Directors

Amy Gorin, Ph.D.
amy.gorin@uconn.edu | CV
Dr. Gorin is a Professor of Psychological Sciences and Director of the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) at the University of Connecticut. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating innovative treatment strategies to improve long-term weight loss and maintenance with an emphasis on environmental processes that impact weight management. Recent projects include a couples-based approach to weight loss and obesity prevention programs for children and emerging adults. Dr. Gorin’s research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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Tricia Leahey, Ph.D.
tricia.leahey@uconn.edu | CV
Dr. Leahey is an Associate Professor of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut. She is an expert in behavioral interventions for weight management. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating cost-effective behavioral weight loss programs and on testing novel approaches for weight loss maintenance. Dr. Leahey’s studies have examined the efficacy of patient-provided care, Web-based technologies, and motivational enhancements for weight control in adults. Dr. Leahey’s program of research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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Lab Members

Zeely Denmat, B.S.
zeely.denmat@uconn.edu
Zeely Denmat is Lab Manager of the Weight Management Research Group. She oversees all staff and major operations of the ongoing research trials in the lab, and provides clinical research support for individuals and groups within our programs. She has many years of experience working in the field of behavioral weight research, both at at Brown University and the University of Connecticut. She holds a degree in Psychology from Bridgewater State University.

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Denise F. Pierre, B.S.
denise.pierre@uconn.edu
Denise Fernandes Pierre is Project Director at the Weight Management Research Group. She currently oversees staff and operations of the ongoing research trial RISE (Research Intervention to Support healthy eating and Exercise) in the lab, as well as providing research participants with clinical research support. She holds a degree in Culinary Nutrition from Johnson & Wales University and Dietetics from Marywood University. Denise has worked years in behavioral weight research at Miriam Hospital in collaboration with Brown University across all lifespans as an interventionist and project coordinator. Her interests are in community health disparities, obesity and cultural sensitivity. In addition, she has years of experience working in food service management within a clinical setting.

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.Kyrstyn Jenkins, B.A.
kyrstyn.jenkins@uconn.edu
Kyrstyn is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in Biology and a concentration in Physiology and Neurobiology. She has worked in the Behavioral Neuroscience department as a research assistant and is now an RA for CHAMPS and RISE.

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Cheyenne Harris-Starling, B.A.
cheyenne.harris-starling@uconn.edu
Cheyenne is a recent graduate from UConn who received a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science with a double minor in Psychology and Neuroscience. She was previously a Research Assistant in the Psychological Sciences department at UConn. Her research interests primarily concern psychiatric illnesses, mental health, and combating health disparities in underrepresented communities.

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.Julie Pham, B.S.
julie.3.pham@uconn.edu
Julie is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Allied Health Sciences. She has worked as a research assistant for the Department of Allied Health Sciences and is currently an RA for the Research Intervention to Support health eating and Exercise (RISE) research trial with the Uconn Weight Management Research Group.

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.Christiana Field, B.A.
christiana.field@uconn.edu
Christiana is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychological Sciences. She received undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Connecticut. Her interests include the development and implementation of equitable behavioral interventions for physical activity and weight management, as well as social and environmental influences on weight, diet, and physical activity.

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.Carnisha Gilder, M.S.
carnisha.gilder@uconn.edu
Carnisha Gilder is a doctoral student in the department of Allied Health Sciences. She received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Biology & Society and a master’s degree from UConn in Health Promotion Sciences. Her research interests include weight-loss, obesity prevention, and workplace ergonomics. She is currently conducting a study examining social accountability for weight management.

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.Nana Yaa A. Marfo, B.Phil.
nana.marfo@uconn.edu
Nana is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychological Sciences. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh with a Major in Psychology and a minor in Brazilian Portuguese. Nana’s research interests include interdisciplinary approaches to reducing health disparities, increasing access to mental health services for underrepresented populations, and affecting health policy to make population health more equitable.

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Kayla O’Connor, B.A.
kayla.f.o’connor@uconn.edu
Kayla is a recent graduate of Trinity College, with Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and Anthropology. She has worked as a research assistant for the Trinity College Psychology Department and is currently a Research Assistant for the Physical Activity Choices Everyday (PACE) NIH-funded clinical trial with the UConn Weight Management Research Group.

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Emily Wyckoff, M.S.
emily.wyckoff@uconn.edu
Emily Wyckoff is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychological Sciences. She received her undergraduate degree from Goucher College in Psychology. Her research interests include neurocognitive and social predictors of eating behavior and weight loss in adults and adolescents.

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Grace Hand, B.A.

grace.hand@uconn.edu
Grace Hand is a recent graduate of Connecticut College, with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Spanish. She has worked as a research assistant for the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory and is currently a Graduate Assistant with the UConn Weight Management Research Group. Her research interests include obesity prevention, weight management, and reducing health disparities.

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Korina Hahn, B.S.

korina.hahn@uconn.edu
Korina graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. She then went on to work as a research assistant in the field of behavioral weight research at Brown University. Now, she is a graduate assistant at the UConn Weight Management Research Group while pursuing a Master’s in Health Promotion Sciences.

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Katherine McManus-Shipp, M.A.

katherine.3.mcmanus@uconn.edu
Katherine is a clinical psychology doctoral student in the Department of Psychological Sciences at UConn. She received an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame with a minor in Business Economics. She then went on to receive a Masters of Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Denver and a Masters of Psychology from American University. Her interests include the development and implementation of equitable behavioral interventions for physical activity and weight management. She also has interests in health psychology, excessive exercise, eating disorders, and improving quality of life through improved social support, health behaviors, diet, and physical activity.

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Affiliated Faculty

Tania B. Huedo-Medina, Ph.D
tania.huedo-medina@uconn.edu
Dr. Huedo-Medina is an Associate Professor of Allied Health Sciences with affiliations in the Department of Statistics and Community Medicine at UConn Health. Her expertise is in applied statistics using causality and meta-analytic models extensively to examine behavioral and biological mechanisms of prevention across a range of diseases. Dr. Huedo-Medina has done extensive research on HIV, nutrition, exercise, obesity, and mental health. Dr. Huedo-Medina’s research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and other National and International institutions.

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Loneke T. Blackman Carr, PhD, RD
loneke.blackman_carr@uconn.edu
Dr. Blackman Carr is an Assistant Professor of Community and Public Health Nutrition at the University of Connecticut. Her expertise is in behavioral weight control interventions and obesity health disparities. She develops and evaluates interventions that leverage social relationships to improve weight loss and related diet and physical activity behavior change. A recent project includes a culturally-relevant, physical activity barrier reduction intervention for weight loss with black women.

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Lab Alumni
Talea Cornelius, Ph.D., Social Psychology
Megan Clarke, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Dominica Hernandez, Ph.D., Personality
Erin Lenz, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Anna Schierberl Scherr, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Tosca Braun, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Katelyn Gettens, Ph.D, Clinical Psychology