Research Staff

WHO WE ARE — RESEARCH

Click on the names below to read their biographies:

Nicole Russo-Ponsaran, Ph.D.

Clark McKown, Ph.D.

Ashley Karls, M.A.

Matthew Wronski, B.A.

Sarah Van Valkenburg, B.A.

Dennis Sotelo Martinez, B.A.

Tina Grieco-Calub, Ph.D., CCC‑A

Jason K. Johnson, B.A.

 


Nicole Russo-Ponsaran, Ph.D.

Research Director, RNBC

Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

 


Education and Training

  • Northwestern University, Ph.D., Neuroscience
  • Loyola University Chicago, B.S., Biology
  • Certified research reliable in administration of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and ADOS‑2

Areas of Expertise

  • Assessment
  • Social information processing
  • Social-emotional learning and social-emotional wellness
  • Bilingualism, Spanish-speaking English language learners
  • Autism spectrum disorders, fragile X syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and language-based learning problems
  • Sleep (e.g., actigraphy)
  • Neurophysiology (e.g., speech-evoked auditory brainstem response)
  • Nonverbal awareness (e.g., prosody, facial affect)

Research Interests

  • Improving objective assessment of social-emotional functioning for multilingual youth
  • Improving objective assessment of social-emotional functioning for children with and without neurodevelopmental disabilities
  • Understanding the influence of school start times on sleep, social-emotional wellness, behavior, and parent-child relationships
  • Evaluation of intervention efficacy and the development of new treatment programs

 


Clark McKown, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

 

 


Education and Training

  • University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., Psychology
  • Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Predoctoral internship
  • Yale University, B.A., Psychology

Areas of Expertise

  • Child assessment and therapy
  • School consultation
  • Academic, social, behavioral, and emotional disorders of childhood
  • Social development and friendship

Research Interests

  • Typical and atypical social development
  • Assessment and treatment of social problems
  • Instructional environments and children’s well-being
  • Program evaluation

 


Ashley Karls, M.A.

Epi Research Study Coordinator II

 

 


Education and Training

  • Empire State University, M.A. in Social and Public Policy
  • National University, B.A. in Business Management, Minor in Psychology

Research Interests

  • Social-emotional and executive functioning skills and deficits
  • Assessment and treatment of social deficits in children
  • Emotional regulation and self-perception

 


Matthew Wronski, B.A.

Epi Research Coordinator I


Education and Training

  • Lawrence University, B.A. in Psychology and Music, Minor in Neuroscience

Research Interests

  • Interplay between cognition and emotion
  • Emotion regulation strategies across development
  • Emotional regulation and self-perception
  • Internalizing psychopathology
  • Life stress
  • Well-being

 


Sarah Van Valkenburg, B.A.

Epi Research Coordinator I


Education and Training

  • The University of Illinois at Chicago, B.A. in Psychology, Minor in Disability and Human Development

Research Interests

  • Mental health disparities
  • Early childhood adversity and emotional regulation
  • Mental health and substance use interventions for youth experiencing homelessness


    Dennis Sotelo Martinez, B.A.

    Associate Clinical Research Coordinator

    Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

     

     


    Education and Training

    • Macalester College, B.A. in Psychology, Biology

     

    Research Interests

      • Community-based behavioral and early intervention research
      • Social-emotional skills
      • Spanish-speaking youth 
      • Qualitative and quantitative research

     


    Tina Grieco-Calub, Ph.D., CCC‑A

    Adjunct Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

     

     


    Education and Training

    • Northwestern University, Ph.D., Neuroscience
    • Vanderbilt University, M.S., Hearing and Speech Sciences
    • Marywood University, B.S., Communication Sciences & Disorders

    Areas of Expertise

    • Auditory neuroscience
    • Clinical audiology
    • Implantable hearing devices, cochlear implants
    • Speech perception and word recognition

    Research Interests

    • Effects of childhood hearing loss on language, literacy, and cognitive development
    • Effects of background noise on spoken language processing and learning
    • Visual attention during face-to-face communication
    • Audiovisual speech perception

     

 

In memory of Jason Johnson, B.A.

Research Study Supervisor (2008–2016)

 

 


Education and Training

  • Monmouth College, B.A., Biology and Chemistry

Research Interests

  • Development of assessment tools to identify children and adolescents at risk for social- emotional difficulties
  • Direct assessment of social-emotional learning skills and self-regulation in typically-developing and clinical pediatric populations
  • Evaluation of intervention efficacy and the development of new treatment programs, specifically facial emotion recognition
  • Sociometrics and Peer rejection