PASO: THE PROGRAM FOR ANXIETY, STRESS, AND OCD
PASO: THE PROGRAM FOR ANXIETY, STRESS, AND OCD
The Program for Anxiety, Stress, and OCD (PASO) is a clinical research program committed to understanding the causes, consequences and associated features of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and hoarding disorders. We are involved in cutting-edge research on the biological, psychosocial, and cognitive risk factors for mood and anxiety disorders.
In addition, we engage in research collaborations with other laboratories at the University of Miami, across the United States, and even across the world. We provide both group and individual cognitive-behavioral therapies for a variety of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and hoarding concerns

TEAM MEMBERS
Lab Director
Lab Director

Dr. Kiara Timpano
Dr. Kiara Timpano is the Director of the Program for Anxiety, Stress, and OCD (PASO), and a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UM. She received her PhD from Florida State Unviersity and completed her postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School. Her research interests include understanding risk and vulnerability factors that play a role in the etiology, comorbidity, and maintenance of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Dr. Timpano is a member of the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board of the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF). In her spare time, Dr. Timpano follows her montessori calling with various DIY projects, loves getting outside, and travels whenever possible.
Grad Student
Graduate Student

Hannah Broos
Hannah Broos is a student in the PASO Lab and is currently on internship at McLean Hospital. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Bowdoin College in 2017, and then spent two years working at the Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Hannah is broadly interested in investigating transdiagnostic risk factors for mood and anxiety disorders. She is particularly interested in exploring the role of cognitive biases and affective vulnerabilities (e.g., intolerance of uncertainty and distress tolerance) in the etiology and maintenance of psychopathology. In her spare time, Hannah plays ultimate frisbee.
Grad Student
Graduate Student

Amelia Dev
Amelia Dev is a fifth year graduate student at PASO. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2017 and then worked as a lab manager with Dr. Don Moore at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and as a project coordinator with Dr. Sheri Johnson in Berkeley’s Clinical Psych department. Her research interests surround judgment and decision making in mood disorders, anxiety, and OCD. She is particularly keen to understand how cognitive biases, specifically biases in predictive processes, influence psychopathology. Outside of the lab, Amelia likes to bake baked goods and eat baked goods, read fantasy books, travel, and hang out with her cat.
Grad Student
Graduate Student

Amanda Belanger
Amanda Belanger is a third year graduate student in the PASO lab. She earned her B.S. in Psychology and French Language & Literature from Fordham University in 2019. Amanda spent two years working with Dr. Emily Stern at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her research interests involve mechanisms and maintenance of OCD and anxiety disorders. Specifically, she is interested in transdiagnostic factors such as anxiety sensitivity, emotion regulation, and cognitive avoidance. In her free time, Amanda enjoys exploring Miami, taking care of her many plants, cooking, baking, and crafting.
Grad Student
Graduate Student

Lauren Milgram
Grad Student

Judy Xu
Research Assistants

Yewande Shitta-Bey
Yewande is a Sophomore at UM majoring in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry. She joined PASO in Fall 2024. Her research interests lie in the neuropsychological etiology, development, comorbidity, and treatment of mental disorders, particularly anxiety-related disorders. After graduating, Yewande plans to take a gap year to research abroad before pursuing medical school and entering psychiatry.

Thomas Magee
Thomas is a sophomore at the University of Miami majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology and Chemistry. He has been working with the PASO lab since the Fall of 2023. His interests include cognitive science and perception. Thomas hopes to pursue grad school in cognitive science.

Seth Cox
Seth Cox is a Junior at the University of Miami majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Psychology. He has been working with the PASO lab since Spring of 2025. His interests include the biological aspects of psychopathology and data analytics. He hopes to attend Dental school.

Matthew Mason
Matthew is a junior at the University of Miami majoring in Microbiology and Immunology with minors in Psychology, Public Health, and Chemistry. He joined the PASO lab in summer 2025 and is interested in anxiety-disorders, OCD, and their comorbidity. Matthew plans to pursue medical school following graduation.