Principal Investigator
Sabra Inslicht, Ph.D.
Dr. Inslicht has been conducting human clinical research on the psychobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder for the past 20 years, serving as Principal Investigator on projects sponsored by the Dept of Defense, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and the National Institute of Health. Her research goals are: 1) to identify psychobiological causes and consequences of traumatic stress symptoms; 2) to characterize sex differences in the biology of PTSD; and 3) to develop drug treatments that have potential for facilitating fear extinction and improving the treatment of PTSD. She has led clinical studies using a human laboratory paradigm to examine fear conditioning in PTSD and has examined complex steroid pathways, reproductive hormones, and immune function. Her ultimate goal is to use the knowledge gained on the neurobiology of PTSD to inform novel interventions for ameliorating prolonged posttraumatic stress responses. The possibility that there may be sex differences in the neurobiology of PTSD may lead to more tailored treatments for men and women.
Post Doctoral Fellows
Alexandra Cowden Hindash, Ph.D.
My work in the lab has focused on examining connections between cognition, emotion, and psychophysiological reactivity. My current projects include examining: (1) startle reactivity and cognitive biases in women veterans; (2) rumination processes in PTSD; (3) emotion regulation processes and tendencies in veterans with PTSD; (4) cognitive flexibility in PTSD; and (5) concurrence between self-reported, clinician observed, and psychophysiological recordings of distress during trauma processing therapy. I am also mentoring a psychology intern and a graduate student in projects related to these areas of interest.
Lab Manager
Callan Lujan, M.A.
Callan Lujan recently graduated from San Francisco State University with her MA in Psychology with a concentration in Mind Brain and Behavior studies. She has experience and interest in studying PTSD using electrophysiological measures. Callan plans on pursuing a clinical PhD in the coming years. In her free time, Callan loves to spend time with friends, family, and her dog, Reuben. She loves living in San Francisco and rooting for the Giants.
Study Coordinator
Meghan Howard
Meg has been managing care delivery systems and behavioral research studies in women's mental and reproductive health for more than 15 years. Her academic background is in neuroscience, health advocacy, and human genetics and her professional experiences include training and leading clinical teams in reproductive endocrinology practices, designing mind-body therapeutic interventions for pregnant women at risk of developing postpartum depression, and overseeing original clinical research protocols examining the impact of physiologically measured maternal distress on fetal and infant brain-behavior development. Meg is a specialized yoga instructor offering trauma- and fertility- informed breath and movement practices to veterans, to VA staff, to people with trauma exposure, and to women using reproductive technologies. She is also a dancer and is passionately curious about how trauma can be held, expressed, and healed in the body.
Research Assistants
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Brenda Shein
Brenda graduated from NYU in 2017 with a BA in Psychology and a Minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. As an undergraduate student, she served as an advocate for system-involved youth in NYC, which fueled her interest in working with trauma-exposed populations. Brenda currently works as a Youth Development Specialist at a residential treatment facility in the East Bay for transitional aged, sexually exploited foster youth. Her primary research interests include risk and protective factors for resilience and the roles of different interpersonal processes in both moderating the impact of trauma and shaping developmental pathways for resilience.
Jennifer Miller
Jennifer Miller is a 2nd year Ph.D. student studying Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University. She received her master’s degree in Counselor Education from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Her research areas of interest primarily focus on military and veteran populations, the integration of technologies to improve access to mental health services, and improving the implementation of evidence-based treatments and outcomes. Other areas of interest include program evaluation, complex trauma, transgenerational trauma in rural populations, and dissociative violence. She is a member of the Interpersonal Relationships & Applied Methods (IRAM) research lab at Palo Alto University and currently serves in the Army Reserves.
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Anna Feinman, M.M.F.T.
Anna Feinman is a 2nd year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Palo Alto University with a Forensic Area of Emphasis. She received her BA in Psychology and Political Science from UC Santa Barbara and her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from University of Southern California. Anna is currently a member of Dr. Bongar’s Clinical Crises and Emergencies Lab at PAU and is a student therapist at the Gronowski Clinic. Her primary research interests include the psychology of terrorism and murder-suicide, firearm access and mental health, and risk assessment.
Tess Renirie
Tess graduated from University of Puget Sound in 2017 with a BA in Psychology. She worked as a research assistant for a psycholinguistics lab while in school. In addition to working at the lab, she works in a residential eating disorder treatment center in the East Bay.
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Jessica Colazzo
Jessica Collazo is a volunteer Research Assistant in the SFVAMC Stress and Resilience lab and she is also a second-year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Palo Alto University. Jessica served in the United States Army achieving a rank of E6 and deploying to Iraq before being honorably discharged after serving ten years. Thereafter, Jessica received her B.A. in psychology from St. Louis University and gained research experience assisting with studies analyzing cognition and memory. These experiences helped Jessica form her current research interests and goals, which include exploring the neurocorrelates of PTSD as well as exploring the unique experiences of LGBTQ veterans with PTSD. Overall, Jessica plans to utilize her experiences in research and clinical work as well as her knowledge of military culture to help bridge the gap between research and practice related to veterans in an effort to improve veterans’ well-being.
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Clinical Interviewers
Marissa Eusebio, Ph.D. Candidate
Marissa is in her third year of the clinical psychology Ph.D. program in the adult trauma area of emphasis at Palo Alto University. Marissa is predominantly interested in working with military and veteran populations in various capacities. Her current practicum placements are at the Neurocognitive Rehabilitation Unit at the Northern California VA working with patients with PTSD and substance abuse disorders and at the San Francisco VA conducting assessments for the Stress and Health Research lab. She studies risk factors for veteran suicide and physical bravery in veterans. Marissa received a B.S. in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience and behavior from the University of California, San Diego.
Daniel Fenton, Ph.D. Candidate
Daniel Fenton is a Doctoral Candidate at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco. He has provided mental healthcare services in private and public hospitals, community mental health centers, middle schools, and psychiatric inpatient and outpatient settings. Daniel’s research interests range from respite care for parents of children with special needs, to attention and working memory in individuals diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In addition to his role as a clinical interviewer in Dr. Sabra Inslicht’s San Francisco VAMC’s research laboratory, Daniel is also working with Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Alexandra Cowden Hindash, to examine the emotional aspect of attention in individuals diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. During the next academic year, Daniel will be providing mental health and assessment services at the Iowa City VAMC as the Neuropsychology Intern. In the future, Daniel hopes to become a board-certified Neuropsychologist working within the VA healthcare system.
