August 2023
Andrea presented her work on mindfulness in Arab/MENA American communities as part of a symposium at APA 2023 in Washington, D.C. [August 2023]
July 2023
Andrea presented on the importance of increasing Arab/MENA American representation in psychotherapy intervention studies as part of a panel discussion at the 2023 APA Division 45 conference in San Diego, CA. [July 2023]
June 2023
M-Body Lab Celebrates Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler’s Birthday!
Andrea presents pilot data on perceptions of mindfulness among Arab/MENA Americans at the 2023 Summer Research Institute hosted by the Mind & Life Institute (MLI). She also participates in MLI’s Global Majority Leadership and Mentorship program, which seeks to expand diversity and inclusion in the contemplative sciences.
April 2023
March 2023
Andrea defends her clinical qualifying exam and research qualifying paper to obtain her master’s degree in clinical psychology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
November 2022
Meghana presents her research from her Fulbright on collective trauma and community resilience in psychosocial interventions with conflict-affected Ilankai/Lankan Tamil communities at the 2022 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) conference in Atlanta, GA.
June 2022
The M-Body team welcomes three new members! 1) Meghana Nallajerla is the new clinical research coordinator, 2) Anthony Morales is joining the team as a doctoral student, and 3) Clare Wongwai will be our new research assistant. See our “Our Team” page to read more about them! Welcome!
May 2022
Andrea presents her poster entitled “Considering the Role of Religion and Spirituality in Adapting Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Black Communities” at the International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health in Phoenix, Arizona!
March 2022
A BIG month of good news for the team!
1) Elayne accepts an offer of admission to join the University of Southern California as a Clinical Science PhD student. She will be joining the Dismantling Racial inEquities Around Mental Health (DREAM) Lab under Dr. Chardée Galán. Elayne will primarily be working on a study investigating the social networks through which Black youth receive racial socialization messages with the goal of developing a culture-specific, strengths-based intervention to be implemented in accessible settings. She is excited to continue striving to produce equitable science. We will miss her dearly but wish her the very best in her doctoral studies. Fight On!
2) Dr. Jen H. Martinez will be starting as an assistant professor in Suffolk University’s Psychology Department this fall. In this position, Jen will be teaching and mentoring graduate students in Suffolk’s Clinical Psychology doctoral program. They will also be continuing their research focused on interventions and strategies to mitigate the mental health impacts of racism-related stress. Way to go, Jen! We are so excited to watch your new lab grow!
3) Ekene accepts an offer of admission to join the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. During her doctoral studies, she aims to explore how biological and sociocultural factors impact the development and trajectory of anxiety disorders among Black women. In her first two years of the program, Ekene will also work primarily with Dr. Julie Germann on a project in collaboration with a therapy-based app developer company to determine the effectiveness and implementation of a CBT app on depression among adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions in a community health clinic setting. We are so proud of Ekene and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes!
4) Liz, the first-ever M-Buddy doctoral student, will be joining the Massachusetts General Hospital as a postdoctoral fellow in the T32 Global Fellowship training program. What a star! Good luck in Boston, Liz!
October 2021
The M-Body team welcomes a new research assistant, Esiri Emeje!
August 2021
Jen presents their poster titled “Acceptability of a Mindfulness- and Values-Based Intervention for Coping with Racism-Related Stress” at the 2021 virtual American Psychological Association.
June 2021
Dr. Burnett-Zeigler’s book “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women” is published and available in book stores! Lab members proudly display their copy.
May 2021
Team potluck at Jen’s lovely home to celebrate Rebbeka and Liz moving on to exciting new adventures at graduate school and internship, respectively! Rebbeka will be pursuing her graduate studies at California State University, Fullerton. Good weather and good company! Congratulations to you both!
April 2021
Team members (Elayne Zhou, Rebbeka Carmona, & Ekene Nwosisi) attend, present at, and field a live Q&A at the virtual Midwestern Psychological Association Convention. You can watch their presentation here and view their poster here.
March 2021
Our team uses a new virtual office space, Gather, for our second official virtual game night. So much fun!
February 2021
The M-Body Lab’s very first graduate student, Liz Waldron, matches for clinical internship at Rush University on the Health Psychology track with a focus on women’s behavioral health! Huge congratulations, Liz! We are so proud of you!
January 2021
Lab poster submission entitled “Psychological Well-being of African-American Women in Urban Community Health Centers” is accepted for presentation at the virtual Midwestern Psychological Association Convention (April 2021). Congratulations, Elayne, Rebbeka, & Ekene!
Though virtual, our team finds little ways to stay in touch through staggered office visits. Elayne’s whiteboard has become the perfect check-in spot!
September 2020
The M-Body team welcomes a new research assistant, Ekene Nwosisi!
August 2020
Three new M-Buddies join the team! 1) Elayne Zhou is the new clinical research coordinator, 2) Andrea Haidar comes to us as a brand new doctoral student, and 3) Dr. Jen Martinez is our new postdoctoral fellow.
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May 2020
New M-Body team member, Rebbeka Carmona, joins the team!
February 2020
The M-Body team and other members of the Asher Center complete the mental health first aid training.
January 2020
The research team successfully completes the first recruitment trip of the year, flyering all around Chicago.
December 2019
Team support for members presenting at Northwestern University’s Institute for Public Health and Medicine Conference!
September 2019
The M-Body team goes rock climbing!
May 2019
The M-Body team is well-represented at the Near North Mother’s Day 5k run!
August 2016
Dr. Burnett-Zeigler and her research on a pilot study assessing the impact of mindfulness on depressive symptoms are featured below by Northwestern University.