Staff
Kristi English, M.Ed.
Laboratory Manager
klp5@rice.edu
Kristi Parker graduated from the University of Tulsa with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with minors in Education and Exercise Sports Science. She received her Master of Education in School Counseling with a PPS Credential from the University of Southern California. Immediately following her Master’s degree, she worked as a paralegal for over five years at a criminal defense law firm. Wanting to shift back into the field of psychology, she joined the BMED lab in the summer of 2015 as a Project Coordinator on the Project Heart R01 grant. Her role has transitioned over the years primarily into lab management and administration.
Patricia (Patty) Morales, MBA
Research Program Manager – Project REACH
Patricia (Patty) Morales graduated from The University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies. Following her undergrad degree, she worked with Dr. Christopher Fugundes at MD Anderson Cancer Center as Behavioral Science Research Coordinator in 2013. When Dr. Fagundes moved to Rice University in 2015, Patty joined Dr. Fagundes and began her career as Research Project Coordinator for the BMED Lab. Spearheading his multiple R01 grants, she quickly realized project leadership was her true passion. She received her Master of Business from Texas Woman’s University in 2021 to continue her education in organizational and business management. As hard of a decision as it was to leave Rice University in 2021, she pursued her next career move at MD Anderson Cancer Center once again. After almost two years at MDACC, Patty happily rejoined Dr. Fagundes’ lab as Behavioral Medicine Research Program Manager. In her free time, she loves running and indoor cycling, trying new restaurants, cooking, traveling, spending time with friends/family, and enjoying her new role as a dog mom.
Itee Mahant, M.Biotech
Research Analyst II
Itee Mahant Graduated from Veer Narmad South Gujarat University in India. After receiving her Master’s of biotechnology degree in 2015, she worked as an assistant lecturer in the Government Science College. Itee’s began her career in the U.S.A. as a research assistant in the Laboratory of the Department of Symptom Research at MD Anderson Cancer Center, focusing on psychoneuroimmunology research with Dr. Christopher Fagundes and Dr. Cobi Heijnen. At the end of 2020 she worked as a coordinator of clinical studies for phase I clinical trials in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MD Anderson. In 2022, Itee joined the BMED Laboratory as a Research Analyst II to perform immunological and cell biological analysis. In her free time, Itee likes to listen to poetry and spends time with her husband and 3-year-old son.
Khadija Ziauddin, MBBS, MPH (she/her/hers)
Graduate Research Assistant
Khadija Ziauddin is currently working with the data team while starting the PhD program in Public Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center. Since joining the BMED lab, she has been involved with Project Heart, the Break Free Smoking Study, Project Voces, and Project ACT. Most recently, she worked with Project Care and the Physical Activity for Caregivers Intervention Study as Project Coordinator. Khadija is a foreign medical graduate, and received her Master of Public Health degree (Health Promotion & Health Education) from UTHealth in 2021. She is interested in the underlying mechanisms of chronic disease and the interface between physical health and mental well-being.
Ann Wang, B.S. (she/her)Project Coordinator – Project ACT
Ann Wang is the Project Coordinator for the NIH RO1 funded grant Project ACT. She graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Health and a minor in Medicine and Society. Ann previously worked at UTHealth as a Research Assistant where she worked closely with patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and people living with HIV. Her research interests include health disparities, women’s health, and exploring the risks and benefits of medical cannabis from biological impacts to societal implications on public policy. During her free time, Ann enjoys traveling, singing karaoke with friends, frequenting her local natural wine bar, and spending time with husband and their two cats.
Brianna Mikel, B.A. (she/her)Research Specialist – Project ACT
Brianna Mikel is the Research Specialist working on NIH-funded Project ACT and Project CHROMA. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from University of St. Thomas and is currently pursuing her masters degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at University of Houston – Clear Lake, where she also works as a Student Consultant at UHCL’s Center for Workplace Consulting. She has conducted and presented research on occupational honor culture relating to mental health and risk-taking within firefighting, and hopes to continue her research in health, wellbeing, and workplace psychology. Outside of work and school, Brianna is an active member of a small church group, enjoys visiting farmers markets, and loves spending time outdoors.
