Current Interns
Undergraduate Interns
Judeline Joseph
Clinical Research Intern
Judeline Joseph is a Clinical Research Intern at the Health through Flourishing Program. Prior to interning at the HtF, she interned with Dr. Hoeppner as a part of the NIDA Summer Research Internship Program. She is currently a senior at Dillard University (LA), where she is majoring in Psychology. At the HtF program, Judeline works on several of Dr. Bettina Hoeppner’s projects working to advance the science on Recovery Community Centers. Her research interest includes exploring various preventative and treatment tactics to combat health disparities in underserved communities. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology as the next step in her research career.
Last Updated: 1/1/2024
Mary Adekunle
Clinical Research Intern
Mary Adekunle is a hybrid Clinical Research Intern primarily with the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program (CPRP) under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Celano. She is a Junior at Boston University, majoring in Psychology on the pre-medical track, and plans to pursue a medical degree with a focus on Cardiology. Her areas of interest include the intersections between psychology, psychiatry, and clinical disorders, and using these overlaps to advance treatment plans for patients.
As part of the BEHOLD Study (Boosting Emotional Well-being and Happiness in Outpatients Living with Diabetes), Mary works on various tasks including EPIC chart reviews, recruitment letters and calls, cleaning REDCap data, and attending follow-up visits at MGH Main Campus. She also participates in weekly BEHOLD and CPRP team meetings.
Mary also interns with the Health through Flourishing Program (HtF) under Dr. Bettina Hoeppner, where she participates in journal clubs, team meetings, and seminars to learn about recovery research, initiatives, and potential career paths. While her current role is primarily educational, she hopes to contribute more directly to HtF studies in the future.
Through her internship, Mary has deepened her commitment to clinical practice while developing an interest in clinical research. She is grateful for the diverse and supportive teams at both CPRP and HtF, who continuously provide her with opportunities to gain more experience and understanding of clinical research while offering her grace and guidance throughout her learning journey.
Last Updated: 01/15/2025
Caitlyn Arnold
Clinical Research Intern
Caitlyn joined the team in July 2024 as an intern for Dr. Simmie Foster in the Hot and Cool Research lab. She is a senior at The University of Texas at Austin pursuing a major in Biosociology and Medical Ethics. She is assisting with the DCRP’s clinical trials for Long COVID and interviews for the development of a pilot study for older Black adults with mild cognitive impairment. The Foster lab has partnered with Restore Hyper-Wellness to develop a survey on Long COVID to inform future avenues of treatment and research. She works with Dr. Foster to develop the Long COVID survey, draft IRB protocol, craft recruitment materials, conduct literature reviews on temperature treatments, and create presentations for community outreach. This internship has allowed Caitlyn to realize that research is collaborative at its core, and has solidified her desire to continue research and partnerships. She is grateful to the DCRP research team for creating positive and uplifting energy at every turn, and Dr. Foster for serving as a role model. Caitlyn hopes to become a physician-scientist to work in clinical practice and research.
Last Updated: 01/15/2025
Denise Altagracia Taveras
Clinical Research Intern
Denise is an undergraduate research intern for A Quiet Study: Chronic Pain and Early Cognitive Decline at the Center for Health Outcomes and Interdisciplinary Research (CHOIR). She joined the research team in September of 2024 and has been working under the mentorship of Dr. Tony Pham MD. She is supporting MBCT manual development and qualitative coding for focus groups. Denise is a senior at Columbia University pursuing a B.A in Psychology and is excited to apply what she has learned during her time in this internship in her pursuit of making mental healthcare more accessible to marginalized communities through research and clinical work. There are many paths that lead to research and Denise is excited to find the path that works best for her goals after graduating. Her research interests are culturally adapting therapies and treatments for Black, Indigenous, and people of color, community psychology interventions for low-income communities, and clinical treatments for PTSD.
Last Updated: 01/15/2025
Reeha Choudhry
Clinical Research Intern
Reeha Choudhry is a Clinical Research Intern who joined Dr. Bettina Hoeppner’s team in August 2024. She is pursuing a B.S. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include positive psychology, harm reduction, and improving health outcomes for underserved communities.
As part of her internship, Reeha is contributing to the 'Smiling Instead of Smoking' study by focusing on app trialing, participant engagement, and data management using REDCap. She is currently involved in distributing screening surveys to SEND SECURE participants, reviewing screening surveys for the SiS4 study, and identifying fraudulent cases using SAS. Additionally, she is actively building her skills through seminars, reflective writing on Recovery Community Centers (RCCs), and participating in journal club discussions.
