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 both at the University of Miami, across the country, 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 dreams about all the travel she’ll do post-COVID.
Grad Student
Graduate Student
Stephanie Hudiburgh
Stephanie is a sixth year graduate student in PASO and is currently on internship at the Houston VA. She received her BA in neuroscience from the University of Southern California in 2009, and served as a research assistant within the UCLA Child OCD, Anxiety, and Tic Disorders Program prior to graduate school. Her research focuses on understanding factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of OC symptoms, with a particular interest in how transdiagnostic vulnerabilities (e.g., distress intolerance) interact with disorder-specific cognitions to give rise to OCD. As part of her master’s thesis, she explored the relationship between emotion-related impulsivity and OC symptoms, and her dissertation will investigate the association between specific pandemic-related stressors and OC symptom fluctuation. Outside of the lab, Stephanie can be found listening to far too many podcasts and finding new places to hike in South Florida.
Grad Student
Graduate Student
Hannah Broos
Hannah Broos is a fifth year graduate student in the PASO Lab. 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 and enjoys exploring the local breweries in Miami.
Grad Student
Graduate Student
Amelia Dev
Amelia Dev is a fourth year grad student at PASO. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2017, and then spent three years working as 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, and she is particularly keen to understand how judgment biases influence psychopathology. Outside of the lab, Amelia likes to bake baked goods and eat baked goods, read (fiction), play D&D, and hang out with her cat.
Grad Student
Graduate Student
Amanda Belanger
Amanda Belanger is a second 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
Lauren Milgram is a second year graduate student working jointly in the PASO and CAMAT labs. Lauren worked at PASO as an undergraduate student before graduating with her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 2020. Lauren then completed her post-baccalaureate research training at Brown University Medical School, where she conducted research on pediatric anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Lauren has since returned to the University of Miami to continue her study of anxiety, OCD, and related disorders in youth and adults. She is particularly interested in examining mechanisms of change during cognitive behavioral therapy for these disorders. In her free time, Lauren loves to explore all the restaurants and beaches that Miami has to offer.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Caitlyn Murphy
Simone David
Annia Ibarra
Alexa Riedmiller
Victoria Thomas
Valeria Wakil
