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 biological, psychological, social and spiritual factors that contribute to Cardiovascular/Renal diseases and overall health and wellness. She is also interested in mindfulness-based interventions to help promote spiritual, psychological and physical health. Dr. Mwendwa teaches Individual and Group Psychotherapy, Health Psychology, 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 Associate Professor and Lead Faculty for the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology-DC Campus. Her interests are in clinical health psychology, specifically obesity, pre-surgical psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery and mindfulness-based interventions. Her research interests include biopsychosocial correlates of obesity and the relationships between psychosocial variables and bariatric surgery outcomes.
Dr. Sims is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Delaware. 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.
Larry Keen II, Ph.D.
Dr. Larry Keen II is an Adjunct Faculty member at Northern Virginia Community College and Trinity Washington University, where he teaches undergraduate courses in Introduction to Psychology, Research Methods, Human Development and Health Psychology and a graduate Research Methods course. His research interests focus on the role of autonomic activity as an integrative mechanism between health outcomes and neuropsychological performance. He is also interested in mindfulness, mental health outcomes and their peripheral physiological influences.
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, 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 StudentCurriculum 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 StudentCurriculum VitaeI 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.
Research interest include the effects of psychosocial stressors on individual and group physiological outcomes; how family dynamics are shaped by our communities and mental status; how socioeconomic status affects the psychological and criminal trajectories of Black boys and men. |
Research interests include examining the impact of asset-focused factors and mindfulness-based practices on the enhancement of well-being, particularly in terms of cognitive functioning.
My research interests include the neuropsychological effects of disorders, such as autism, on brain functioning in children. I am also interested in the impact of mindfulness-based practices on the emotional well-being of individuals.