Arya Tsay-Jones, B.A. (she/her)Data Manager
Arya graduated from Rice University in 2021 with a B.A. in psychological sciences. She has been working with the BMED Lab since 2018 and has been part of the Project Heart, Expressive Writing During COVID19, and Project CARE teams. She is currently working closely with the Project CARE team and is one of BMED lab’s data managers, in charge of tracking and consolidating study data. She is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling psychology and hopes to continue her studies to earn a Ph.D. In her free time, she loves reading, painting, and relaxing with her cat, Sesame!
Subash Jagadeesan, B.A.Research Assistants
Amara Anyanwu (she/her)
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Amara is a Rice undergraduate in the class of 2025 majoring in Psychology and minoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She hopes to earn a Ph.D. in psychology and to treat patients while pursuing research in the field. She is especially interested in the psychological effects of music in older adults. She joined the BMED lab in February of 2022 as a research assistant for Project CHROMA. Outside of lab, she enjoys playing the violin, making jewelry, and gardening.
Ananya Kar
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Ananya Kar is an undergraduate student at Rice University in the class of 2025.
Ethan Nguyen
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Ethan is a sophomore at Rice University majoring in Psychology with a minor in Business. After Rice, Ethan hopes to attend medical school and one day become a psychiatrist. Some of Ethan’s hobbies include Basketball, Volleyball, reading, and watching F1. He has lived in Austin, TX, all his life and will never stop talking about how it is the best city in the world.
Aaron Chu
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Charisma Abolo
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Hi! Charisma Abolo is a senior at Rice University. She is majoring in Health Sciences and plans to go to medical school after graduation. She’s especially interested in exploring health disparities and the biopsychosocial factors that shape health outcomes. On campus, she’s involved with the Rice Health Advisors Program, the Rice Black Women’s Association, and Period at Rice. Outside of school, she loves hanging out with friends, playing volleyball, and has recently taken up running.
Joon Lee
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Joon is an undergraduate at Rice in the class of 2025 majoring in psychology and minoring in neuroscience. He joined the lab in the summer of 2023 as a research assistant for Project Bereaved Brain. After graduating, he plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology to become a therapist working with children and adolescents. In his free time, Joon enjoys competing in chess tournaments, playing his violin, and watching the NBA.
Ambereen Haq
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Reggie Bell
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Hira Tariq
Research Assistant – Project ACT
Hira is an undergraduate at Rice University majoring in Psychology and minoring in Global Health Technologies. At the BMED lab, she works as a Research Assistant for Project ACT. After graduating from Rice, she plans on attending medical school. Some of her hobbies include baking, watching movies with her family, and trying new coffee and boba shops.
Taylor Stowers (she/her)Research Assistant – Project REACH
Taylor Stowers is an undergraduate student at Rice University majoring in Psychological Sciences and minoring in Neuroscience (class of 2025). She joined Project CHROMA as an RA in the summer of 2022 and has since worked on both Project SAFE and Project REACH. She is hoping to pursue a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology to become a therapist while also continuing varying research on psychopathology, the effects of fine arts on cognition and development, and suicide intervention. When not in the lab, you can find her singing pop, Broadway, and classical music in varying student groups across campus.
Joanna Coram
Research Assistant – Project REACH
Joanna Coram is an undergraduate student at Rice University in the class of 2025, majoring in Cognitive Sciences and English with a minor in French Studies. She joined the BMED Lab as a research assistant for Project SAFE in fall 2023 and is now working for Project REACH. She is considering pursuing a graduate degree in counseling or clinical psychology after gaining more research experience. Outside of classes, she spends most of her time with various Rice theater groups, and also likes to read and write novels.