CHRONIC DISEASE SELF-
MANAGEMENT LAB
Lab Members
Jeffrey S. Gonzalez, PhD CDSM Lab Director
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
Phone: 646-592-4506
Research Associate and Adjunct Professor
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
Bronx, NY
Claire Hoogendoorn, Ph.D.
Claire is a Research Associate and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Her work is focused on elucidating the behavioral and physiological pathways of various emotional states, particularly chronic distress, in relation to illness management and physical and emotional health among diverse and underserved patients with diabetes. Claire earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2016, and her dissertation research examined the potential relationships between emotional distress and management of immune-modulating medications for those with Crohn’s disease. She completed her postdoc at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology from 2016 - 2018, concentrating on ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology and the relationship between patient-reported symptoms and medication adherence among underserved patients with diabetes. The overarching goal of her work is to contribute to the development of more effective and culturally sensitive interventions and treatments for co-occurring diabetes and depression that reduce health disparities and improve quality of life among underserved patients.
Research Training: Postdoctoral training at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology (2016–2018); Research Assistant at the Pediatric Gastroenterology Dept. at the Icahn School of Medicine (2011-2016); Research Coordinator at Emotion, Anxiety, Coping, and Health (REACH) Lab at Brooklyn College CUNY (2010-2016); Research Coordinator at BODyLab - Center for Brain Health at the NYU Medical Center (2008-2010); Research Assistant at the Phelps Lab at New York University (2007-2010).
Research Interests: Emotional distress, psychosocial factors, patient-reported symptoms, behavioral health, psychoneuroimmunology, medication adherence and efficacy, chronic illness management
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
Bronx, NY
Gladys Crespo-Ramos, Ph.D.
Gladys is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Her work is focused on understanding the role of psychosocial factors (i.e. stigma, stress, SDH) in relation to illness management and the development of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, in minority population. Gladys earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (APA Accredited Program) at the Ponce Health Sciences University of Puerto Rico in 2018, and her dissertation validates the Mental Health Stigma Scale among the General Population of Puerto Rico. She is completing her postdoc at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, concentrating on emotional distress, socioeconomics, cultural and environmental factors in the well-being of Latinos with Diabetes.
Research Training: Postdoctoral training at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology (2018–Present); Editor of Health and Human Behavior Journal at Ponce Health Sciences University (www.rsych.com; 2016-2018); Research Coordinator at Psychology Internship Consortium (PSMHS-PIC) at Ponce Health Sciences University (2017-2018); Research Coordinator at Psychosocial Research Network on Health Disparities Lab at Ponce Health Sciences University (2017-2018); Research Coordinator at Diabetes and Depression-2 Lab at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, School of Social Sciences, Institute for Psychological Research (IPsi; 2013-2017); First Cohort Yale/Ciencias Academy Fellow (2016).
Clinical Training: Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Rotation at Psychology Service Center (PSMHS-PIC) Ponce, Puerto Rico; Federal Medical Station (FMS) during natural disaster hurricane María, Ponce, Puerto Rico; Diagnostic and Treatment Center of the Puerto Rico Teachers Association at Hospital del Maestro (DTC-HM), San Juan, Puerto Rico; Clinical Psychology Program of Damas Hospital (PSPC-HD), Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Research Interests: Diabetes, psychosocial factors, Hispanic/Latino
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Dane Wilson, B.A.
Dane is the new research coordinator in replacement of our wonderful Heidy Mendez. He received his B.A. in Neuroscience from Middlebury College in 2022. Before starting at Yeshiva University, Dane worked as a research assistant and addictions recovery coach in rural Vermont. In our lab, he works with the research associates, students, and external collaborating sites to help coordinate all study activities. This includes assisting with IRB tasks, data collection, recruitment, data cleaning, and analysis. Dane also helps acclimate and train new students for our lab’s studies.
While he has experience working in labs investigating expectancy biases in post-traumatic individuals and neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants, he also has broader research interests in public health, addictions recovery, and cognitive-behavioral neuropsychology.
Research Coordinator
CDSM Lab
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
Bronx, NY
2022-2023 Externship
Gouverneur Hospital
Ran Fang, M.A.
