Lab Members

Kyla Cary, MS
A doctoral student in Human Development and Family Studies, she comes to HDFS with a masters degree in Quantitative and Developmental Psychology. She is interested in researching the sexual objectification and self-objectification of women and how these processes occur within the online context.
Patricia Huerta, MS, LMFT
​A doctoral student in the couple and family therapy program in the HDFS department, she comes to HDFS with extensive applied experience addressing mental health and sexual dysfunction in an integrated care setting. Her research interests center around applying attachment theory and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to a variety of sexual and reproductive concerns, namely identifying, preventing, and treating sexual dysfunctions, improving sexuality following parenthood, aiding adolescent parents coping with pregnancy diagnoses and births, and identifying how to aid couples coping with infertility and fetal abnormalities. 
Gisela Leija, MS, LMFT
A doctoral candidate in the Couple and Family Therapy Program at Michigan State University, she is committed to working with diverse and underrepresented communities of color and is an advocate for the dissemination of culturally sensitive interventions in both clinical and community-based settings. Her dedication to these underserved communities has resulted in acknowledgement from SAMHSA as Fellow in the Minority Fellowship Program for three consecutive years. Her research is centered on implementing culturally informed  interventions with an emphasis on sexual health education in Latino communities. In her most recent work, Gisela is collaborating with Dr. Maas and other experts to culturally adapt an evidence based parenting program to include a sex education component for immigrant Latino families in Detroit.

Former Lab Members

Emily Schulz worked in our lab as undergraduate student majoring in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Health Promotions. Emily currently researches topics involving sexual health, such as how parents communicate with their children regarding sex. She is now a graduate student in Couples and Family Therapy at Purdue.
Kayley Langlands participated in our lab as an undergraduate student and focused on sexual education for medical students. She is currently in med school with an emphasis on urology.
Samantha Perry participated in our lab as an undergraduate honors student majoring in Public Policy with minors in Economics and Women's Studies. Her honors thesis was titled, Defining the Undue Burden Standard: The Jurisprudence of Abortion Cases. She is primarily interested in researching women's rights issues in regards to public policy and the law. 
Liz Schondelmayer worked in our lab as an undergraduate honors student majoring in Political Science and Media and Information. Her research projects included the life and work of suffragist Lillian Ascough as well as the historical evolution of American LGBTQ+ community rights. She is now currently working at Communications And Brand Strategies (CABS) for MSU!