Lab Director
Dr. Stuart’s program of research has a particular emphasis on the role of substance use in intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization. His work addresses a broad spectrum of factors that are relevant to the etiology, classification, assessment, prevention, maintenance, and treatment of intimate partner violence. His research has shown that intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization are overrepresented in populations of individuals in treatment for substance misuse, and that substance misuse is overrepresented in men and women court mandated to attend batterer intervention programs. His work has also shown that the probability of intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization is higher on substance use days relative to days of no substance use, and his work explores the proximal and distal variables that help to explain this relationship. His work examines the impact of treatment for substance misuse on the prevalence and frequency of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and psychological aggression, as well as the effects of substance treatment on other domains of relationship and family functioning. Dr. Stuart’s work also examines whether including substance use treatments in batterer intervention programs improves outcomes for men and women arrested for domestic violence. Dr. Stuart is interested in conducting treatment outcome research in general, and specifically for family violence and substance misuse. His lab has also examined genetic predictors of intimate partner violence, substance misuse, and treatment outcomes.
Dr. Stuart has received numerous awards for mentoring, teaching, and research from the University of Tennessee and other professional organizations. For example, he received mentoring awards from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), the American Psychological Association (APA), Brown University, and from the University of Tennessee (e.g., Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award, Graduate Education Award, Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award). Research awards include the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Faculty Achievement Award, the Excellence in Research Award, Chancellor’s Award in Research and Creative Achievement, and many others.
Graduate Students
Alyssa is a fifth year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at UT. Prior to enrolling at UT, she received her B.A. in Psychology at Wake Forest University and worked as a research coordinator at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham VA Healthcare System. Alyssa’s research interests include alcohol and nicotine use and misuse and PTSD, with a focus on improving comorbid diagnoses treatment outcomes. Specifically, she is interested in examining factors that may contribute to more targeted interventions to support minoritized populations who experience these comorbid diagnoses. In her free time, Alyssa can be found spending time with her cat, practicing yoga, and watching reality television.
Jackie Sullivan is a 5th year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia. She is broadly interested in understanding how early child experiences and individual factors (e.g., biological predispositions, emotion regulation) may influence socio-emotional development and contribute to the development of psychopathology. She is particularly interested in exploring the factors that may be associated with the development of anxiety and depression, and how internalizing disorder development may relate to impulsive or emotion-avoidant behaviors (e.g., medication model of substance misuse). In her free time, she enjoys running, reading for leisure, and hanging out in local coffee shops.
Evan is a fourth year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at UT. Prior to enrolling at UT, he received his B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Cleveland State University. Evan’s research interests include intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use prevention among sexual and gender minority adolescents and young adults. In particular, he is interested in examining how traumatic and minority stressors synergistically contribute to risk for IPV and substance use. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with friends, practicing yoga, and going to concerts.
Chrissy Jensen is a 3rd-year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at UT. She completed her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville before continuing her graduate education at her alma mater. Her research interests include the intersection between suicide and substance use, particularly among sexual and gender minority young adults. She enjoys going to the gym, running, and painting in her free time.
Stella is a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Program at UTK. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a BA in Psychology and Criminology. After graduation, she worked as a visiting student researcher in South Korea where she conducted studies on interpersonal victimization and life satisfaction. Broadly speaking, she is interested in the role of alcohol in interpersonal violence (with a focus on dating/sexual/intimate partner violence), both perpetration and victimization, in young adults. In her spare time, she likes to hang out with her cat and explore new restaurants and coffee shops with her friends.
Emma Poole, B.S. (she/her)
Emma is a first-year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at UT. Before enrolling at UT, she received her B.S. in Psychology and Criminology from the University of Miami and worked as a participant coordinator for the OurRelationship program. Emma is interested in understanding how individual factors exacerbate or reduce cycles of conflict in couples, with a specific interest in how individual emotion regulation interacts with substance use to predict intimate partner violence. Emma enjoys spending time with friends, trying new restaurants, swimming, and ice skating in her free time.
Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Research Assistants
Mackenna is a junior at the University of Tennessee who is majoring in psychology with a minor in neuroscience. She is interested in researching substance misuse in people with mental disorders, specifically PTSD and depression. After graduation, Mackenna aspires to earn a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She likes to spend her free time reading, playing the piano, and hanging out with friends.
Cora is a senior at the University of Tennessee majoring in Psychology and minoring in Child and Family Studies and Public Health. She is interested in the role of minority stress on substance use and misuse in bi+ young adults, in addition to how holding multiple marginalized identities influences trauma-related outcomes following experiences of minority stress. Following graduation, Cora hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. In her free time, Cora enjoys reading, knitting, and having movie nights with her roommates.
Jacquie Kibler, B.S. (she/her)
Jacquie is a post-baccalaureate research assistant who completed her undergraduate degree from St. Bonaventure University with a double major in Behavioral Neuroscience and Health and Society. She has worked in psychology research labs at St. Bonaventure University and the University at Buffalo. Her research interests broadly include the relationship and intersection between physical and mental health, including how physical health behaviors can alter mental health, and vice versa. Jacquie hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in the future. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, and being with friends and family.
Quincey Pawlikowski (she/her)
Quincey is a junior at the University of Tennessee who is majoring in psychology with a minor in child and family studies. Her research interests include the interplay between substance use and eating disorders, specifically on college campuses. After graduation, she hopes to purse a Psy.D. with the intention of working in clinical assessments. In her free time, Quincey loves to line dance at The Cotton Eyed Joe, play piano, and binge watch reality TV!