The Schaefer Lab
OUR TEAM
Jonathan D. Schaefer, Ph.D, L.P.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Schaefer received his Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from Duke University and completed his postdoc at the University of Minnesota, where he was awarded a K01 Career Development Award from NIDA. He joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Vanderbilt University in 2023.
Dr. Schaefer has two primary research objectives. The first is improving scientific understanding of the relationship between environmental exposures (e.g., socioeconomic disadvantage, environmental toxicants, victimization, substance use) and psychopathology, thereby generating actionable insights for interventionists, policymakers, and consumers. Work in line with this objective is explicitly multi-modal and multi-disciplinary, combining theory and methods from developmental science, clinical psychology, behavioral genetics, and psychiatric epidemiology. Specifically, it seeks to (1) determine whether associations between environmental factors and mental health represent causal processes or statistical confounding using twin and longitudinal methods, as well as (2) identify modifiable mechanisms that might drive causal effects.
Dr. Schaefer's second research objective is to contribute to the destigmatization of mental health problems and wider uptake of evidence-based treatments. He has written several research and popular science articles showing that if people are followed long enough while being assessed frequently for mental disorders, almost everyone will accrue at least one psychiatric diagnosis at some point.
Dr. Schaefer is particularly excited to work with folks interested in the (1) environmental determinants of mental health, (2) behavioral genetics, and (3) using technology to improve the measurement of both mental health and people's social and physical environments.
Carlie Corey
Lab Manager/Senior Research Program Coordinator
Carlie graduated Magna Cum Laude with Departmental Honors from California Lutheran University in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. During her time at Cal Lutheran, she completed and published an honors thesis exploring the effect of facial masks on memory and emotion recognition in individuals with autistic tendencies. Carlie is currently pursuing a Master of Research Administration degree with the University of Central Florida. She has experience working with and recruiting vulnerable populations for research studies, neuropsychological assessments, and coordinating IRB proposals. As the Lab Manager, Carlie oversees Research Assistant training and recruitment for studies, manages IRB applications and REDCap data, and more.
Graduate Students
Ankita Mohan
Ankita is a graduate student in the Vanderbilt University Clinical Science Doctoral Program. She has a B.A. in Public Policy, with a focus on health policy from William & Mary, and a MHS in Social Factors of Health, with a focus in Public Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. During her undergraduate and master’s studies, Ankita worked at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the State of Delaware Department of Health, and as a graduate research assistant. In these roles, she explored the relationships between factors such as air pollution and cognitive decline, nutrition and behavioral health, housing and mental health, and food security and autism severity. Ankita joined the Schaefer Lab in 2024 and is interested in the social and environmental factors that influence development and behavioral health. As a doctoral student, she hopes to continue to pursue work that seeks to bridge the gap between research, policy, and practice.
Ali Sloan
Ali is a doctoral student in the Clinical Science program. After graduating from Duke University with a B.S. in Neuroscience in 2020, she joined Teach for America and served as a high school special education teacher while pursuing her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Teaching from Boston University. She then worked as a research assistant in the Early Psychosis Program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for two years before starting her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt. Ali is interested in researching the mechanisms linking different dimensions of childhood adversity to symptoms of psychopathology. Outside of the lab, Ali enjoys drinking coffee, watching football, and hanging out with her friends and pup (fittingly named Duke)!
Weichen Sun
Weichen is a master's student in the program of Quantitative Methods M.Ed. He is interested in combining quantitative psychology and clinical psychology. His current goal is to use modeling or assessment instruments to enhance the accuracy of mental health-related data and scales.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Tristan Bron
Tristan is a senior undergraduate Psychology major, volunteering with the Schaefer Lab since August 2024, where he is exploring the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and alcohol use behaviors. He brings six years of experience in military law enforcement and three years in technology and consulting. Following his undergraduate degree, Tristan plans to pursue graduate studies, where he would like to further explore how socioeconomic factors as well as trauma influence behavioral outcomes.
Chloe Kim
Chloe is a junior undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University majoring in Psychology and minoring in Spanish for the Professions and Data Science. As an undergraduate research assistant in the Schaefer Lab, she is passionate about learning more about how the environment affects human health behaviors and disorders. In addition to research, she enjoys playing tennis, writing articles for the school newspaper, and taking photographs
Bella Qin
Bella is a junior at Vanderbilt University, majoring in Cognitive Studies, Asian Studies, with a minor in Business and Data Science. She has recently become a research assistant in the Schaefer lab. After graduation, Bella intendeds to pursue graduate studies focusing on counseling or educational psychology.
Shelley Si
​Shelley is a senior undergraduate at Vanderbilt University, double majoring in Psychology and Cinema and Media Arts, with a minor in Quantitative Methods. She is currently working on her senior honors thesis in the Schaefer Lab, exploring the relationship between alcohol use and anxiety in late adolescence to young adulthood using twin data through the Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM). After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to pursue graduate studies in social neuroscience and clinical psychology.
Natasha Stepp
Natasha is a sophomore undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University, double majoring in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society and minoring in Biological Sciences. As a research assistant in the Schaefer lab, she is currently studying the relationship between SES and alcohol usage. Her other research interests include the mechanisms linking childhood environmental interactions and the ability to form positive relationships in the future.
Cristian Umana Hernandez
Cristian is a junior undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University, double majoring in Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society. His current research interests are finding the relationship between socioeconomic status and psychopathology. Post-graduation, Cristian plans on getting a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and aims to be a Neuropsychologist. In his free time, he enjoys biking (BMX) and running. Next semester, he is going to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Alex Wilf
Alex is a junior undergraduate student studying Psychology and Climate Studies. His research interests include exploring the intersections of substance use and mental health, and how the environment cant interact with psychology. Upon completing his undergraduate degree, he plans to pursue graduate studies in psychology, specifically focusing on substance abuse and addiction.
Jiarui Xue
Jiarui is a senior undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University double-majoring in Psychology and Computer Science. Joining the Schaefer Lab as a research assistant in 2023, his research focuses on the effects of early life socio-economic status on adulthood substance use. He is actively enhancing his expertise through pursuing advanced programs in clinical psychology.
Lab Alumni
Eunice Ahn
Eunice is currently working as a Mental Health Specialist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA where she engages with different people and units.
William Carter
William is currently completing a year-long fellowship with Project Horseshoe Farm, a community health focused non-profit in rural Alabama. Afterwards, he plans to enroll in a masters program for clinical counselling.
Jazz Divinity
Jazz is a Senior at Vanderbilt University, pursuing a degree in Psychology with a minor in Business.
Joseph Lanigan
Joseph graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2024 and hopes to one day work as a clinical psychologist.
Stefania Yee
Stefania is a senior at Vanderbilt University double majoring in Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society and minoring in Italian Language Studies. As an undergraduate research assistant in the Schaefer Lab, Stefania explores the effects of cannabis on brain structure and function. Her research interests lie in the neurobiological aspects of mental and psychiatric disorders. She aims to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and a master’s in public health post-graduation.
Lilian Li
Lilian is a senior undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University, where she is majoring in Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society, with minors in Biological Science and Child Psychology & Mental Health.
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Charlotte Wulf
Charlotte graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2024 and studied Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society.
Nandi Zhang
Nandi Zhang is working as a research assistant in the Jiang Lab for Social and Affective Neuroscience at the University of Iowa, where she contributes to a project investigating the effects of noninvasive amygdala modulation and expands her expertise in multimodal technologies, including TMS, iEEG, and fMRI.