Lab Personnel
April Smith, Ph.D. she/her/hers
Associate Professor
Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Auburn University, the director of the Research on Eating Disorders and Suicidality (REDS) Laboratory, and the co-director of the Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic [https://cla.auburn.edu/auburn-eating-disorders-clinic/]. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004. She then taught English in Japan for two years as part of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program. Dr. Smith received her Ph.D. from Florida State University’s Clinical Psychology Program in 2012 and completed her clinical residency at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Smith was named a 2016 Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, and in 2017 Dr. Smith received the Miami University Junior Faculty Scholar Award. In 2024, she was selected to receive an endowed Auburn University Alumni Professorship. Dr. Smith has received over $7.5 million in funding from the Department of Defense and NIMH to support her work.
Shruti Kinkel-Ram, M.A. she/her/hers
Shruti is currently completing her clinical psychology internship at Western Psychiatric Hospital/University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She will graduate with her PhD from Miami University in 2025. She is interested in researching shared vulnerabilities and cause and maintenance factors underlying eating disorders and suicide. She is particularly interested in exploring the role of interoceptive awareness and weight stigma in eating disorder and suicide severity, and in exploring these topics using novel statistical methods such as network analysis in her research. Her dissertation within the lab focused on the impact of weight stigma on interoceptive processes and related disordered eating.
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Will Grunewald, M.A. he/him/his
Will is a fifth-year clinical Psychology PhD student at Auburn University. His research interests include identifying risk factors for disordered eating, body image disturbance, and suicidality, with a particular emphasis on these risk factors among vulnerable populations. He also studies the overlap between conformity to masculine norms and Muscle Dysmorphia. Originally from San Diego, Will graduated with his B.S. in Social Psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 2018. He later earned his Master's degree in Psychology from San Diego State University in 2020, where he studied body image, eating pathology, and suicidal behavior in sexual minority populations.
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Taylor Stanley, M.A. she/her/hers
Taylor is a fifth-year clinical psychology PhD student at Auburn University. Her research interests broadly include risk and maintaining mechanisms of disordered eating, the co-occurrence of disordered eating and substance use, and improving psychological assessment and treatment services to the bariatric surgery population. Taylor is originally from Richmond, Virginia and graduated with her B.S. in Psychology and M.A. in Experimental Psychology from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia (Go Dukes!).
Olivia Clancy, M.S. she/her/hers
Olivia is a third-year clinical psychology PhD student at Auburn University. She is broadly interested in further understanding risk factors for disordered eating and other self-injurious behaviors, particularly on a momentary level. Originally from New York, Olivia received her B.S. in Applied Psychology with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies from New York University in 2020. She later earned her M.S. in Psychology from Drexel University where she researched technology augmentations to evidence-based treatments for eating disorders while serving as a research coordinator for the Center for Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center).
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Rachel Frietchen, B.S. she/her/hers
Rachel is a second-year clinical psychology Ph.D. student at Auburn University. Her research interests include using ecological momentary assessment to examine proximal risk factors for nonsuicidal self-injury, disordered eating, and suicide. She is also interested in examining risk and protective factors for these behaviors in sexual and gender minority communities. Prior to graduate school, Rachel completed her undergraduate degree at George Mason University. She then completed a post-bac RA position at Butler Hospital working on a project examining novel risk factors for suicide in a psychiatric inpatient sample.
Marley Billman Miller, B.S. she/her/hers
Marley is a second-year clinical psychology PhD student at Auburn University. Her research primarily explores individual differences in the development and maintenance of disordered eating and associations between restrictive eating behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury, and suicide. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Penn State in 2020, then served as the clinical research coordinator for the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine for three years, where her research focused on eating disorders and gender health in adolescents.
