Alex Ajayi, Ph.D., LP
Dr. Alex Ajayi is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. His research program seeks to understand the impact of social marginalization, factors that underpin health and education disparities among diverse groups, and ways to reduce these disparities. He is interested in developing scalable and innovative interventions in health and education. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, gardening, and spending time with friends and family.
Will Greenberg
Will is a Research Coordinator and a second-year M.A. student in Counselor Education from Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a BS in psychology from UMN. Their research interests include the intersectionality of identity, sexual and relationship violence, and developing interventions to target mental health disparities in marginalized communities. Outside of work, Will enjoys playing soccer, hanging out with friends, and baking cheesecake.
Jason Shulman
Jason is a Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. His research broadly examines how people make sense of themselves and their experiences, with particular interests in how people’s self-understandings correspond with (or diverge from) their behavior, relationships, social environments, and the ways they are understood by others. In the iWell Lab, Jason contributes to research on identity and well-being and uses quantitative methods to examine psychological and social processes. He is also interested in research methodology, particularly approaches for studying heterogeneity across people and contexts and for synthesizing evidence through meta-analysis.
Seyram Agudu
Seyram Agudu is a Research Specialist at the Psychology Department of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She received her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 2026. Her research is mainly focused on cultural models of well-being, internalized stigma, and creating/adapting culturally relevant interventions. She is especially interested in how local health assets in cultural communities can be formalized as part of holistic psychosocial interventions, particularly within marginalized populations.
Breyonnah Wade
Breyonnah is a third-year PhD student in Counseling Psychology. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Princeton University. After graduating, she spent two years working in public health as a research assistant evaluating state-level initiatives, including maternal mortality, diabetes prevention, and tobacco cessation. Breyonnah is interested in understanding sociocultural and structural factors that influence mental health and well-being among Black and African Americans.
Chenhao Zhao
Chenhao is a third-year PhD student from China. He earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research interests focus on mental health disparities among marginalized populations, particularly international students and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. He is also interested in examining how cultural and sociocultural factors, such as colonial mentality, shape mental health and psychological well-being.
Tesia Shi
Tesia is a second-year PhD student from Gaithersburg, Maryland. She graduated with a double degree in Psychology and Biology from the University of Maryland, College Park. Post-college, she worked in suicide prevention research for two years at the National Institute of Mental Health. She is interested in sociocultural factors of mental health and increasing the accessibility and cultural sensitivity of interventions, with a focus on youth/young adults. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, going on long walks, and munching on bagels.
Morgan T. Morrison
Morgan is a first-year PhD student in Counseling Psychology. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from The Ohio State University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests center on how structural and sociocultural stress gets under the skin, influencing the mental and physical well-being of Black youth. She explores how individual, family, and social modifiable processes can be targeted to design and implement prevention interventions. In her free time, she enjoys fitness, trying new restaurants, and listening to R&B and soul vinyls.
Varsha Venkatesh
Varsha is a first-year PhD student from Kansas City. She received her BS in psychology with minors in developmental psychology, neuroscience, and music from the University of Minnesota. She is broadly interested in mental health and academic outcomes among underrepresented students. In her free time, she likes reading, cooking, and spending time with friends.
Jiaxuan (Anna) Jiang
Anna is in her third year of undergraduate school, majoring in psychology (B.A). Her psychology interests are in counseling, stress and trauma, and cultural differences. Outside of school, she enjoys watching scary movies, anime, and theater.
Anu Adekunle
Anu is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Statistics. Her psychology interests are in counseling, adolescent depression, and mental health disparities. Outside of school, she enjoys crocheting, watching movies and taking walks.
Chantelle Dickerson
Chantelle is a third-year undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in psychology with a minor in business
management. Her psychology interests include clinical and counseling psychology. More
specifically, she’s interested in discovering effective treatments for stress and trauma. Outside of
school, she enjoys baking, reading, strength training, and going outside!
2026
Anastasia Bandiera
Lucy Gerst
Logan Lestina
Amanda Lossof
Jacob Mayer
Baily-Amina Rodrigue
Jacob Schachter
2025
Halle Bretz
David Girin
Reese Kennedy
Calista Smith
Theo Thompson-Guldseth
Yuyi Wang
2024
Karly Allison
Rianna Gomes
Palwasha Khan
Paul Krenik