Lab Members

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.

Ashley Moran, BS 
​A masters student in Human Development and Family Studies. She is primarily interested in educating parents and students on the importance of sex education in effort to lower the rates of teen pregnancy and STI's. 

Emily Schulz
​An undergraduate student majoring in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Health Promotions. Her research interests include studying social connections made through twitter by people who are depressed. Emily currently researches topics involving sexual health, such as how parents communicate with their children regarding sex. She is an intern at Michigan State University’s Couple and Family Therapy Clinic. Emily is interested in pursuing a career as a therapist and a researcher of mental, sexual, and public health topics."

Kayley Langlands
An undergraduate student of Lyman Briggs majoring in Human Biology with a minor in Science, Technology, Environment, and Public Policy. She is interested in sexual and reproductive health education as well as puberty education in healthcare settings. Currently, she is researching the current sexual and reproductive education used in healthcare with adolescents and their parents. She is interested in specializing in urology or obstetrics and gynecology after attending medical school. 

Former Lab Members

Samantha Perry
​An undergraduate honors student majoring in Public Policy with minors in Economics and Women's Studies. Her current research project is 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
​An undergraduate honors student majoring in Political Science and Media and Information. Her current research projects include the life and work of suffragist Lillian Ascough as well as the historical evolution of American LGBTQ+ community rights. Her goal is to have a career in politics and communications.