{"id":187,"date":"2024-08-13T10:35:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T14:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/heesack\/?page_id=187"},"modified":"2026-03-19T08:38:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:38:41","slug":"doctoral-students","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/heesack\/lab\/doctoral-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Recent Graduates<\/h1>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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DR. KIRSTEN KLEIN<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kirsten Klein is a post-doctoral research associate in Department of Applied Psychology at New York University. In 2025, Dr. Klein won the American Board of Professional Psychology Art Nezu Outstanding Dissertation Diversity Award<\/span>\u00a0and completed her predoctoral internship at Mass General Brigham Hospital in Boston, MA. She was advised by Dr. Heesacker, but served as the Associate Director and Research Fellow for the UF Health Cancer Center’s Community Partnered Cancer Disparities Research Collaborative (CDRC), which is led by Dr. Carolyn M. Tucker. Her research interests include promoting health equity for marginalized and underserved communities. Specifically, she is interested in co-creating culturally sensitive health promotion interventions and addressing systemic barriers to wellness. When not doing research, Kirsten enjoys playing piano and bass guitar, spending time with family, and taking care of her chinchilla, Chai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

DR. MEAGAN HENRY<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Meagan is a staff psychologist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Student Counseling Center, serving medical and professional graduate students. She completed her internship at Mental Health Services at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. She was advised by and worked extensively with Dr. Carolyn Tucker until a change in Dr Tucker’s academic appointment. She completed her doctoral training with Dr. Heesacker as her advisor. Her clinical interests include individual and group therapy focusing on interpersonal processes. Her research interests include examining factors associated with quality of life in older adults and the use of health technology to improve accessibility to mental health care. When not doing research or seeing clients, Meagan enjoys playing video games, going to craft fairs with friends, and reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

DR. PEARIS JEAN \u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Pearis (formerly Bellamy) Jean is a tenure track faculty member at Towson University. She was co-advised by Dr. Della Mosley and Dr. Martin Heesacker. Pearis was also a graduate research member of the WELLS Healing Center led by Dr. Mosley. Her research interests include culturally mindful healing interventions for survivors of trauma, specifically intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and racial trauma. She was awarded the Henry C. and Audrey S. Schumacher Fellowship for outstanding doctoral dissertation work in UF’s Department of Psychology.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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DR. DEXTER WILBORN<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dexter Wilborn is a Postdoctoral Resident in Health Psychology at the Tampa Veterans Administration Hospital. His research interests include fitness and psychological health, complementary and alternative medicine, religiosity, and eating disorders. When not doing research, Dexter enjoys playing music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

DR. DYLAN\u00a0LARSON-KONAR<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Dylan Larson-Konar is a post-doctoral fellow in adult psychotherapy at Birch Psychology, Boulder, CO. In 2022, He completed his predoctoral internship at the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Ph.D. in counseling psychology at the University of Florida. His research interests broadly surround gender, sex, and stigma toward psychological help-seeking. Dr. Larson-Konar\u2019s dissertation applied a self-determination theory framework to model sexual well-being. He enjoys yoga, meditation, biking, and soccer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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DR. KRISTEN KENT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kristen Kent is in independent practice in Cambridge, MA, focusing specializing in treating anxiety, depression, crises of meaning, life transitions, and relationship difficulties. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Harvard Medical School\/Cambridge Health Alliance in 2022, the same year she completed her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Florida. Her research interests include philosophy of science, pseudoscience in psychology, intellectual humility, and psychotherapy processes and outcomes. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, lifting, and entering the wizarding world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Lab Alumni<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t
Dr. Melissa Gluck, 2020<\/th>Dr. Billy Palmer, 2020<\/th>Dr. Sarah Conlin, 2019<\/th>Dr. Natalie Weldon, 2018<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
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