BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS LAB MEMBERS
CURRENT & RECENT GRADUATE STUDENTS:
Frankie Nieblas, M.A. (he/him) is a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at UNLV, and he is a first-year student in the M.S. in Clinical Psychopharmacology Program at University of Colorado Denver. Frankie completed his M.A. in psychological science at California State University, San Bernardino. Frankie is interested in substance use, addiction, and sexual behavior in vulnerable populations such as LGBTQ+ individuals and U.S. veterans. Frankie enjoys hiking, playing video games, and swimming.
Karen Valle Frias, M.A. (she/hers) is a third-year student in the clinical psychology Ph.D program. Karen completed her degree at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where she studied Psychology and Chemistry. Karen is interested in substance use, gambling disorder, social media use, and behavioral addictions broadly in underrepresented and minoritized populations such as Hispanics/Latinos and U.S. Veterans. Karen enjoys trying new places to eat, hanging out with friends, and shopping!
Tom Naar, B.A. (he/him) is a first-year student in the clinical psychology Ph.D. program. Tom completed his undergraduate degree in Psychology at UCLA, and he is interested in Gambling Disorder, substance use, and other comorbid mental health conditions in vulnerable populations. In his free time, Tom likes to go camping and play/watch soccer.
Laurie Avila, B.A. (she/her) is a first-year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at UNLV. Laurie completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton College where she studied Psychology and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. Laurie is interested in gambling disorder, compulsive sexual behavior, problematic internet use, and behavioral addictions broadly in underrepresented populations, such as racial and ethnic minority groups and sexual and gender minority communities. In her free time, Laurie likes to bake, play all kinds of sports, and go to concerts.”
Bailey Way, PhD (she/her) graduated with her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She has defended her dissertation titled, “Initial Pornography Use and Current Pornography Use Among a Sample of Americans.” Bailey is currently a professor in Utah.
Todd Jennings, PhD (he/him) graduated with his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Todd is interested in compulsive sexual behavior, chemsex, LGBTQ+ mental health, sexual health, behavioral addictions, and classification of psychopathology. Todd just completed his doctoral internship at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS:
Justin Mykovich, B.A. (He/Him) is a recent graduate of UNLV, currently applying to Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs. Justin’s interests center around externalizing compulsiv
ALUMNI
- Kimberly S. Stevens, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
- Yen-Ling Chen, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Northern Taiwan
- Repairer Etuk, Ph.D.
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
- Jessica Habashy, Ph.D.
- Peninsula Behavioral Health, Staff Psychologist
- Kaelyn R. Griffin, Ph.D.
- Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Resident, VA San Diego Healthcare System
- Tiange (Patrick) Xu, Ph.D.
- Postdoctoral Researcher, UNLV International Gambling Institute