We specialize in pediatric and young adult health research exploring psychosocial adjustment and coping with chronic medical conditions.
Krista Galvao
Psychology Graduate Student in the Applied Social Psychology Program
Krista is a PhD-level graduate student in the Applied Social Psychology program. She completed her MA in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Windsor, and her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Family Studies at Western University. Her research interests include self-compassion and illness identity in individuals with chronic health concerns, specifically type 1 diabetes. She is passionate about knowledge translation (i.e., taking research on a subject and turning it into something palatable for those outside the field of psychology) and the role of lived experience in research (i.e., involving individuals with lived experience with a health condition in the research process).
Alana Gyemi
Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Program
Alana is a PhD-level graduate student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor in the Child Clinical track. She will be completing her pre-doctoral residency at the Northern Ontario Psychology Internship Consortium in Thunder Bay, Ontario during the 2026-2027 year. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Western in biology and a bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology at the University of Windsor. She is interested in studying pain and the effects of post-traumatic growth on pediatric patients’ health. She completed her Master’s Thesis entitled “Factors Influencing Post-traumatic Growth in Young Adults with Chronic Medical Illness.” Her dissertation research focuses on chronic pain, resilience, and other factors contributing to post-traumatic growth in emerging adults.
Melissa Miljanovski
Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Program
Melissa is a PhD-level graduate student in Child Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor. She received her bachelor’s degree from York University in Psychology and her Master’s degree from the University of Toronto in Medical Science, where she specialized in palliative and supportive care across the life course. For her Master’s Thesis at the University of Windsor, Melissa explored post-traumatic stress and coping in young adults with chronic pain. For her dissertation, she plans to continue to study the lived experiences of adolescents and young adults with chronic pain conditions during their transition to adulthood.
Lauren Wan-Sai-Cheong
Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Program
Lauren is a Master’s-level graduate student in Child Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor. She received her BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology from the University of Calgary, where her honours thesis examined the benefits of brief cognitive reappraisal training in a daily life setting. Prior to her studies at the University of Windsor, Lauren worked in the non-profit sector, contributing to projects such as launching one of the first 24/7 text and chat crisis services in Canada. Currently, Lauren’s research interests lie at the intersection of emotion regulation, technology and coping with type 1 diabetes (T1D). She is especially interested in the utilization of digital tools to gamify T1D management, education and transition supports. Her master’s thesis focuses on identifying differential psychosocial trajectories within the Keeping in Touch (KiT) Intervention Study, conducted in collaboration with SickKids. She is exploring for whom the digital components of KiT are more effective for (and for whom they may not be as effective for) with the ultimate goal of understanding how we can further tailor digital T1D transition supports for emerging adults with T1D. Lauren is passionate about advocating for the needs of individuals with T1D in digital health spaces and looks forward to exploring this work in future research and practice.
Erin Firlotte
Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Program
Erin is a Masters-level graduate student in Child Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor. She received her BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology from Dalhousie University, which explored the meaning of goal weight for people living with obesity. She is interested in the role that weight bias and stigma plays in healthcare for those living with obesity, and in the processes of accepting a diagnosis of a chronic condition.
Nicholas Derby
Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Program
Nicholas is a masters-level graduate student in Child Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor. He received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from McGill University, with his honours thesis exploring the relationship between body posture, antisocial personality traits, and aggression. Currently, his research focuses on psychological experiences such as coping, adjustment, and psychosocial well-being in individuals living with or impacted by type 1 diabetes.
Cristian Iannicello
Undergraduate Honour’s Thesis Student Liaison
Cristian received his Bachelor of Science degree in Behaviour, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) and his Master’s degree n the Translational Science program at the University of Windsor. Cristian completed his undergraduate honours thesis in the lab entitled, “The Prospect of Support Scrolling” with the supervision of Dr. Kichler. This year, Cristian will continue his role of Honours Thesis Student Liaison in the lab. His research interests include understanding the intersection of biological and psychological factors in chronic health conditions, with a particular focus on how individuals cope with diagnoses and manage the impact of their condition.
Leen Saloumeh
Undergraduate Honour’s Thesis Student (Behaviour, Cognition and Neuroscience)
Leen is an Honour’s Thesis undergraduate student in the Behaviour, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) program at the University of Windsor. Her academic and research interests lie at the intersection of psychology and biology, with a focus on how these disciplines interact to shape health, development, and well-being throughout childhood. She is particularly interested in pediatric health and is passionate about translating research into meaningful improvements in patient care. Following her undergraduate studies, Leen plans to attend medical school and pursue a career as a family physician with a specialization in pediatrics.
Kylin Shamoon
Undergraduate Honour’s Thesis Student
Kylin is an Honour’s Thesis undergraduate student in the Psychology program at the University of Windsor.
Kenzie Tapp
Graduate Research Assistant (Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Psychology Program)
Kenzie is a PhD-level graduate student currently studying child clinical psychology at the University of Windsor. Her research interests broadly include resilience and post-traumatic growth in individuals with chronic illnesses, healthcare experiences of marginalized populations, and body image, through the use of feminist frameworks and qualitative methodology. Kenzie was also a graduate research assistant for the “Group Education Trial to Improve Transition for Parents of Adolescents with T1D: A pilot randomized controlled, superiority trial (GET-IT for Parents)” study in the lab.
Jasmine Kobrosli
Graduate Research Assistant (Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Psychology Program)
Jasmine is a Masters-level graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Windsor. Her research primarily utilizes qualitative methodology to explore acceptance, adaptation, resilience, and identity in those with chronic health conditions. She is also interested the impact of psychological interventions on chronic health conditions, with a focus on inflammatory bowel disease. Jasmine plans to explore these topics further throughout her graduate studies.
Jana Abi Karam
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Jana is an undergraduate research student and a former Outstanding Scholars student in Biochemistry and Biomedical Science at the University of Windsor. She is interested in studying how to raise awareness about diabetes and improving the transition to adult care processes for both medical practitioners and young people navigating their type 1 diabetes diagnosis. After completing her undergraduate degree, Jana plans to pursue post-secondary education in the healthcare, public health and/or research field.
Anissa Barnes
Former Psychology Graduate Student in the Child Clinical Program
Anissa is preparing to graduate from the Child Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of Windsor in Fall 2026. She is currently finishing her pre-doctoral residency at the University of Manitoba’s Clinical Health Psychology Residency Program in the Child & Adolescent stream, where she will be taking her first position as a psychologist after graduation. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Winnipeg, and her master’s degree in Child Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor. Her research and clinical interests broadly surround psychological interventions for children, adolescents, and youth with comorbid medical and mental health conditions. Her dissertation was entitled “Effectiveness of a co-designed pilot support group for students with type 1 diabetes in a post-secondary education setting.”
Jessica C. Kichler, CDCES, PhD, CPsych 