Maggi Price, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Dr. Maggi Price is the lab director and an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Boston College. She also serves as a Psychology Associate in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, where she completed her postdoctoral research fellowship in clinical child psychology at the Laboratory for Youth Mental Health. Dr. Price earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Boston College in 2018, her M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Hawaii Hilo in 2012, and her B.S. in psychology and sociology from the University of Oregon in 2010. Dr. Price completed her clinical training at Yale University School of Medicine after finishing clinical practica as a Harvard Medical School fellow at Cambridge Health Alliance and Massachusetts General Hospital. Across these settings, she trained in culturally-responsive evidence-based practice for children, adolescents, and adults with a focus on trauma-related psychopathology. 
Dr. Price’s research focuses on the intersection between stigma, trauma, and youth mental health, with an emphasis on understanding and effectively addressing the experiences of trans/non-binary young people. Dr. Price's contributions to research in stigma and diversity have been highlighted in awards given at the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (JCCAP) Future Directions Forum and the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention. Finally, Dr. Price is a passionate and dedicated teacher and mentor, qualities that have been recognized in her receipt of the Yale University Doctoral Internship in Clinical & Community Psychology Leadership Award and the Boston College Donald J. White Teaching Excellence Award.
Email| | CV (download here) | BC Faculty Page | ResearchGate | Twitter | Google Scholar

Current Affirm Lab Members

Erick DuShane, B.A. (he/him/his)
​Erick is a graduate assistant in the Affirm Lab. He graduated from the University of Rochester with his B.A. in Psychology. During his time there, he was involved in numerous research projects at Mt. Hope Family Center, including a project that examined child maltreatment and trust directed by Dr. Fred Rogosch, Dr. Dante Cicchetti, and Dr. Melissa Koenig and a project that examined how interparental conflict influences interactions within the family directed by Dr. Melissa Sturge-Apple and Dr. Patrick Davies. He also worked for the PATHS Therapeutic After School Program directed by Dr. Jody Todd Manly. During his undergraduate career, Erick also developed an honors thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Manly and Dr. Sturge-Apple which examined the interaction between maltreatment and teacher warmth and its effects on emotion regulation and peer relationships. Now, Erick is a second-year clinical social work student at the Boston College School of Social Work working towards his MSW with a specialization in children, youth, and families. He has interned for the Framingham Public Schools at Dunning Elementary and is now interning at the Home for Little Wanderers’s Child & Family Counseling Center. Erick is passionate about working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and collaborating with them and their families to promote resilience. Email

姜帅 (Shuai Jiang) "Eddy" (he/him/his)
Eddy is a research assistant in the Affirm Lab. He is an undergraduate student in Boston College’s Class of 2022 with a double major in Applied Psychology and Theology. As an international student who calls America his second home, Eddy hopes to eventually bring his academic and clinical experience back to China to spread mental health awareness. Specifically, he plans to  conduct research, train psychologists, and work on creative projects with artists and filmmakers. He will be joining Boston College’s Mental Health Counseling program in fall 2022, and he aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology upon graduation. With the Affirm Lab as his first professional research experience, Eddy is excited to embrace the learning ahead of him and grow to become a more informed accomplice and social justice-oriented researcher. ​Email 

Gabi Ortiz M.A. (she/her/hers)
Gabi is the IMPACTS project coordinator of the Affirm Lab and a Ph.D./MSW student in Social Work at the Boston College School of Social Work, where she is mentored by Dr. Maggi Price and Dr. Maria Piñeros-Leaño. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in Political Science and International Development Studies in 2018 and a MA in Higher Education and Organizational Change in 2019. Prior to joining Affirm and BC SSW, Gabi worked as a Research Analyst for UCLA Equity Diversity and Inclusion at the School of Education and Information Studies and as a Community College Counselor for DSPS at Citrus College in Glendora CA. As a Trans-Woman of Color, Gabi’s core research interests focus on further studying how biopsychosocial mechanisms underpin the effects of various types of stigma on trans populations and culturally adaptive interventions to work with gender and sexual minority Latinx populations Email

Marina Rakhilin, B.S.
​Marina is the research coordinator of the Affirm Lab. They graduated from Tufts University in 2018 with a major in Clinical Psychology and a minor in Religion. After graduating, they worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation for two years, and subsequently applied to Boston College for a Master's in Social Work. They also volunteer for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and help teach courses at the undergraduate level in Psychology and Neuroscience. Marina's core academic interests include implementation & dissemination science, access to care, trauma, and serious mental illness.

Halina Tittmann (she/her/hers)
Halina is a research assistant in the Affirm Lab. She is an undergraduate student in the Boston College Class of 2022, majoring in Sociology with a minor in International Studies (Ethics and Social Justice). Her research interests include criminal justice reform and ethnicity and identity formation. Recently, Halina co-authored a report on the Philippine juvenile justice system, "Lowering the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility: the Wrong Fix to a Broken Juvenile Justice System," which focused on the effectiveness and implications of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (R.A. 9344). She hopes that her research will serve as an advocacy tool to shed light on the intersection between poverty, agency, and antisocial behavior among youths in the Philippines. In addition to the Affirm Lab, Halina works at an early-stage non-profit organization, No Label, which seeks to make education more accessible.

Bonnie (she/her/hers) 
Bonnie is a 4-year-old Texas-born pitbull and one of the longest-term lab family members. Though she often sleeps through most lab meetings and events, she provides critical emotional support and affection.

