Dr. Boisseau will not be accepting doctoral students for Fall 2026.

Principal Investigator

Christina (Tina) L. Boisseau, Ph.D
Dr. Boisseau’s research focuses on anxiety, obsessive-compulsive spectrum, and eating disorders and using translational research methods to identify critical, transdiagnostic mechanisms of dysfunction and barriers to recovery. Her work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Brown Institute for Brain Sciences and the Norman Prince Neuroscience Institutes. She is an original coauthor of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders and maintains a clinical practice focused on the treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders.

Lab Members

Immanuela (Manny) Obisie-Orlu, M.S. | Doctoral Student
Manny is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She received her B.S. in Psychology in 2022 from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests lie in the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety and OCD, as well as the similarities and distinctions between types of repetitive negative thinking and how this affects the classification of mental disorders. In her free time, she can be found listening to Taylor Swift, re-watching her favorite movies, and providing social commentary on them. 

Catherine Chen, M.A.
Catherine graduated from Northwestern’s Clinical Psychology M.A. program in 2025. She received her B.A. in Cognitive Science and Psychology from Johns Hopkins University. Her research interest lies in exploring the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of OCD and anxiety disorders to improve treatment. In her free time, she enjoys exploring good restaurants and cooking.  Catherine currently works as a research assistant at Johns Hopkins University.

Tarry Mkhize, M.A.
Tarry graduated from Northwestern’s Clinical Psychology M.A Program in 2024.  She received her BA Honors in Psychology at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa in 2020. Her research interests include studying treatment of OCD and anxiety related disorders, as well as barriers in recovery especially in BIPOC and immigrant populations. Tarry is an extreme extrovert who enjoys exploring big cities and immersing herself in diverse cultures.

Snigdha Kamarsu, M.A.
Snigdha (pronounced Snig-the) graduated from Northwestern’s Clinical Psychology M.A Program in 2022. Her research interests are in developing interventions aimed at symptom management and cognitive remediation for adults with mood disorders. She is currently a doctoral student at George State University working with Dr. Page Anderson.

Yiqing (Alice) Fan, M.A.
Alice graduated from Northwestern’s Clinical Psychology M.A Program in 2023 and continues to volunteer in the SOAR lab. She received her B.A. in Psychological Science from Vassar College. Her research interests include improving the understanding and treatment of OCD, anxiety, and mood disorders. She is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at American University working with Dr. Kate Gunthert.

Clara Law, M.A.
Clara graduated from Northwestern’s Clinical Psychology M.A Program in 2020 and continues to volunteer in the SOAR lab. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine in 2016. She is interested in understanding social, cultural, and transdiagnostic factors in relation to treatment access and treatment efficacy for OCD and anxiety disorders. Clara is a doctoral student in the Health Psychology and Clinical Science PhD Program at CUNY The Graduate Center working with Dr. Evelyn Behar.

Lab Mascot

Bailey Boisseau, S.P.*

Bailey is just looking for treats and love. You’ll find him lounging by the windows, taking a nap, or looking for a belly rub. His primary research interest is in promoting procrastination.

* super pup (honorary degree)