Student-Led Work

Graduate students who wish to conduct their thesis or dissertation in the IMPACT Lab may use data from one of our completed or ongoing projects, or may develop a new project and collect their own data. 

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Undergraduate students who wish to conduct independent study projects (e.g., a Provost Fellowship, and Johnson Scholarship, an Honors Project) typically have worked as an RA in the lab for at least a year, have demonstrated a high degree of competence, reliability, and independent thinking, and propose a project that complements one or more of the current graduate students’ projects, to facilitate an optimal vertical mentoring relationship with Dr. Conley and one or more of the graduate students. 

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Below are current and prior students’ doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis projects. Example undergraduate independent study projects are listed under “Honors and Awards,” particularly the section on “Provost Fellowships.”

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Doctoral Dissertations

• Sarah Broner (proposed August 2024):
  Weight Gain and Psychological Symptom Remission in Multi-Family Therapy for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa

• Maya Hareli (defended April 2025):
  Examining The Impact Of Technology-Enhanced Peer Mentorship On First-Year University Students’ Mental Health And Academic Success

• Carol Hundert (defended April 2022):
  The impact of peer supportive accountability on use of a mindfulness app in depressed college students: A mixed methods study

• Brynn Huguenel (defended April 2021):
  Adherence to a mindfulness app for depressed college students: Patterns, predictors, and outcomes

• Jenna Shapiro (defended November 2018):
  Resilience process profiles of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes as moderators of associations between resilience program efficacy and health-related outcomes

• Alex Kirsch (defended December 2016):
  Disordered eating treatment programs for adolescents and emerging adults: A meta-analytic review of treatment effectiveness and moderators of treatment success 

• Chris Zaddach (defended 2012):
  The Psychosocial Benefits of Living Learning Programs on Students Transitioning to College
   

Master’s Theses

• Michelle Liu (expected proposal April 2026):

       Interpersonal Grief, Disputes, Transitions, and Loneliness: A Cross-Sectional Needs Assessment of U.S. Undergraduate Students

• Ellie Malone (proposed January 2026):

       Leveraging machine learning to identify risk algorithms for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among college students

• Kirby Knapp (defended November 2025):

       Pubertal Timing, Physical Activity, and Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescent Girls

• ​Sarah Broner (defended October 2022):
  Modeling the effect of peer-to-peer mentorship on first-year college student well-being

• Maya Hareli (defended January 2022):
  Examining the bidirectional relations between psychosocial adjustment and academic outcomes among college students

• Carol Hundert (defended October 2018):
  Evaluating Outcomes of the Honest, Open, Proud Intervention in College Students with Mental Illness 

• Brynn Huguenel (defended August 2017):
  Fear of Missing Out: Examining the relationship between individual factors, Social media use, and mental health

• Jenna Shapiro (defended September 2015):
  Trajectories of community and adult identity development in college. 

• Evan Zahniser (defended August 2015):
  Emotion reappraisal moderates the stress-anxiety association in college students. 

• Alex Kirsch (defended October 2013):
  Examining the Moderating Role of Specific Coping Strategies on the Relationship Between Body Image and Eating Disorders in a College-Age Women.

• Daniel Dickson (defended December 2011):
  Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms: The Interaction of Avoidance Coping and Stressor Domains During Freshmen Adaptation to College.

• Ashley Rolnik (defended 2010):
  The Transition to College and Psychological Outcomes: The Effect of Identity Development, College Stress, and Activity Involvement on Disordered Eating and Body Dissatisfaction in First-Year College Women.

 

Undergraduate Independent Study Projects​

• Several examples are listed under “Honors and Awards,” particularly the section on “Provost Fellowships.”