Director

Christal L. Badour, Ph.D.
Georgia Davis Powers Endowed Professor, Department of Psychology
Co-Director, University of Kentucky Clinic for Emotional Health (CEH)
Office Phone: (859) 323-3817
Email: christal.badour@uky.edu
Google Scholar 

Dr. Badour is the director of the Stress, Trauma and Recovery Research Collaborative (STARRC), one of two complementary research programs housed within the University of Kentucky Clinic for Emotional Health (CEH). Dr. Badour is the Georgia Davis Powers Endowed Professor in the Clinical Psychology program in the University of Kentucky Department of Psychology. Dr. Badour received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arkansas in 2014. She completed her clinical internship in the traumatic stress track of the Charleston Consortium internship program and completed an NIMH-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Badour's research focuses on understanding the development, maintenance, and treatment of psychopathology following traumatic experiences. Here work falls into three domains: 1) understanding the role of affective expression and regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with a particular emphasis on moral emotions such as disgust, shame, and guilt; 2) identifying specific mediators and moderators of treatment change in order to enhance existing interventions and to guide development of new targeted interventions aimed at improving outcomes for patients with trauma-related psychopathology; and 3) understanding the individual-, interpersonal-, community-, and societal-level factors that maintain and perpetuate health disparities for people exposed to trauma in order to increase health equity.  Although she is interested in trauma broadly, much of her work has been conducted in populations with histories of interpersonal trauma (i.e., sexual and physical assault and abuse) and combat exposure. 

Graduate Students

Christopher Penn, M.S. 
Predoctoral Intern, VA Puget Sound
Email: christopher.penn@uky.edu 

Christopher graduated from Seattle University in 2019 with a B.A. in psychology. After graduating, Christopher served as a research assistant at the Center for Suicide Prevention and Recovery at the University of Washington. He joined the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Kentucky in the Fall of 2020. Christopher's research interests include clinical outcomes related to PTSD and the long-term health consequences of traumatic experiences, substance use disorders, and addressing disparities in health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
 

Grace Seymour, B.S.
4th year graduate student
Email: grace.seymour@uky.edu 

Grace graduated from the University of Michigan in 2021 with a B.S. in psychology and neuroscience. After graduating, she worked as a research assistant for the Henry Ford Sleep Disorders and Research Center in a Detroit, MI intensive care unit for two years, where she became interested in studying risk and protective factors for PTSD, sleep disturbances (e.g., insomnia and nightmares), and substance use in individuals who have experienced trauma. She joined the doctoral program at the University of Kentucky in 2023, and has since become particularly interested in studying these issues in the Appalachian region, taking into account the unique challenges like health disparities, poverty, and lack of resources that many individuals face in the region. In her personal and professional life, Grace is especially interested in sexual violence research, advocacy, prevention, and education.

Zach Siegel, B.A.
2nd year graduate student
Email: zach.siegel@uky.edu 

Project Coordinators

Ellie Quinkert, B.A.

Ellie graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2022 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in criminology. Since graduating, Ellie has served as a research assistant in the STARRC lab. Her research interests include better understanding the methods survivors use to cope with the effects of traumatic experiences, including engagement in potentially risky or delinquent behavior (e.g., substance use, aggression, violence perpetration). More specifically, she is interested in understanding factors that can inform interventions to keep at-risk, trauma exposed individuals out of the justice system and prevent recidivism among those who are justice-involved.
 

Research Assistants

Lauren Huffman

Lauren is a junior undergraduate at the University of Kentucky pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her interests include Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other anxiety disorders, Substance Use Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, developmental psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, music therapy, and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ and women’s mental health. After graduation, Lauren plans to pursue a PsyD in clinical psychology before establishing a career as a pediatric clinical psychologist.

Sophie Imler

Sophie is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky pursuing a major in psychology as well as a double minor in human development and family sciences as well as gender and women’s studies. Her interests include therapeutic interventions and general recovery process from PTSD and C-PTSD, specifically pertaining to gender and sexual violence. After graduation, Sophie plans to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology.

Kayla Lathouris 
Atlas Osborne

Eleanor Petersen

Eleanor is a sophomore undergraduate student at UK persuing my Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She has an interest in neuroplasticity, arts therapy, anxiety disorders, and research. Her goal is to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. 

STARRC Alumni

• C. Alex Brake, PhD - Psychologist, Rhode Island Hospital; Clinical Assistant Professor, Brown University 
• Jessica Flores, PhD - Staff Psychologist, VA Tampa Healthcare System
• Caitlyn Hood, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky; Project Director, Kentucky Overdose Response Effort (KORE)
• Alyssa Jones, PhD - Staff Psychologist, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center
• Jordyn Tipsword, PhD - Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University
• Jesse McCann, PhD - Postdoctoral Fellow, The Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, University of Pennsylvania 

2024/2025 STARRC LAB GRADUATION

2024 ISTSS CONFERENCE

2022/2023 STARRC LAB GRADUATION

2021/2022 STARRC LAB GRADUATION
Missing: Christopher Penn

2020/2021 STARRC LAB GRADUATION
Missing: Christopher Penn

2018/2019 STARRC LAB RETREAT

2017/2018 STARRC LAB RETREAT

2016/2017 STARRC LAB RETREAT