People

Melynda Casement, Ph.D. (she/her)
Associate Professor of Psychology
Director, University of Oregon Sleep Lab

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology and Biopsychology, University of Michigan, 2010
B.A., Psychology, Mount Holyoke College, 2002

Dr. Casement’s research aims to reduce the burden of mental illness by: (1) identifying the neuroaffective mechanisms by which sleep and stress contribute to psychopathology; and (2) translating this research into targeted and effective interventions. She uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and laboratory experiments to understand how the brain processes affective information, such as winning money or being “liked” by peers. She measures sleep and stress using physiology and daily behavior to understand the direct and interactive effects that sleep and stress have on neuroaffective processing. This work includes micro-longitudinal assessments during key periods of neurodevelopment, such as adolescence and young-adulthood, when mental health problems often emerge for the first time. She also uses cognitive-behavioral interventions to improve sleep and mental health in experimental paradigms and treatment settings.

Dr. Casement has clinical expertise in the assessment and treatment of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, and nightmares. She is a licensed psychologist and contributes to clinical supervision of psychology doctoral students. She also teaches classes on psychopathology, sleep, and cognitive-behavioral intervention.

 

Graduate Students

Shay Fridman (they/them), Doctoral Student

Shay started as a doctoral student in the Clinical Program in 2017. Their primary research interests include sleep, emotion regulation, and utilizing a precision medicine framework to better tailor interventions to individuals with depression. They are currently completing their clinical internship at the Portland VA. Outside the lab, they enjoy playing bass, going to shows, hiking, and watching sci-fi movies.

Xi Yang (she/her), Doctoral Student
Name pronunciation: sea young

Xi began pursuing her Clinical Psychology Ph.D. in 2017. Prior to joining OSL, she earned Master’s degrees from New York University and Wake Forest University. Her research interests include emotions (e.g., emotion regulation, affective disorders) and sleep. She would like to master and apply research  methodologies and technologies, such as fMRI, EEG, meta-analysis, machine learning, and advanced statistics. While aspiring to become an expert on emotions, she also enjoys spending quality time with family and friends as well as fostering hobbies, such as observing cute animals and watching anime. She is currently completing clinical internship at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Ruby Cuellar (she/her), Doctoral Student
Name pronunciation: ruby QUAY-yar

Ruby received her M.A. from CSU San Marcos in May 2018. She successfully defended her thesis on the effects of sleep on stress response between Mexican/Mexican Americans and Caucasian college students. Her research interests include sleep, stress, and mental health. She is ultimately interested in the impact of sleep on stress and psychopathology, specifically how they vary based on ethnicity and culture as it pertains to Latinos in the United States. In her free time she likes to go on hikes, watch movies, and spend time with her friends and family.

Aubrey Rossi (she/her), Doctoral Student

Aubrey started as a doctoral student in clinical psychology in 2020. She earned her BA in psychology from UC Berkeley in 2017. Following that, she worked for 3 years in UC Berkeley’s Center for Human Sleep Science with Dr. Matthew Walker as a full-time lab manager and research associate. Broadly, she is interested in pursuing research which utilizes neuroscientific methods to investigate sleep’s contributions to social and emotional functioning in psychopathology. In addition to research, Aubrey enjoys baking, gaming, traveling, and eating delicious food that has been made by someone else.

Sojeong Kim (she/her), Doctoral Student
Name pronunciation: SO-jong kim

Sojeong joined the clinical psychology program in 2022. She earned her BA in psychology from Emory University in 2016 and her MA in clinical psychology from Korea University in 2019. Following that, she worked for Korea University Medical Center, Chronobiology Institute with Dr. HJ Lee as a full-time research associate. Broadly, she is interested in understanding how sleep disruption and circadian misalignment contribute to the progression of psychopathology, especially to the onset and worsening of mood disorders. Besides research, Sojeong enjoys spending time with her dog Pori, traveling, and painting.

 

Research Staff

Kunyi Zhou (she/her), Research Assistant
Name pronunciation: KWEN-yee cho

Kunyi joined the Oregon Sleep Lab in August 2022 after receiving her M.A. in clinical psychology from Columbia University. Her research interests include cause and treatment of depression. She would like to learn about how sleep could impact depression and anhedonia among young people by joining OSL. Kunyi also enjoys live music, movies, traveling, yoga, and dancing during free time.

Jessica Olsen (she/her), Research Assistant

Jessica joined the Oregon Sleep Lab in August 2022. She earned her BA in psychology from Oregon State University in 2021. She worked in Dr. Regan Gurungs Applied Social Cognition Lab as a research coordinator and research assistant. Following that, she joined Dr. Jessee Dietch’s Sleep Health Assessment, Intervention & Dissemination Lab as a research coordinator for the Sleep in Trans Youth Project. Her primary research interests are focused on examining sleep as a potential intervention and protective factor for developmental psychopathology, including children who have or are likely to encounter ACEs. Other research interests include ADHD, TBI, and Sport Psychology. In her free time she enjoys cars, rock climbing, music, mediation, yoga, and philosophy. Jessica plans to attend a clinical psychology program in the future.

Holly Siu (she/her), Research Assistant
Name pronunciation: holly SEA-yew

Holly joined the Oregon Sleep Lab in June 2023 after earning her BA in psychology from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs (UCCS) in May 2023. She worked as a psychology researcher alongside professor and mentor Elizabeth Daniels, Ph.D. where they examined college women’s perceptions of sexually objectified media images of male athletes. She has also conducted research with Alexandra Hood, MSW and Edwardo Portillos, Ph.D. in the sociology department where they explored club basketball in Colorado Springs: race, sexuality, and delinquency. She is excited to be investigating the effects sleep has on stress and mental health. Additionally, she is thrilled to acquire research skills pertaining to participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis. In her free time, Holly enjoys adventuring in nature, working out, skate boarding, baking, and crafting!

Amanda Johnson (she/her), Research Project Coordinator

Amanda joined the Oregon Sleep Lab in July 2023. She earned her BS in Biology from the University of Oregon in June 2020 while working as a research assistant in Dr. Elliot Berkman’s Social and Affective Neuroscience lab. From 2021 to 2023, she contributed to a research project investigating the impacts of early life stressors (such as inflammation and opioids) on adult respiratory plasticity using a rodent model. In her new role as the project coordinator of the Oregon Sleep Lab, she is excited to learn more about the protective effects of sleep, how to manage multiple research projects, and expand her problem-solving skills. Amanda’s primary research interests are to examine the potential short- and long-term consequences of individual stressors (such as inflammation, drug and/or alcohol exposure) introduced during developmental critical periods to investigating the protective effects of different sleep interventions on these potential consequences. She also has research interests related to maternal diet on the neurodevelopment of offspring, autism spectrum disorder, and respiratory recovery following cervical spinal cord injury. In her free time, she enjoys film and digital photography, spoiling her two cats, weightlifting, painting, and spending time with her family.

 

Alumni

Nick Livingston – Study Coordinator, now a graduate student at the University of Wyoming
Shijing Zhou – Undergraduate and Masters Student