Ran is a third-year international student in the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Ph.D. Program. He earned his M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. He earned his B.A. in Public Health from the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. Before graduate school, Ran worked as a marketer at GE Healthcare China and later switched his career to psychological counseling and clinical research involving the study of Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders with cardiologists at Shanghai Renji Hospital. He coordinated studies evaluating somatic symptom burden in patients with heart disease. In Dr. Gonzalez’s lab, Ran contributed to an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study examining the relationship between diabetes symptoms and medication adherence. He is also involved with a study of Function and Emotion in Everyday Life with Type I Diabetes (FEEL). His predoctoral master’s thesis investigated the associations of self-efficacy with diabetes self-care, medication adherence, and diabetes-related distress among diverse adults with sub-optimally controlled Type 2 Diabetes.
Clinical Training: The Max and Celia Parnes Family Psychological and Psychoeducational Services Clinic Farrell Center for Family and Community Medicine (CFCM), Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian South Beach Psychiatric Center, the Power Center, Gouverneur Hospital
Research Interests: Health psychology, mood disorders in patients with chronic disease such as adult Type II Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease, diabetes distress and metabolic outcomes, pathways linking self-efficacy to glycemic control and non-biological outcomes
2022-2023 Externship
Ferkauf Older Adult Program (FOAP)
Lindsey Pappalardo, B.A.
Lindsey is a second-year student in the Clinical Psychology Health Emphasis Ph.D. Program. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from New York University. Prior to graduate school, Lindsey worked as a behavioral health counselor at the Manhattan VA Medical Center, where she delivered telephone-based interventions to veterans with diabetes as part of two clinical trials. These interventions were tailored based on the transtheoretical stages of change, and utilized motivational interviewing to encourage patients with diabetes to improve self-management. At the CDSM Lab, Lindsey is interested in investigating the relationship between depression, emotional distress, and eating patterns among adults with type II diabetes.
Clinical Training: The Max and Celia Parnes Family Psychological and Psychoeducational Services Clinic, Brooklyn College Personal Counseling Program
Research Interests: health psychology, diabetes distress, social determinants of health, dietary treatment adherence, mood and anxiety disorders
2022-2023 Externship
Montefiore Medical Center - Pediatric Psychology Externship in Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Children's Hospital
Caroline Raak, M.A.
Caroline is a second-year student in the Clinical Psychology Health Emphasis Ph.D. Program. She earned her B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University, and her M.A. in Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College. Before pursuing a doctoral degree, Caroline worked as a research coordinator in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics research at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine where she supported the implementation of a strengths-based parenting intervention in pediatric primary care, with low-income families in New York City, Pittsburgh, and Flint, MI. Her master’s thesis analyzed the mitigating effect of parenting on the relationship between chronic illness and externalizing behaviors in young children. Caroline’s main research interests lay in the effects of family dynamics on illness management for youths with type 1 diabetes. She hopes to continue working with children, adolescents, and families from underserved backgrounds throughout her clinical training and in her research to better understand contextual risk and protective factors for behavioral and health outcomes in underserved youth.
Clinical Training: The Max and Celia Parnes Family Psychological and Psychoeducational Services Clinic, Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities Adult Literacy Program
Research Interests: social determinants of health, ACEs, family dynamics, childhood chronic illness, chronic illness management
2022-2023 Externship
Outpatient Mental Health Clinic
Brooklyn Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Fayel Mustafiz, B.A.
Fayel is a first-year student in the Clinical Psychology Health Emphasis Ph.D. Program. She earned her B.A. in Psychology and Journalism from CUNY Hunter College. Before pursuing a doctoral degree, Fayel worked as a research coordinator at Columbia University Medical Center/The New York Psychiatric Institute in the Lyme & Other Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center where she conducted research on trauma and symptom severity in patients with Lyme Disease and assisted on treatment and fMRI studies. Prior to this, she worked across multiple clinical and clinical research sites: Manhattan VA's Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Program and the Oncology Clinic, Hunter College's HIV/AIDs lab and the Social Psychology Lab, the Seagate Rehab Center, The Door, and Lenox Hill Hospital's acute inpatient psychiatric unit. At the CDSM lab, Fayel hopes to explore the relationship between stress, history of trauma, low SES, and comorbid physical and psychological symptoms and diabetes self-management behaviors among adults with diabetes.
Research Interests: social determinants of health, trauma history, interpersonal conflict, perceived stress, chronic illness, low SES, mood and anxiety disorders, medication management, EMA