Through learning about RCCs during her internship, Reeha has been inspired to pursue training as a certified Harm Reduction Peer through NASPA, where she can apply the insights she's gained from Dr. Hoeppner's seminars and further develop her skills in evidence-based approaches. After graduation, Reeha plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with the aim of developing interventions that improve recovery outcomes for diverse populations.
This clinical research internship has significantly shaped Reeha’s career goals. Her cohort continues to inspire her each week, and working closely with such supportive, passionate, and dedicated individuals has shown her the importance of collaboration, creativity, and innovation in advancing smoking cessation efforts. Reeha feels incredibly fortunate to work alongside such an exceptional team, and she looks forward to further contributing to Dr. Hoeppner’s research lab while continuing to grow and learn.
Last Updated: 01/22/2025
Past Interns
Jaslin Perez-Monterroso
Clinical Research Intern
Jaslin Perez Monterroso is a senior at the University of Massachusetts Boston majoring in Psychology & Criminology with a minor in English. As a dedicated Clinical Research Intern at the Health Through Flourishing Program under the guidance of Dr. Hoeppner, Jaslin collaborates on various research projects. This includes the development of a smartphone app delivering positive psychology interventions to aid smokers in quitting, as well as initiatives for advancing the science on recovery community centers. Passionate about mental health, she plans to pursue a Master's in Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine.
Last Updated: 1/1/2024
Lindsay Jacobson
Lindsay joined Dr. Bettina Hoeppner’s team as an undergraduate research intern from July 2022 to June 2023. She graduated in May 2023 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Her research interests include reducing stigma surrounding addiction, the use of mHealth interventions for substance use disorders, and cultural competence in addiction treatment. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Last Updated: 01/31/2024
Lili Massac
Lili was a clinical research intern from 2022-2023. She graduated with a BA in Psychology and Neuroscience from Williams College in 2023. She is currently working as a research assistant at the Translational Research on Affective Disorders and Suicide Laboratory at New York Psychiatric Institute/ Columbia University Department of Psychiatry. She hopes to eventually pursue a doctoral program in clinical psychology and use her research experiences to influence mental health care access and policy.
Last Updated: 01/01/2024
Catherine Leonard
Catherine joined the team as an undergraduate research intern. She is currently studying biology and psychology as an Honors student at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. Her interests include addiction, abnormal psychology, community interventions and the use of technology in relation to mental health. In the coming years, Catherine plans on attending medical school to become a psychiatrist. She assisted on many projects within the lab including the R24 “Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers” study which highlights the importance of Recovery Community Centers for those looking for support with various substances.
Last Updated: 12/31/2022
Esther Konadu
Esther joined the team in October 2021 as an undergraduate research intern during her senior year at Worcester State University. As an intern, Esther worked on the “Smiling Instead of Smoking” study. After graduating with a B.S. in Psychology, Esther is attending Assumption University pursing her masters degree in Clinical Counseling Psychology, and working part-time as a behavior technician. As part of her masters degree, she is also a clinical intern at Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services Inc., providing both outpatient and school-based counseling services. After graduating with her masters, Esther plans to gain field experience towards her LMHC license.
Last Updated: 02/29/2024
Nur Akpolat
Nur Akpolat is currently a clinical research coordinator at the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital. She graduated from Tufts University in 2023 with a double major in biopsychology and economics She is interested in mood and anxiety disorders and hopes to have the opportunity to combine her interest in clinical psychology with neuroscience. She is especially enthusiastic about improving patient outcomes and/or developing novel approaches to therapy. She hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.
Last Updated: 01/31/2024
Baby Lenga Kalemba
Baby is a UMass Boston alumnus with a B.S. in Exercise and Health Sciences (2022 cum laude).
Baby has always been motivated by healthcare disparities, the idea of specific medicine, and research commitments to diversity. She joined Dr. Bettina’s team as part of an internship sponsored by a U54 fellowship program provided by the UMass Boston & Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Partnership. In her 1.5 years interning with us, she engaged in literature review activities focused on mHealth technologies, positive psychology, and recovery support services. As well as tasks relevant to conducting clinical research in health behavior change; content analysis of smartphone apps, REDCap, and helping to organize a special poster session at the Annual Convention of the A.P.A.
She accredits her exposure to mHealth deliveries and positive psychology from Dr. Hoepner’s lab as one of the biggest motivations to pursue a career in Health Information Management. Baby would like to drive advancement and innovation within healthcare delivery systems. In such, she is starting a graduate program in Health Informatics at UMass Lowell in the spring of 2024, with a goal of learning the technical aspects of health data management; storage and use hoping to bridge the disparity gap in healthcare systems and its delivery.
Last Updated: 12/23/2023