Our Research Team
Denee Thomas Mwendwa, Ph.D.
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Mwendwa is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Howard University. Her research interests focus on the psychological factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease and health. She is also interested in mindfulness-based interventions to help promote psychological and physical health. Dr. Mwendwa teaches Individual and Group Psychotherapy, Introduction to Clinical Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology. She also advises both undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in behavioral medicine.
Dr. Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Howard University. Her research and clinical interests are in behavioral medicine: obesity, pre-surgical psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery, weight management, psychometric analysis of health behavior assessments, positive psychology and mindfulness-based interventions. She teaches Clinical Asessment I and II at the graduate level and Abnormal Psychology and Psychological Testing at the undergraduate level. She also mentors undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in behavioral medicine.
Dr. Sims is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Howard University. She examines the impact of health factors on variability in cognitive function in African Americans. She has also investigated how demographic and psychosocial influences such as education, social support, personality traits, and stress may contribute to within-group variability in cognitive aging. Dr. Sims teaches Research Methods & Statistics, Experimental Psychology, and seminars in Personality and Aging.
Mana Ali, M.S., Graduate Student
Curriculum Vitae
Research interests include the impact of personality traits and mood states on inflammatory processes and cardiovascular disease risk in African Americans.
Georica Gholson, M.S., Graduate Student
Curriculum Vitae
Class work and practical experiences directed my focus to understanding
the interaction between physical and psychological disorders. My
research interests center on the treatment and prevention of obesity,
risk for chronic kidney disease, and motivational interviewing.
Shellie-Anne Levy-Massey, M.S., Graduate Student
Curriculum Vitae
Research
interests include the impact of cardiovascular disease risk factors on
cognitive function in African Americans, and how psychosocial
influences, such as social support, impact these variables. She is also interested in how mindfulness and spirituality impact stress,
cognitive function, and cardiovascular disease outcomes.
Desiree Bygrave, B.S., Graduate Student
Curriculum Vitae
Research interests include examining the biological bases of relationships between health factors and cognitive function in minority populations, and how psychosocial factors may impact these relationships. I am also interested in age-related changes in cognitive function.
Nomi Kaie-Bennett, B.S., Graduate Student
Curriculum Vitae
I am interested in the physical and mental health of children with chronic medical conditions such as Type II diabetes. I am also interested in the relations between health and academic achievement.
Tiffany Brown, M.S., Graduate StudentCurriculum VitaeResearch interests include multi-cultural issues associated with the development of cardiovascular disease in minority populations.