Lauren Pictor, B.A. she/her/hers
Lauren is a first-year clinical psychology Ph.D. student at Auburn University. Her research interests include the social risk factors of eating disorders and suicidality, specifically within racial minority groups. Lauren is originally from Indiana where she received her B.A. in psychology and English from Indiana University. Post undergraduate, Lauren spent two years with the EMBARK Lab at UW-Madison as a Clinical Research Coordinator where she worked on projects pertaining to driven exercise and developing an intervention for eating disorders with a focus on decreasing anti-fat bias and fatpbobia.
Lauren Harris, Ph.D. she/her/hers
Lauren is a postdoctoral research fellow assisting with Dr. Smith and Dr. Levinson’s collaborative R01 grant, which explores the physiological, behavioral, and psychological mechanisms linking anorexia nervosa, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Lauren completed her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College in 2016 and received her Ph.D. from Florida State University’s clinical psychology program in 2024. Her program of research centers on understanding and disrupting the causal processes underlying life-threatening behaviors, including disordered eating and suicide.
Rylee Lusich, B.A. she/her/hers
Rylee is the full-time project coordinator for the REDS Lab's R01 grant "Investigating mechanisms linking anorexia nervosa, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts," a collaboration with Dr. Cheri Levinson at the University of Louisville. Rylee earned her undergraduate degree from Auburn University in December 2023 where she majored in Psychology and minored in Counseling. She intends to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology, and is interested in eating disorder risk factors, specifically interoception and exercise. Outside of work, she likes to read and spend time with friends and family!
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Collaborators
Dr. Tracy Witte, Auburn University
Suicidal Behavior & Psychopathology Lab
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Dr. Tiffany Brown, Auburn University
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Dr. Jonathan Kunstman, Auburn University
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Dr. Jeffrey Hunger, Miami University
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Dr. Vaishali Raval, Miami University
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Dr. Cheri Levinson, University of Louisville
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Dr. Franki Kung, Purdue University
Conflict and Mindset Collaboratory
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Research Assistants
Palmer Dykes is a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Counseling and Business. After graduation, she plans to pursue graduate studies in psychology. She is particularly interested in sports psychology, trauma, and eating disorders. She likes to spend her free time with her family, friends, and her two fur babies.
Leah Jha is studying Psychology with a minor in Counseling at Auburn University. After graduation, she plans to pursue her PhD in clinical psychology with a focus on psychopathology and trauma. Her overall goal is to increase awareness surrounding various mental health topics.
Lauren Hayes is a junior at Auburn University majoring in psychology and minoring in counseling. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school in clinical psychology. She is particularly interested in child and adolescent psychology. Outside of her studies, she enjoys baking, playing pickleball, and spending time with friends
Ashley Elder is a junior at Auburn University majoring in Psychology and minoring in Counseling. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a PsyD in Counseling or Clinical Psychology. She is specifically interested in psychotherapy, sports psychology, child psychology, and mental health treatments. Ashley hopes to pursue a career as a counseling psychologist in the future. Outside of school, she enjoys running, swimming, volunteering, being with animals and spending time with friends.
Sophie Berry is a senior at Auburn University, majoring in Psychology with minors in Counseling and International Studies for Human Sciences. After graduation, she plans to pursue a master's degree in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling. Sophie aims to become a counselor dedicated to providing guidance to those in need, with a specialization in eating disorders for both males and females. She is passionate about building connections and relationships and aspires to make a meaningful impact on everyone she encounters.
Chloe Brantley is a senior in psychology and minoring in counseling. She is specifically interested in school counseling and mental health counseling. She is passionate about making meaningful connections with those around her and hopes to gain more knowledge through her studies. Outside of her studies she enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing the guitar, reading, and going on walks.
Ava Dradzynski is a junior at Auburn University majoring in Psychology. After graduation she plans to attend graduate school in clinical psychology. She is specifically interested in military and veterans psychology and personality psychology. In her free time you can catch her reading books or hiking with her friends and family.
Channing Pharr is a sophomore majoring in Psychology with minors in Counseling and Business. After graduation, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. She is particularly interested in child and adolescent psychology, as well as animal-assisted therapy. Outside of her studies, she enjoys reading and spending time with friends and her fur babies.
