OUR TEAM
DR. SHANNON O'CONNOR
Principle Investigator
Shannon is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Toledo. Shannon completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Michigan State University in 2018 after completing her APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at the UCSD Eating Disorder Center and Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. Shannon then completed a post-doctoral fellowship on the Midwest T32 for Eating Disorder Research at the University of Chicago. Shannon's research interests center on identifying environmental risk factors for eating pathology often using genetically-informed designs.
LEORA HALLER
Clinical Psychology PhD Student
Leora is a fifth-year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Montclair State University. As an undergraduate, Leora studied biomarkers and environmental risk factors for depression and psychosis in a non-clinical setting. In the Lowe Lab at Drexel, Leora looked at weight history and weight change in patients with Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa as part of her MS degree in psychology. Leora hopes to pursue research regarding the biobehavioral etiology of motivation and reward valuation in disordered eating.
FRANCOIS BAN
Clinical Psychology PhD Student
Francois is a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Montclair State University. She has a background in epidemiology from her Master's degree in Public Health at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include disordered eating pathology, weight stigmatization, and body image. Specifically, she is interested in people's relationships with food and how cultural, environmental, and societal factors may influence their eating behaviors.
NICHOLE SANCHEZ
Clinical Psychology MA Student
Nichole Sanchez is a second-year student in Montclair State University's terminal Clinical Psychology MA program. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Seton Hall University. Her research interests include eating disorders, adolescents, and minority groups, such as the LQBTQ+ and Latino communities. Her goal after graduation is to go on to earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
