Undergraduate students (N=712) completed an online survey about help-seeking, stigma, and depression symptomatology. Mental health self-stigma was found to partially mediate the relationship between depression and help-seeking intentions, controlling for gender. This study suggests that the nature of depression itself may present a barrier to help-seeking, adding important context to outreach efforts on campuses.

Infant faces rapidly capture our attention and elicit enhanced neural processing compared to adult faces, likely due to their evolutionary significance. Cleft lip/palate is estimated to affect 1 in 700 live births worldwide and is associated with difficulties in early caregiver interactions. Behavioral studies have shown that cleft lip/palate reduces perceptions of cuteness; however, the underlying neural and perceptual mechanisms governing responses to cleft lip/palate remain relatively understudied. The current study uses eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) to explore visual scanning patterns and neural responses to infants with and without cleft lip/palate.

Infant faces readily capture our attention and elicit enhanced neural processing, likely due to their importance in facilitating bonds with caregivers. Cues of poor health are associated with a lower degree of parental investment and facial malformations have been shown to negatively impact early infant-caregiver interactions, possibly due to altered perceptual processing of these faces compared to unaffected infant faces. The current study used eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate responses to infant faces before and after cleft palate repair surgery.

You will spend more time looking at faces than any other type of object in your lifetime. Because faces are such an important social signal, humans have developed a perceptual expertise for faces. Decades of research on the mechanisms of face processing have demonstrated that although faces contain both featural and configural information humans rely more heavily on configural processing strategies when viewing faces. However, this work has been done using almost exclusively adult facial stimuli. The current study uses a well-established configural disruption known as the Thatcher Effect (TE) to investigate the use of configural processing for infant faces.

Combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills are widely used by women of reproductive age, but there is still little conclusive evidence about their mood-related side effects. This meta-analysis examined the relationship between oral contraceptive use and mood effects such as depression and anxiety. The results of the meta-analysis suggest that COCs contribute to a small but significant improvement in women’s overall moods. However, methodological challenges and inconsistencies make it difficult for researchers to establish any firm conclusions about the role COCs play in mood changes.

Myofascial manipulation techniques have gained prominence in pain management due to their ability to address musculoskeletal issues, alleviate pain, and improve overall function. This review encompasses various manual therapy approaches such as trigger point release therapy, and self-myofascial release. These techniques target main symptoms of fascial restrictions, muscle tightness, and trigger points. The aim of these techniques can improve blood flow and as a result restore pain perception in the tissue. Integrating myofascial manipulation techniques with regular exercise therapy and stretching protocols interventions provides a comprehensive approach to pain management.

Water birth has always been a controversial topic amongst expecting mothers, and I wanted to research the outcomes of water births to see if it really is as controversial as people think. In my research I highlight the benefits of birth by water immersion on both maternal and neonatal physiology.

A literature review involving the history of Opioid Use Disorder, its physical, psychological, and emotional effects; and how exercise and physical activity could alleviate some of the difficulties faced by those who experience opioid use disorder.

A project in collaboration with Nord University in Norway to highlight students' perspectives on International Social Work day 2024. The theme for this year's international social work day is "Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change" with an emphasis to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature. The video project interviewed social work students at both universities on their perspectives of what it means to be a social worker contributing to a shared future for transformative change. File too big to upload. https://drive.google.com/file/d/14Aj_VVYMtyfVcDTzoVMrscCPCSMUfRe0/view?usp=sharing

Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to an organism’s fitness and have been a strong selective pressure throughout human evolution. Although we have evolved a sophisticated biological response to pathogenic threat, it can be quite costly to engage the physiological immune system. The Behavioral Immune System encompasses a suite of psychological mechanisms that bias our cognitions and behaviors to facilitate pathogen avoidance. The potential link between the behavioral and physiological immune systems in relatively understudied. The current study aimed to replicate and extend previous work on this link by introducing an additional live pathogenic cue (a "sick" confederate).