2011 Dissertation Awardees Announced

From Dr. Erika Lawrence, Chair of the SSCP Dissertation Award Committee:

It is my honor to announce the winners of the 2011 SSCP Dissertation Award. We had a uniquely competitive application pool this year. We received 40 applications, more than twice the number of applications received in previous years! In addition, it was truly an impressive set of dissertation projects, and a very difficult decision for the Committee.

The winners (in alphabetical order) are:

1. Armstrong, Thomas, Vanderbilt University, The Effects of Fear Conditioning on Attentional Bias in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Eye Tracking Study
2. Chango, Joanna, University of Virginia, The Neural Mechanisms Underlying Associations between a Lack of Adolescent Social Competencies and Psychological Adjustment in Early Adulthood
3. Glick, Debra, Suffolk University, A Comparison of the Effects of Two Interventions for Reducing Academic Procrastination: Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapy vs. Time Management
4. Morrison, Amanda, Temple University, Attention Bias and Attentional Control in the Development of Social Anxiety Disorder
5. Rabin, Stephanie, Drexel University, The Interaction of Therapist Experiential Avoidance and Extraneous Clinical Information in Predicting Therapist Preference for Exposure Treatment for OCD
6. Rouse, Matthew, Emory University, Physiological Mediators of Parenting Behaviors in Depressed Mothers
7. Ward-Ciesielski, Erin, University of Washington, Brief Skills Training for Suicidal Individuals

The winners will receive:

• A check for $500
• A free one-year membership to APS courtesy of Dr. Alan Kraut
• Publication of their abstract in an upcoming issue of Clinical Science

A special thank you to the SSCP Dissertation Award Committee for their time and thoughtful attention to this important decision:

• Dr. Bunmi Olatunji
• Dr. Thomas Ollendick
• Dr. Robin MacFarlane.

I also want to thank the SSCP Board for their willingness to give this award to 7 students this year instead of the usual 5, in light of the number and strength of the applications this year.

Finally, I am proud to say that SSCP members can look forward to a new generation of very strong clinical scientists conducting methodologically sound and clinically important work.

Happy holidays,

Erika Lawrence

Chair, SSCP Dissertation Award Committee