Family Studies and Human Development - Current Graduate Students

Name: Leslie Bosch
Email:lbosch@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: B.A. and M.A. in Music Education, University of Denver
Hometown:Denver, Colorado
Area of Interest Interest (Research/Teaching): The impact of early parental relationships on identity formation and the development of epistemic assumptions across the life span.
Minor: Communication Advisor: Melissa Curran

Name: Christine Bracamonte Wiggs
Email: cbmonte@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: M.P.H., Community Health Promotion, University of Arizona; B.S., Biology, Gonzaga University
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
Area of Interest: Influence of perception of gender roles on adolescent risk-taking behaviors within romantic relationships; maintenance of adolescent romantic relationships; adolescent sexuality; youth empowerment and development.
Minor: Public Health   Advisor: Lynne Borden

Name: Debbie Casper
Email: dcasper@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: MA in counseling from the University of Maryland; BS in psychology from the University of Maryland University College.
Hometown: Negaunee, MI but I’ve lived in GA, MA, AZ, and Germany as an Active Duty Military Spouse.
Area of Interest: Child and adolescent development, parenting, attachment, and maladaptive coping mechanisms in adolescence.
Minor: Undecided   Advisor: Melissa Curran

 

Name: Dominique Calza
Email: calzad@email.arizona.edu

Degrees:
Hometown:
Area of Interest:

Minor:   Advisor: Stephen Russell

Name: Renée Peltz Dennison
Email: Peltzr@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: B.A. in Psychology from Kenyon College, M.S. in Family Studies and Human Development from University of Arizona
Hometown: Lakewood, Ohio
Area of Interest: (Research/Teaching): My research interests include parental divorce and its impact on adolescents' future relationships, and my teaching interests include adolescent development.
Minor: Research Methods   Advisor: Sue Silverberg Koerner

 

Name:  Allison Ewing  
Email:  arewing@Email.arizona.edu

Degrees: M.S. Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona ; B.A. Human Development, California State University, Long Beach
Hometown:  San Diego, CA
Area of Interest: (Research/Teaching):  Children's socioemotional development, early schooling, sibling relationships, teaching. 
Minor: Teaching  Advisor:  Angela Taylor

Name: Anita A. Hanna
Email: aha@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: B.S. in Biology, the University of Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia; M.S. in Entomology, the University of Arizona; M.P.H., College of Public Health, the University of Arizona.

Hometown: Bandung, Indonesia
Areas of interest: Adolescent Behavior, Development and Health; Obesity in the family, Maternal health and well-being.
Minor: Public Health   Advisor: Dr. Emily Butler

Name: Amy Howerter
Email: howerter@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: University of Colorado at Boulder, BS Psychology, 1998
University of Arizona, MS Family Studies & Human Development, 2001
Hometown: Waldorf, MD  (Washington DC Metro area)
Areas of Interest: Relationships and Health, psychophysiology, biostatistics. Minor - Physiology   Advisor - Michael Rohrbaugh

 

Name Jeong Jin Yu (J.J.)
Email jjyu@email.arizona.edu

Degrees M.S. from the University of Missouri-Columbia
Hometown Seoul, South Korea
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching) Sibling relationships, peer groups and social competence, friendship and peer rejection, children's socioemotional well-being, parent-child relationships, and cross-cultural studies.
Minor Statistics  Advisor Dr. Wendy Gamble

Degrees: B.A. in Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 2000
M.A. in Psychology, College of William & Mary, 2004
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching): My primary area of interest concerns the development of adaptive individual differences in mating psychology. Past research has focused on self-esteem in relation to individual differences in mating and the measurement of human mating strategies. Evolutionary psychology is the theoretical framework that guides my research. Additional interests include behavioral genetics and psychometrics. Minor: Evolution & Human Behavior  Advisor: Bruce J. Ellis

 

Name: Christine Krikliwy
Email: ckrikliw@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: MPH, University of Arizona
Hometown: Tucson
Areas of Interest: Research: Acculturation, international: women/children issues. Teaching: cross-cultural issues.
Minor: Public Health   Advisor: Mari Wilhlem

 

Name: Eva Matthews
Email: evam@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: MPH (2001), Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona
BA (1996), Psychology, University of Connecticut
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
Areas of interest: Adolescent tobacco use and cessation; social and familial influences on health decision making.

 

Name: Kami Merrifield
Email:   kmerrifi@cox.net

Degrees: BS and MS in Family and Consumer Resources, University of Arizona
Areas of Interest: The determinants of parenting. Of particular interest is the influence of the partner on parenting quality. Minor: Teaching  Advisor: Wendy Gamble

 

 

Name  Melissa Page
Email  mpage@u.arizona.edu

Degrees  BS, Grand Canyon University; MPH, University of Arizona
Hometown  Tucson
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching)  Teaching UG's and Grad's and research interests include maternal depression and children's developmental outcomes. Minor:  Applied Development  Advisor:  Mari Wilhelm

 

Name: Pamela B. Payne
Email: pgargle@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: BA in Psychology, minor in Family Studies and Human Development
University of Arizona; MA in Psychology with an emphasis in Clinical Psychology
Pepperdine University