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Affirm Lab Graduates

Emma Bokhour, B.A. (she/her, they/them)
Emma was a research assistant in the Affirm Lab. She graduated from Smith College in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology, also completing a certificate in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice. Emma’s research interests include sexual and reproductive health among LGBTQ+ youth, as well as mental and physical healthcare for gender minority youth. Emma also works for Cambridge Health Alliance as a Sexual and Reproductive Health Counselor and Educator for a school-based clinic in Everett, MA. Emma is passionate about studying and working with adolescents and would like to continue to do so in the future, possibly planning to get a Masters in Social Work or Public Health or eventually pursuing a Ph.D. ​
LinkedIn | Email

Tara Deonauth, B.A. (she/her/hers)
Tara was a research assistant in the Affirm Lab. She graduated from Williams College in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics. She is a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School and has completed chaplaincy internships at University of North Carolina Medical Center, Beverly Hospital, and (currently) Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Tara is passionate about the intersection of spiritual and psychological care for stigmatized children and adolescents. She intends to complete her Board of Chaplaincy Certification through the Association of Professional Chaplains and subsequently pursue a Ph.D. in clinical or counseling psychology. Email

Nathan L. Hollinsaid, B.S. (he/him/his)
Nathan is a graduate collaborator in the Affirm Lab and incoming Clinical Science PhD student in the BEST Lab at Harvard. He graduated from Tufts University in 2019 with a B.S. in clinical psychology. With the guidance of Dr. Price, he earned highest honors for his senior thesis on the effectiveness and acceptability of empirically supported treatments for cisgender and gender minority youth (PDF). Nathan received multiple grants for his work, including the Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Research Grant from Psi Chi, and has presented findings from this and other projects at conventions of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, winning awards at both. In the Affirm Lab, Nathan has contributed to research on mental health therapy experiences and adverse childhood experiences among trans and gender diverse youth. In his present and future research, Nathan seeks to employ multiple methodological approaches to explore the relationship between multilevel stigma and psychopathology for LGBTQ+ youth. By elucidating biopsychosocial mechanisms underpinning the effects of stigma, he hopes to develop and test affirming adaptations to evidence-based psychotherapies that better address these youth’s mental health concerns. Further, Nathan endeavors to increase access to such treatments, particularly within highly stigmatizing contexts (e.g., rural communities), through novel dissemination and implementation efforts (e.g., single session interventions).  ResearchGate | Twitter | Email

Colleen Johnston, B.A. (she/her/hers) 
Colleen (she/her/hers) was a research assistant in the Affirm Lab. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. While at Notre Dame, Colleen was a research assistant at the BRAVE Lab (Building Resilience After Violence Exposure) for three years. Her senior thesis focused on the relationship between resource access and breastfeeding outcomes in working mothers. Colleen attended Boston College School of Social Work and completed clinical internships at St. Mary’s Home in Dorchester, MA and the Maternity Unit at Boston Medical Center. Her primary research and clinical interest is maternal-child health, with a particular focus on trauma, IPV, maternal mental health, and early childhood development. Colleen graduated with her MSW in May 2021 and began her career in medical social work at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in June 2021. ​Email

Gabrielle Kaufman, M. A. (she/her/hers)
Gabrielle (Gabi) Kaufman was a research assistant in the Affirm Lab and in the City Connects Lab at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Music and from Boston College in 2020 with a Master of Arts in School Counseling. She completed her clinical internship at the Curley K-8 School in Jamaica Plain, MA. Gabi’s research interests focus on mental health contributors to educational inequalities and school-based supports for students with limited access to treatment. In particular, she is focused on access to and best practices for providing counseling to youth at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. Gabi will begin working on a PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Denver in September 2020. Email

McKenzie E. Sheridan, M.A. (she/her/hers)
McKenzie is a graduate of the Affirm Lab and the Laboratory of Developmental Neuropharmacology. She graduated from Simmons College in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and will have a completed Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College as of August, 2020. McKenzie’s research interests include psychopathology and mental wellness in LGBTQIA+ youth, adolescents in the justice system, and therapeutic treatments for sexual and gender minority individuals. McKenzie has completed clinical internships with organizations such as On The Rise (Cambridge, MA) and Home for Little Wanderers (Boston, MA). McKenzie currently works as a community advocate at On the Rise. McKenzie will begin work on a Clinical Psychology PsyD with a concentration on children and families of adversity and resilience at William James College in August 2020. LinkedIn | Email

Hilary Skov, B.A. (she/her/hers)
Hilary is a graduate collaborator in the Affirm Lab. She is interested in the biological and environmental factors that influence youth’s mental health outcomes following adverse experiences, and in translating this research into culturally-responsive, trauma-informed mental healthcare for youth and their families. She graduated from Emmanuel College in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Health and Rehabilitation Science. Following graduation, she taught English in Semarang, Indonesia on a Fulbright fellowship, and worked as the neuroimaging coordinator on the CARES (Counseling for Academic Resilience in Every Student) project in the Laboratory for Youth Mental Health at Harvard University. In the Affirm Lab, Hilary has contributed to research on how structural sexism affects girls' mental health outcomes, and on trauma exposure and discriminatory experiences in gender minority youth. Hilary will begin her Ph.D. in School Psychology in the Child and Family Lab at Tulane University in August 2020. LinkedIn | Email