Lab Members

Dr. Rheeda Walker joined the UGA Psychology faculty in fall 2008 after having been a full-time, tenure track Psychology faculty member at the University of South Carolina and later at Southern Illinois University. Dr. Walker completed her B.A. at the University of Georgia and earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Florida State University in the Laboratory for the Study of Psychology and Neurobiology of Mood Disorders, Suicide, and Related Conditions. Dr. Walker's research interests in depression, chronic environmental stressors, and culturally-relevant coping began as an undergraduate student. This fundamental interest continues to provide the framework for research in the Walker Lab.	(L to R) Recent undergraduate students (Angelina Marmorato, Oksana Rzajeva, Danielle Dennis & Matt Griffith) Dr. Walker and graduate students (Temilola Salami, 3rd year & Kelci Flowers, 4th year)
Sierra Carter is a 2nd year graduate student who received her B.S. in Psychology and minor in Social and Economic Justice from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is interested in using both psychological and physiological measures within underrepresented populations and families to assess how different racial and cultural factors can affect stress levels and subsequent mental and physical health outcomes. Currently, she is examining perceptions of health as it relates to the etiology and maintenance of anxiety symptomology among African Americans.
Temilola Salami is a 3nd year graduate student who completed her B.A. in Psychology at McGill University. Temilola's primary area of interest focuses on understanding the etiology and the manifestations of depression, anxiety and suicide in African American youth and adult populations. To do so, Temilola is particularly interested in integrating cultural (e.g. acculturation), cognitive (e.g., hopelessness), and interpersonal (e.g. social support) factors in the development of depression in African American populations. At present, she is specifically examining correlates of hopelessness, a known cognitive risk factor for depression and suicide.	Kelci Flowers (4th year graduate student) and Dr. Rheeda Walker
Kelci Flowers is a 4th year graduate student who completed her BA at Elon University. Kelci is interested in African American mental health and psychopathology. Of specific interest is the relationships between binge eating symptoms, emotion regulation, and suicide, as well as the potential predictive nature of ethnic/racial identity and acculturative strategies.
(L to R) Temilola Salami (3rd year), Kelci Flowers (4th year), and Sierra Carter (2nd year) at the 2011 Academy of Eating Disorders International Conference on Eating Disorders in Miami, FL.