Aria F. Wiseblatt

PhD student on internship
email: ariawise@buffalo.edu
M.A. in Psychology, University at Buffalo
B.A. in Psychology; B.A. in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, American University

Aria is a seventh year doctoral student in the Alcohol Research Lab. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degrees at American University in Washington, DC. Aria’s main research interests are alcohol’s impact on sexual victimization as it intersects with differing populations (e.g., racial identity/ethnicity, gender), as well as alcohol’s role in bystander intervention. In her free time, she enjoys running, spending time in Buffalo’s parks, and listening to political podcasts. She is currently on Clinical Internship at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare Systems.

Emalee Kerr

4th year PhD student
email: emaleeke@buffalo.edu

M.A. in Clinical Psychology, University of Central Florida
B.S. in Psychology, Adrian College

Emalee is a fourth year doctoral student in the Alcohol Research Lab. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan. More recently, she has received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Central Florida. Her research interests focus on the relationship between alcohol use, trauma and PTSD, with a focus on sexual assault. In her free time, she loves to hike with her dog, read, and play music.

Juliette Bichon

2nd year PhD student
email: jabichon@buffalo.edu
B.A. in Clinical Psychology and Sociology, Tufts University

Juliette is a second year doctoral student in the Alcohol Research Lab. She received a B.A. in Clinical Psychology and Sociology from Tufts University. Following undergrad, she worked at McLean Hospital doing research on stress reactivity among people with severe alcohol and opioid use disorders. Juliette’s research interests focus on the bidirectional relationship between trauma and substance use, modifiable risk and protective factors for substance use disorders, and community-based and culturally relevant interventions. In her free time, she enjoys reading, going to museums, and drinking coffee with friends.

Clara Roth

1st year PhD student
email: clararot@buffalo.edu
B.A. in History, Boston College

Clara is a first year student in the Alcohol Research Lab. After completing her undergraduate degree in history she taught middle school in Boston for a year before changing her career focus to psychology. After taking classes in clinical psychology at University of Massachusetts Boston, she worked at the National Center for PTSD at the Boston VA. Clara’s research interests focus on the intersection between PTSD and substance use, particularly among individuals who have experienced sexual assault. She is also interested in social motivators for alcohol use amongst individuals with PTSD. In her free time she enjoys hiking, swimming and taking care of her many plants and guinea pig. 

Megan Strowger

Postdoctoral Research Associate
email: mstrowge@buffalo.edu

Ph.D. in Health Psychology, Old Dominion University

Megan received her PhD in Health Psychology in 2023 from Old Dominion University. She completed a 2-year National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) T32-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. Afterwards, she transitioned to the University at Buffalo’s NIAAA T32-funded fellowship program and was awarded a K99-R00 Pathways to Independence Award from the NIAAA. Her award will focus on examining explanatory and modifying factors of the relationship between social media use, alcohol-related content exposure, and drinking among young adults using a mixed methods approach (qualitative, smartphone passive sensing, and ecological momentary assessment). Broadly, her program of research seeks to investigate the etiology of problematic alcohol use across the lifespan with a focus on social and environmental contextual factors. In her free time, she loves checking out new places to eat, running, and pampering her cats.

Matthew Perry

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
email: mjperry2@buffalo.edu

Ph.D. in Sociology; M.A., B.A. in Anthropology, University at Buffalo

Matthew’s research centers on how stress and social resources shape health trajectories, with a particular focus on relationships and the transition to parenthood. He is especially interested in how social factors can protect against health risks and aid in recovery from alcohol misuse, while also looking at how belonging/disconnection may affect vulnerability to problematic drinking. His work engages with questions of how long-term goals, interpersonal interaction, and affective processes interact with stress, family dynamics, and alcohol use, and how these insights might inform greater change – from interventions to policy. When not in front of a screen, he is usually spending time with his family, fostering and accidentally adopting new animals, or reading a book that he will inevitably fall asleep to.