Hometown: Yorba Linda, CA
Area of Interest: Romantic relationships, sexuality, communication in relationships, divorce and child and relationship outcomes, long distance and commuter marriages. Minor: Communication  Advisor: Carl Ridley

Name:  Sridevi S. Ramakumar (Sri)
Email:  ssr@email.arizona.edu

Degrees:  M.S.W., Clinical Social Work, University of Minnesota, B.A. Honors (English Composition), University of Washington
Hometown:  Seattle, Washington
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching):  Early and Middle Childhood, Social and Emotional Development, Parenting and Cultural Impacts upon Parenting. Minor:  Applied Developmental Science  Advisor:  Wendy Gamble

 

Name: Abha Rao
Email: asrao@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: B.A. Psychology, 2002, Connecticut College; M.S. Family Studies and Human Development, 2004, University of Arizona.
Hometown: Chennai, India
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching): Adolescent health, Power in close relationships, Feminist theory. Minor: Anthropology  Advisor: Dr. Donna Christensen

 

Name: Gabriel L. Schlomer
Email: schlomer@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: B.S. Psychology, Indiana State University ; M.S. Experimental Psychology, Western Illinois University
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Areas of interest: My primary research interest is in understanding the contextual causes of conflict between parents and their children. At present I am conducting research examining how the presence of half-siblings as a family level context affects the relationship between mother’s and their children. I implement an evolutionary theoretical approach to guide my research questions and contrast family systems theory in terms of its parallel and divergent predictions about parent-child conflict. Additional interests include the consequences of parent-child conflict, discriminative parental solicitude, and how a behavioral-genetic approach can help further inform my research. Teaching interests include adolescence, developmental psychology (broadly), and evolutionary developmental psychology.
Minor: Statistics   Advisor: Bruce J. Ellis

Name: Marcela Sotomayor-Peterson
Email: msotomay@Email.arizona.edu

Degrees: Master Degree from Instituto Politecnico Nacional de Mexico
Hometown: Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching) Child socio-emotional development and parenting. Cultural differences and minority families.
Minor: Cultural Differences in Parenting and Child development  Advisor: Dr. Angela Taylor  

 

Name: Yumi Shirai
Email: yumish@email.arizona.edu

Degrees MA in Theatre Arts Dance emphasis
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching): Aging and Caregiving, Parents with adult children with special needs. Minor: Gerontology  Advisor: Sue Silverberg Koerner

 

Name: Elizabeth (Liz) Tilley
Email: etilley@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: BA in Psychology from Baylor University, Waco TX
Hometown: Amarillo, TX

Areas of interest: I am interested in understanding human development from a Biosocial perspective. My work focuses primarily on pubertal development and the factors that contribute to individual differences in the timing of puberty and in human sexual development in general. Contributing factors of interest include environmental stressors, genetic influences, and the role of hormones. My goal is to get a better grasp of the interactions between these variables. For example, how do different environmental influences interact with hormone levels at puberty to contribute to human behavior? How might certain behaviors be adaptive, depending on context? My work is heavily influenced by social scientists such as Bruce Ellis, Elizabeth Susman, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ron Dahl, and Julia Graber. Minor: Evolutionary Psychology   Advisor: Bruce Ellis

Name: Russell Toomey
Email: toomey@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: M.A. Family Studies and Human Development, Kent State University; B.S. Child and Family Studies, Ohio University
Hometown: Belpre, Ohio
Area of Interest: Adolescent development, sexual minority and transgender youth, and family relationships.
Minor: Undecided   Advisor: Stephen Russell

 

Name: Casey J. Totenhagen
Email: ctotenha@email.arizona.edu

Degrees:M.S. Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Arizona, 2007 B.S. Child Development and Family Science, North Dakota State University, 2004
Hometown: Mandan, ND
Areas of interest: I am interested in studying the relationships of dating, married, and gay/lesbian couples. More specifically, I am interested in such predictors and outcomes as daily hassles, stress, relationship quality, affect, and sexuality within relationships.
Minor: College Teaching   Advisor: Carl Ridley

Name: Kali Van Campen
Email: kalivc@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: B.A. in English, Boston College; M.A.T. in Secondary Education, Tufts
University; M.A. in Family and Sexuality Studies, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
Hometown: Boston, New York City

Areas of interest: Sexuality, Emotional Development in Adolescence, Public Health
Minor: Mexican American Studies
Advisor: Stephen Russell

Name: Ada Wilkinson-Lee
Email: adaw@email.arizona.edu

Degrees: B.S. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, 1998
B.A. Mexican American Studies, University of Arizona, 1998
M.S. Mexican American Studies-Latino Health, University of Arizona, 2001    
Hometown: Douglas, Arizona
Area of Interest (Research/Teaching): My research interest focuses on Latino health outcomes.  At the moment I am addressing Mexican parent-teen communication with regards to sexuality and examining how health care providers define cultural sensitivity in the context of Latino youth.
Minor: Mexican American Studies-Latino Health Disparities   Advisor: Stephen Russell

More Information

FSHD Home Page
FSHD Graduate Program

See Also

University of Arizona Graduate College