Meet our team!
Our research is made possible by a hardworking team of doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, project coordinators, and collaborators.
Lab Director
Dr. Cameron Neece
Dr. Cameron Neece is a Professor whose career has been devoted to supporting families of children with developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Neece has developed several interventions for families of young children with developmental disabilities. She has three young children of her own and in her free time enjoys going to the beach and spending time with her family.
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Project Coordinator
Sydney Park
Sydney is a project coordinator of the SIESTA Project. She has earned her B.S. in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Child Development from Tufts University. During her time at Tufts, Sydney worked closely with children and families, through which she developed her passion in bringing mental health care to individuals of marginalized backgrounds. She is interested in studying trauma and the impact of the child-caregiver dynamic in treatment. In her free time, Sydney enjoys sunbathing, hanging out with her pet bird, caring for plants, and taking walks.
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Project Coordinator
Esther Sosa-Herrera
Esther Sosa is a bilingual coordinator at Loma Linda University. Her research interests include child development, stress, trauma, and resilience. In her free time, she enjoys roller skating, painting, and spending time with family and friends.
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Doctoral Student
Amanda Preston
Amanda Preston is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student currently on internship. Prior to starting graduate school, she worked as a behavioral therapist and coordinated two research studies on parenting stress in families of children with developmental delays. She is interested in researching interventions aimed at improving family functioning and promoting positive parenting. Clinically, she is passionate about working with children with various developmental delays and has additional experience in conducting diagnostic assessments for individuals with autism.
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Doctoral Student
Ava Swanstrom
Ava is a second-year Clinical Psychology PhD student. Her research interests include investigating family-based interventions to reduce stress and promote well-being in caregivers of autistic children. She is also interested in understanding the needs of culturally diverse families of children with developmental disabilities to inform improved accessibility and delivery of interventions. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time outside, and word puzzles.
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Doctoral Student
Stephanie Puerta
Stephanie is a clinical psychology doctoral student. She is interested in assessing the effect of culture on the parenting practices of caregivers of children with developmental delays. As a clinician, she hopes to increase underserved populations' access to mental health services by addressing the stigma surrounding mental illness. In her spare time, she enjoys watching horror films, walking her dog Leena, and napping.
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Doctoral Student
Caroline Eskander
Caroline is a Clinical Psychology Doctoral student. She has years of experience as a behavioral interventionist working with children with autism spectrum disorder. She is interested in working with families of children with intellectual and developmental delays as well as grade school students with intellectual disabilities. Her research interests include the family dynamic between children with autism and their typically developing siblings.
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Project Coordinator
Melissa Miranda
Melissa is a bilingual project coordinator of the CRISP Project. She is interested in learning how to increase access to mental health services among underserved youth and their families. In her free time, she likes to watch Dodgers games, try new dessert places and complete puzzles.
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Doctoral Student
Diana Marin
Diana is a bilingual clinical psychology PhD student currently on internship. Her research and clinical interests include pediatric mental well-being and the effective dissemination of behavioral health support for underserved communities. In her free time, she enjoys game nights, traveling, and spending time con su familia.
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Doctoral Student
Katie Callaci
Katie is a clinical psychology doctoral candidate. She is passionate about supporting individuals with ASD and their families through research on how sleep, anxiety, repetitive behaviors, sensory processing, and family dynamics are impacted by ASD. In her free time, Katie likes to travel, run, do yoga, and spend time with her brother Jack.
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Doctoral Student
Niki Bahri
Niki is a 4th year Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include understanding parents’ role in development of child adaptive skills and the impact of raising an individual with autism or other developmental disabilities on family functioning and dynamics. In her free time, she enjoys watching new mystery series, reading, and cooking new recipes.
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Doctoral Student
Shaina Casey
Shaina is a 4th year PhD student in Dr. Neece's lab. She is interested in health behaviors, family behaviors, and child emotion regulation in children with developmental delays. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, cooking, and playing with her dog.
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Doctoral Student
Abigail Zelaya
Abigail is a bilingual PhD student and graduate assistant. She is interested in studying parenting behaviors of children with developmental disabilities and treatment adherence. In her free time, she likes to go camping, go to sports events, and try new foods.
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Doctoral Student
Laura Caldera
Laura is a bilingual 3rd year Clinical Psychology PhD student and the former co-coordinator for the Pro-Parenting project. She is interested in understanding child mental health disorders especially among ethnic minority groups. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her nieces, completing puzzles, and hiking. She enjoys working with families of children and teens with ASD and developmental delays and hopes to continue serving Spanish speaking families.  
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Doctoral Student
Kassandra Perez
Kassandra is a Doctoral Student and PRO-Parenting Assessor for the PRO-Parenting Project. She is interested in studying children with disabilities and is excited to center her work around pediatric primary care settings. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, going to the beach, and socializing with friends.
