion in decision-making difficulty, particularly in individuals with depressive psychopathology. She completed her clinical internship at Palo Alto VA (2019-2020).  She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for PTSD at Palo Alto VA, studying the development and efficacy of mobile app technology in treating PTSD and co-occurring depression. Prior to joining Dr. Thompson’s lab, she received a BA in psychology from Vanderbilt University and worked as a lab manager at University of Pennsylvania.

Hee Yeon was the Lab Manager for the Emotion & Mental Health Lab (2017-2018). She is interested studying emotion from both social and clinical perspectives and using multi-method approaches. She graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from University of California, San Diego in 2017 and worked as a research assistant in labs under Drs. Christopher Oveis and Nicholas Christenfeld.

Mary was the Project Coordinator for our MARCER study (2021-2023). She received her BA in Psychology from the University of South Florida, where she worked in the Mood and Emotion Lab and later for the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy. She is interested in the interpersonal context of emotion regulation and how it relates to social and emotional well-being more broadly. Mary is currently getting her Master’s degree in psychology at the College of William & Mary and later plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.

Daphne was a graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Washington University in St. Louis. She is currently completing her predoctoral internship at Emory University School of Medicine. Daphne’s research centers around emotion regulation, psychopathology, and interpersonal relationships. Specifically, Daphne is interested in investigating how individuals with mood and anxiety disorders regulate emotions differently from those without psychopathologies. She also conducts research in interpersonal emotion regulation, how people regulate their own and others’ emotions in social settings (e.g., how spouses regulate each other’s emotions), in both laboratory and naturalistic settings. Daphne received a B.S. in psychology from UC San Diego in 2015 and worked as a clinical research assistant at the VA in San Diego before moving to St.Louis. For more information, please visit her website.

Mert was an honors student in the lab 2019-2020. He double-majored in Psychological & Brain Sciences and Music, graduating in August 2020. He hopes to pursue an academic career in research on alternative therapies for mood and anxiety disorders. He was drawn to clinical research by his fascination with the fragility and malleability of mood.

Seth was an honor student in the lab from 2019 to 2020, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2020. He majored in Psychology and Brain Sciences and minored in General Economics.  His honors thesis examined how emotional awareness influences people’s judgements when they are in a negative mood. In fall of 2020, Seth will begin the clinical psychology doctoral program at Miami University in Ohio (mentor: Terri L. Messman-Moore, Ph.D.).