Who We Are

Director

Christal L. Badour, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Co-founder and Director of Education & Training
University of Kentucky Clinic for Emotional Health (CEH)
Office Phone: (859) 323-3817
Email: christal.badour@uky.edu
Google Scholar | C.V.

Dr. Badour is the director of the Stress, Trauma and Recovery Research Collaborative (STARRC), one of three research programs housed within the University of Kentucky Clinic for Emotional Health (CEH). Dr. Badour is Co-Founder and Director of Education & Training at the CEH and is an Associate 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

Jordyn Tipsword, M.S.
5th year graduate student
Email: jordyn.tipsword@uky.edu
C.V.

Jordyn graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2019 with a B.A. in psychology, a B.A. in Spanish, and a minor in criminology. She joined the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Kentucky in the Fall of 2019. Her research broadly focuses on emotional experiences and emotion-related vulnerabilities among survivors of interpersonal trauma. She is particularly interested in examining links between trauma-related outcomes and self-directed emotions (e.g., self-disgust, shame). Jordyn's master's thesis used prospective data to examine whether coping strategy use (approach vs. avoidance) mediated the bidirectional association between sexual trauma-related mental contamination and PTSD symptoms. 

 

Jesse McCann, M.S.
4th year graduate student
Email: jmccann@uky.edu 
C.V.

Jesse graduated from the University of Delaware in 2018 with a B.S. in psychology and a minor in Spanish. His undergraduate honors thesis examined the interaction between rejection and depressive symptoms in predicting salivary cortisol. After graduating, Jesse served as a research assistant at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania for two years before joining the doctoral program at the University of Kentucky. Jesse's research interests focus on mechanisms of change across treatment for PTSD with the aim of optimizing existing interventions and developing new treatments that target these mechanisms. He is also interested in examining the effectiveness of evidence-based practices for PTSD in naturalistic samples. 

Christopher Penn, M.S. 
4th year graduate student
Email: christopher.penn@uky.edu 
C.V.

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.

Current Undergraduate Students & Other Research Staff

 

Abbey Loar. Abbey is a sophomore at the University of Kentucky. She is planning to graduate in 2024 with a B.S. in psychology and continue to receive her master’s in Clinical Psychology. She wishes to study dissociative identity disorder as it related to life long trauma and childhood abuse. Through her research, she plans to identify the most effective treatment plan and to further educate and spread uncommon knowledge about the disorder to be an advocate for those with DID and those whom the disorder impacts.

 

 

Zachary Siegel. Zachary is a freshman psychology scholar at the University of Kentucky. He is on track to graduate in 2025 with a B.A. in psychology, and after that wants to immediately attend graduate school. He plans to obtain a degree in clinical psychology with a focus on PTSD and trauma recovery, specifically within the prison population and the veteran population. With his degree, he will strive to improve the lives of others who have been misunderstood and overlooked.

 

 

 

STARRC Alumni

  • C. Alex Brake, PhD - Psychologist, Rhode Island Hospital; Clinical Assistant Professor, Brown University 
  • Jessica Flores, PhD - Postdoctoral Fellow, Women's Health, Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center
  • Catilyn Hood, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky 
  • Alyssa Jones, PhD - Staff Psychologist, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center
     
  • Sophia Alvarran - Master of Social Work Student, University of Kentucky
  • Kaitlin Bales, MSW, CSW - Social Worker, The Ridge Behavioral Health
  • Melanie Berexa - English Language Assistant at Meddeas
  • Tessa Blevins - Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student, The Ohio State University
  • Mya Bowen - Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student, University of Memphis
  • Cameron Daniel - Medical School Student, University of Kentucky
  • Ashley Dixon - Research Coordinator, Medical University of South Carolina
  • Kortni Dubose - School Psychology Ph.D. Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Ashlee Flora - School Psychology Ed.S. Student, Miami University
  • Andrea George - Undergraduate Student, University of Georgia
  • Jordan Gibbs-Francis - Counseling Psychology/Applied Behavioral Analysis MA Student, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
  • Alec Gibson - Law Student, University of Kentucky
  • Audra Goodley - Linkage to Care Specialist, Matthew 25 AIDS Services
  • Abby Grieff - Master of Social Work Student, The Ohio State University
  • Harry Hazelwood - Master of Social Work Student, Cambelsville University
  • Mary Hazlett - Personal trainer and Master of Business Administration Student, Purdue University Global
  • Madeline Howell - Law Student, University of Dayton
  • Michelle Martinez-Varon - Undergraduate Student, University of Kentucky
  • Diana Ishimwe - Peace Corps Volunteer, Benin
  • Jenna Jodts - Research Assistant at the Center on Trauma and Children, University of Kentucky
  • Harper Jones - Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student, University of Nebraska
  • Andie MacDonald - Master of Social Work Student, University of Cincinnati
  • Ashley McGar - Research Assistant in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky
  • Gaby Mendez - Undergraduate Student, University of Kentucky
  • Ne'Shell Neal - Director of Community Service, Underground Perspective
  • Ashley Newberry - Mental Health Technician, The Ridge Behavioral Health
  • Roberto Obregon Garcia - Clinical Research Coordinator, Massachusetts General Hosital
  • Madison Ray - Forensic and Legal Psychology MA student, Roger Williams University
  • Gabe Rupe - Master of Social Work Student, Radford University 
  • Hannah Sonnier, MS, LSW - DBT Therapist, The Ebright Collaborative, LLC
  • Alira Vargas Ortiz - Masters Student, Hispanic Studies, University of Kentucky
  • Georgie Wolbert - Business Development Specialist, REnew Media Group
  • Ally Bailey
  • Haley Ellis
  • Haley Farris
  • Jonathon Gettelfinger
  • Sarah Hayden
  • Corey Hildebrant
  • Abby Hillman
  • Stephanie Lim
  • Nicole Milazzo
  • Greg Watts
  • Summer Williams

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

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