RAPOSA LAB
AREAS OF RESEARCH
PEOPLE
ELIZABETH RAPOSA, PH.D.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Liz Raposa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Fordham University. She was an undergraduate double major in Psychology and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania and received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She completed her pre-doctoral internship in the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship as a MacArthur Foundation Network Fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. After teaching at the College of William and Mary for three years, Dr. Raposa joined the faculty at Fordham as a licensed clinical psychologist in Fall 2019.
Dr. Raposa teaches undergraduate courses on topics in clinical and community psychology, as well as graduate-level courses in the Clinical Psychology program.
Email: eraposa@fordham.edu
PH.D STUDENTS
NICOLA FORBES, M.A.
Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Developmental Psychology
Nicola is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental Psychology program. Nicola uses mixed-methods to understand how intersectional experiences shape the sociocultural development of Asian American women, with a particular focus on how Asian American female adolescents and emerging adults navigate racialized sexism and marginalization, mental health, and sexual and reproductive health. Some of her past research has also explored how multiply-marginalized populations in higher education navigate discrimination and belonging.
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Email: nforbes1@fordham.edu
KATIE BARTOLOTTA
Ph.D. Student in School Psychology
VINNY DONOFRIO
Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology
Vinny is a third-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. He graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Clinical Psychology and, prior to starting at Fordham, he worked as a Research Data Coordinator for Boston Children’s Hospital. Vinny is interested in the effects of early childhood trauma and adversity on psychosocial development, with a primary focus on children and adolescents from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Vinny's current research investigates pathways that may increase the likelihood of marginalized youth acquiring informal mentoring relationships.
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Email: vdonofrio@fordham.edu
Katie is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the School Psychology program. She received her B.A in Psychology with a minor in Cultural Anthropology from Stony Brook University. Prior to starting graduate school, she worked as a Research Coordinator at Stony Brook Medicine. Her primary interests include 1) understanding the impact stressful childhood experiences have on socioemotional development in traditionally marginalized groups, and 2) reducing ethnic and racial disparities in accessing mental health services. She plans to develop and implement community-based interventions working alongside the target population to encourage feelings of empowerment and well-being. She hopes community-based interventions will offer an alternative treatment option to traditional psychotherapy, reduce mental health disparities and provide trauma-informed mental health services.
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Email: kbartolotta@fordham.edu
CRISTINA NARDINI
Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology
Cristina is a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. She received a BA in psychology with a concentration in biopsychology/neuroscience from The College of New Jersey. Prior to beginning graduate school, she worked at Yale Child Study Center and Yale CANDLab, coordinating a research trial examining the clinical and neurobiological effects of a parent-based treatment for pediatric anxiety. Today, she is interested in the ways supportive relationships buffer the impact of stress on biopsychosocial development in underrepresented youth. Cristina's goal is to apply this knowledge to improve the effectiveness and advance the dissemination of community-based interventions.
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Email: cnardini@fordham.edu
ARIANA DAVIS
Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology
Ariana is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. She earned a BA in Psychology from Temple University. Prior to Fordham, she was the Lead Project Coordinator of an NIH-funded study at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research delves into the impact of interpersonal relationships on risk and resiliency factors among ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ youth populations. Ariana hopes enhance and implement community and school-based interventions to improve mental health outcomes for children and adolescents.
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Email: adavis169@fordham.edu
M.S. STUDENTS
TRIPAT RIHAL
M.S. Student in Clinical Research Methods
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Tripat is a second-year Clinical Research Methods MS student. She joined the CRM program after graduating from the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development in 2020. Tripat is broadly interested in how children from ethnic-racially diverse backgrounds adapt to life stress and trauma. Additionally, Tripat is invested in understanding risk and protective factors for childhood psychopathology within these communities. Tripat's ultimate goal is to build an inclusive, strengths-based research program to serve communities historically underrepresented in Clinical Psychology and Child Development research.
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Email: trihal@fordham.edu
ARIANA DEJESUS-RODRIGUEZ
M.S. Student in Clinical Research Methods
Ariana is a second-year master's student in the Clinical Research Methods program. She graduated from the University at Buffalo where she received a bachelor's in Psychology and Health and Human Services with a concentration in early childhood. She is interested in understanding the risk and protective factors for mental health disorders in children from underrepresented populations. Furthermore, she is interested in how these disorders impact the development of youth and decreasing the barriers to treatment that exist among these populations. After graduation, Ariana intends on pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with the ultimate goal of changing the stigma surrounding mental illness and reducing the disparities that exist for minority youth.
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MEGANE NACIER
M.S. Student in Clinical Research Methods
Megane is a first-year master's student in the Clinical Research Methods program. She graduated from the Macaulay Honors College at Brooklyn College with a bachelor's of science in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience in 2020.
She is interested in understanding the risk and protective factors that may lead to poor mental health outcomes in youth, especially populations more likely to experience health disparities. Megane aims to utilize her research in order to create intervention-based programs aiding those communities in need. After graduation, Megane intends on pursuing a Ph.D. (or a PsyD!) in clinical psychology to become a pediatric neuropsychologist working with minority populations in order to reduce health disparities and highlight cultural competency.
Email: mnacier1@fordham.edu