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/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
Eunice Ahn
Eunice is a senior undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University majoring in Psychology and Child Development. She joined the lab as a research assistant in Fall 2023 where she explored alcoholic measures and tendencies. Her interests lie with depression/mental health in the minority population and hopes to one day work as a clinical psychologist.
William Carter
William is a senior undergraduate student studying Earth and Environmental Science, Psychology, and Religion. His research interests include finding externalizing behavior problems, high frequency assessment, and psychopathology. He studied abroad in New Zealand and enjoys running, BJJ, and hiking.
Jazz Divinity
Jasmine is a Junior at Vanderbilt University, pursuing a degree in Psychology with a minor in Business. She has engaged in research at Vanderbilt and other universities, and completed an internship in Behavioral Healthcare. Jazz is interested in exploring the intersections of substance use and mental health, with a keen interest in health equity and community-based participatory research methodologies.
Joseph Lanigan
Joseph Lanigan, from Rochester, NY, is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University studying Psychology, and Medicine, Health, & Society. Joseph joined the Schaefer Lab as a research assistant in September of 2023, with his research focusing on the relationship between cannabis consumption and mental health. Joseph has aspirations to one day work as a practicing clinical psychologist.
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. In the Schaefer lab, she hopes to deepen her understanding of psychological epidemiology, particularly the interplay between substance use and mental health disorders. Her academic research interests concentrate on the hospitalization and clinical psychology of pediatrics.
Shelley Si
Shelley is a junior at Vanderbilt University, majoring in Psychology, Cinema and Media Arts, with a minor in Quantitative Methods. She has recently become a research assistant and a senior honors thesis student in the Schaefer lab. Shelley is eager to explore the relationship between alcohol use and anxiety by analyzing twin data, utilizing structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling techniques. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to pursue graduate studies in psychology, specifically focusing on emotions or categorization.
Charlotte Wulf
Charlotte is a senior undergraduate studying Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society. Having contributed significantly to research projects focused on negative self-referential processing in anxiety and depressive disorders, she joined The Schaefer Lab wanting to learn more about genetic and environmental risk to these conditions. Her primary research interest involves exploring how cognitive-behavioral interventions can be evaluated and enhanced using neuroimaging and other psychological measures.
Jiarui Xue
Jiarui is a junior 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.
Stefania Yee
Stefania is a junior 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.
Nandi Zhang
Nandi is a senior undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University, double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology and minoring in Data Science. Currently serving as a research assistant in the Schaefer Lab, she is passionate about investigating the effects of alcohol on cognition. Her research interests encompass the neurological and psychological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on youths. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in clinical neuropsychology