Dorian's main research interests are in the areas of eating disorders, suicidality, and non-suicidal self-injury. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Miami University in 2020 (predoctoral internship: University at Buffalo Student Counseling Services). Dorian then moved to Fargo, ND to complete a two-year, NIMH funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Sanford Center for Biobehavioral Research (the Fargo site of the Midwest Regional Eating Disorders Research T32 training grant). In 2022 Dorian obtained clinical licensure and then obtained a 50/50 faculty position within Sanford as an Assistant Scientist with Sanford Research, and as a psychologist on Sanford's eating disorder unit. She also holds an appointment as clinical faculty at the University of North Dakota medical school and serves as a faculty member for the Fargo site of the T32 postdoctoral training program.
Lauren Forrest, PhD
Lauren earned her clinical psychology PhD from Miami University in 2020. She completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University. She was an assistant professor at Penn State College of Medicine from 2021-2024, and is now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon. Lauren’s lab researches risk factors for eating disorders and suicide, particularly among sexual minorities and other minoritized groups.
Lisa Velkhoff, PhD
Lisa is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Miami University. Her research interests are in eating disorders, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidal behavior, with a particular focus on identifying proximal indicators of risk. Lisa completed her undergraduate studies at Northwestern University in 2013 with a B.A. in Psychology and English. She joined the REDS Lab in Fall 2014 as a research coordinator and stayed on as a graduated student beginning in Fall 2015. Lisa has worked in a number of research labs examining such areas as cognitive functioning in depression, media influence on body image, and cortisol activity in response to interpersonal stress. Lisa completed her predoctoral internship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the 2020-2021 year and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the UCSD Eating Disorders Treatment and Research Program.
Shelby Ortiz, M.A. she/her/hers
Shelby is a fifth-year clinical psychology PhD student at Miami University. Her research interests include exploring the factors affecting the development and maintenance of eating disorders and studying the effectiveness of treatments. Originally from the Virginia Beach area, Shelby received her B.A. in both Psychology and Biology from Wake Forest University in 2014. She then spent a year writing curriculum and working as a group facilitator for a non-profit organization before moving to Philadelphia to work as the research coordinator for The Renfrew Center. Her two years there were spent studying eating disorder pathology and related comorbidities. Shelby is currently completing her predoctoral internship at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
Natalie Perkins, M.S. she/her/hers
Natalie is a fifth-year Clinical Psychology PhD student at Miami University. She is broadly interested in eating disorders, nonsuicidal self-injury, and suicide, with a particular interest in the comorbidity of eating disorders and NSSI and how these conditions translate to increased suicide risk. Originally from Southern Kentucky, Natalie graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2016 with a B.S. in Psychological Science and a minor in Nutrition. She later completed her master’s degree at WKU in Psychology with an emphasis in Clinical Science in 2018, where she studied suicidal behavior and nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescents and young adults.