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Doctoral Student
Nuria Morales-Coskran
Nuria is a 5th year PsyD student currently on internship who is passionate about providing services to Spanish-speaking families . Her clinical interest is in pediatric psychology and her current research focuses on understanding modifiable health behaviors that impact the sleep-pain relationship in youth. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, going on hikes with her dog, and going to the beach.
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Doctoral Student
Lauren Bacchus
Lauren Bacchus is a clinical psychology doctoral student at Loma Linda University. She is interested in advocacy for neurodivergent individuals and is interested in working in interdisciplinary care settings. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, cycling classes, walking her dogs, and spending time outside with her boyfriend and family.
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Doctoral Student
Jennifer Penaloza
Jennifer is a first-year Clinical Psychology PsyD student. Her research interests include investigating how familial stress impacts the external behaviors of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is also interested in promoting culturally competent assessments/interventions and increasing accessibility to multiple therapies and interventions. In her free time, she enjoys going on walks, baking banana bread, and spending time with family.
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Former CREATE Lab Members and Collaborators
Former Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Neilson Chan
Dr. Neilson Chan was a postdoctoral research fellow and earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. His research interests broadly include better understanding and treating co-occurring psychiatric conditions among individuals on the autism spectrum. In his clinical training, Dr. Chan has gained experience working in inpatient and outpatient settings providing evidence-based mental health treatments and psychological assessment for youth and families. Dr. Chan now works as a full-time clinician at Children's Health Council in Palo Alto.
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During his time as a doctoral student, Dr. Chan completed a dissertation study with a sample he recruited as part of the STEPS Project. To hear Dr. Chan discuss some of his findings, click here.
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Former PRO-Parenting Project Coordinator
Laurel Benjamin
Laurel was a bilingual coordinator of the PRO-Parenting Project. She is now pursuing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at UCSD/SDSU's Joint Doctoral Program. She is passionate about using community-partnered approaches to test, optimize, and disseminate evidence-based interventions that promote the mental health of youth, families, and providers from underserved communities. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, solving crossword puzzles, and listening to podcasts.
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Visiting Assistant Professor
Dr. Catie Sanner
Dr. Catie Sanner was a postdoctoral research fellow and she earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She now works as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Catie's research interests include understanding psychosocial factors that impact health behaviors and the development of health behaviors interventions specifically targeting obesity for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Clinically, she has had the privilege of working with diverse and underserved pediatric populations in both inpatient and outpatient medical settings, and has developed a passion for working with youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
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During her time as a doctoral student, Catie completed her dissertation through a study called Operation Fit, which aimed to increase health behaviors among youth with developmental disabilities. You can read more about her work here.
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Former Doctoral Student
Dr. Megan Krantz
Megan is a former doctoral student. She is passionate about supporting families of children with developmental disabilities and both developing and implementing evidence based intervention to address the unique challenges faced by these families. Her research interests include understanding the role of the marital relationship as a protective mechanism in mitigating the effects of parenting stress among parents of children with autism. She is also interested in examining the effects of health behaviors such as sleep hygiene in the etiology and maintenance of behavior problems among children with autism and developmental disabilities that may contribute to overall symptom severity and exacerbated parenting stress.
Former Doctoral Student
Dr. Monica Vejar
Monica is a former Clinical Psychology Doctoral student. She was a behavioral and social skills therapist for 3 years prior to graduate school and has worked in Dr. Neece's research lab since beginning graduate school. Her research interests involve understanding parenting behaviors and the impact on child emotion regulation, child compliance, and child effortful control.
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Former Doctoral Student
Dr. Hadley McGregor
Dr. Hadley McGregor is a previous student in Dr. Neece’s lab who earned her Psy.D. She completed her internship at UCLA’s Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Treatment Track and postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Currently, Dr. McGregor is a pediatric psychologist at UCI’s Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Clinically, Dr. McGregor’s focus is on treatment of co-occurring disorders such as OCD, anxiety, and tic disorders in autistic individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds. Additionally, she also has a passion for working autistic individuals in LGBTQIA+ community and their families. Her research interests revolve around evidenced-based treatment methods for autistic children with co-occurring disorders as well as improving family relationships with children with ASD.
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Collaborator
Dr. Laura Lee McIntyre
Laura Lee McIntyre is the Castle-McIntosh-Knight professor and interim dean of the College of Education at the University of Oregon. She is a psychologist and special educator who is passionate about working collaboratively with families, educators, and community partners to promote positive outcomes for kids and families. She is the Co-PI of the PRO-Parenting and CRISP Projects. Laura Lee is a mom of two and loves spending time with family and enjoying the outdoor beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
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