Christina McCrae, PhD

Christina McCrae, PhD

Lab director

Bio

Christina S. McCrae received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 1999. Her research focuses on comorbid insomnia, objective and subjective sleep assessment, and day-to-day variability in sleep and related behaviors. Under her direction, research in the Mizzou Sleep Research Lab is grounded in a theoretical framework in which hyperarousal operates as a key mechanism underlying insomnia and many other common health-related complaints and co-occurring medical and behavioral problems.

Dr. McCrae specializes in the development of targeted Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) protocols that are adapted to meet the unique needs of patients who experience insomnia in the context of other chronic conditions. Because chronic insomnia typically occurs in the context of other conditions and stressors, her clinical trial research impacts a wide variety of patients (children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, chronic pain, cardiac disease, cancer, end stage renal disease) and other populations (older adults, overweight and obese individuals of all ages, dementia and other caregivers).

Her program of interdisciplinary clinical sleep research is intended to contribute to the establishment of best practices in behavioral healthcare based on evidence, to enhance quality of life in individuals and families affected by insomnia, to elucidate the mechanisms underlying chronic insomnia and related conditions, and to train future generations of clinical scientists.

Lab Staff

Neetu Nair

Neetu Nair

Postdoctoral Fellow

Bio

Neetu Nair holds a doctoral degree in neuroscience from University of Missouri. She has a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Biomedical Engineering from Model Engineering College, India. Her research interests lie primarily in human brain imaging. Her dissertation work examined the neural correlates of stress on cognitive functioning in healthy humans. She is trained in MRI, fMRI and MR Spectroscopy acquisition and analysis and has extensive experience working with the autism population in these settings.

In the Mizzou sleep research lab, Dr. Nair is involved in multiple clinical trials examining the effectiveness of behavioral interventions, e.g., virtual reality-based relaxation techniques, in improving neurophysiological, cognitive and mood outcomes in patient populations with chronic insomnia, chronic pain, autism, etc. She will receive advanced training in neurophysiological data acquisition and analysis as part of her postdoctoral fellowship.

Riley Stephens

Riley Stephens

Lab Coordinator

Bio

Riley Stephens is the Lab Coordinator at the Mizzou Sleep Research lab. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with the University of Missouri. She plans to further her education in Clinical Psychology. She is currently involved in a clinical trial examining the outcomes of behavioral interventions with individuals who suffer with insomnia and chronic widespread pain. In the lab, she is responsible for the coordination of day-to-day operations, participant recruitment, and the assurance of protocol compliance.

Jasmine Berry

Jasmine Berry

Graduate Research Assistant

Bio

Jasmine R. Berry is a third-year PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program from St. Louis, Missouri. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Chicago and her masters degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Missouri. Her current research focuses on measure development and validation for examining social information processing styles and their adjustment correlates in youths and adolescents. Her broader program of research includes extending social information processing styles to include both emotion regulation and affect, alongside cognitions, as well as examining social information processing styles in low-income minority samples.

Jasmine is currently a Graduate Assistant on the Boone County Child Services Grant where she does data analysis and assists with the grant renewal process. She is also a clinician in the MU Psychological Services Clinic, currently seeing general adult clients. As a Graduate Assistant in the Mizzou Sleep Research Lab, she works as a clinician and assessor, administering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and chronic widespread pain.

Kevin McGovney

Kevin McGovney

Graduate Research Assistant

Bio

Kevin McGovney is a first-year PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program. He received his bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His current research focuses on objective and subjective sleep assessment in individuals with comorbid insomnia. In the lab, he works with magnetic resonance imaging, data entry/cleaning, actigraphy processing, and polysomnography. He is currently receiving training in delivering cognitive behavioral sleep interventions for individuals with insomnia.

Mohamed Gaballah

Mohamed Gaballah

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Bio

Mohamed Gaballah is an undergraduate at the University of Missouri studying Medicinal Chemistry, and plans to pursue a career as a medical professional. In the lab he assists with updating and scoring sleep diaries, actigraphy processing, among other tasks.

Dylan Hood

Dylan Hood

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Bio

Dylan Hood is a undergraduate research assistant currently studying Clinical Lab Sciences at the University of Missouri. Dylan has an immense interest in medicine and caring for patients. He plans to apply to medical school in the upcoming years with hopes to become a physician. In the lab, Dylan works on data entry and analysis of sleep and other outcomes, as well as the processing of actigraphy information.

Corrynn Jackson

Corrynn Jackson

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Bio

Corrynn Jackson is an undergraduate at the University of Missouri. She is studying psychology and criminal justice in which she will use to pursue a career in clinical psychology. In the lab, Corrynn assists with various task such as data entry, participant appointments, and scoring sleep diaries.

Tsoi Tran

Tsoi Tran

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Bio

Tsoi Tran is an undergraduate at University of Missouri studying Biological Sciences and Psychology. After graduation, Tsoi plans on attending medical school. In the lab, Tsoi assists with sleep diaries entries, MRIs, PSG, as well as other various tasks.

Lab Alumni

Ashley Curtis, PhD

Ashley Curtis, PhD

Bio

Ashley F. Curtis completed her doctoral degree in psychology with a specialization in brain, behavior and cognitive science and neuroscience at York University. She is broadly interested in healthy and pathological cognitive aging, as well as behavioral sleep medicine. Her dissertation work examined the effectiveness of modality specific cues on improving attention and visual working memory in younger and older adults. In the Mizzou Sleep Research Lab, she is currently involved in several clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of behavioral interventions for insomnia on sleep-related, neurophysiological (e.g., structural and functional MRI), cognitive, and mood outcomes in healthy and patient (e.g., fibromyalgia, autism) populations across the lifespan. As a postdoctoral fellow, Curtis is also receiving training and experience in MRI and fMRI acquisition and analysis, as well as advanced statistical modeling for longitudinal data analysis.

Mattina Davenport

Mattina Davenport

Bio

Mattina hails from Rancho Cucamonga, Ca. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the Clark Atlanta University and a master’s degree in School Psychology at the University of Missouri. She currently is a Doctoral Candidate in the School Psychology PhD program who hopes to become a clinical researcher examining the effectiveness of culturally tailored sleep interventions. Her broader research experiences/interests span exploring the social/cultural and environmental factors that influence sleep, pain, and health outcomes and disparities. Mattina is a senior sleep therapist that supports, and peer supervises, the delivery of CBT-I for various school-aged and adult populations (e.g., families of children with ASD, adults with fibromyalgia, etc.). Additionally, she assists with preparing conference presentations, grant applications, updating CBT-I and sleep hygiene manuals, and lab manuscripts.

Christopher Lewis

Christopher Lewis

Bio

Christopher D. Lewis is a third-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program from Inglewood, CA. Through his studies, he is specializing in Sport Psychology and focusing his research on athletes engaging post-career transitioning. Currently, he works as a Practicum Student at the University of Missouri Student Health Center and a Graduate Research Assistant in the Mizzou Sleep Research Lab. Within the Mizzou Sleep Research Lab, Christopher is receiving training in delivering cognitive behavioral sleep interventions for insomnia and chronic widespread pain.

Justin Levins

Justin Levins

Bio

Justin Levins is an undergraduate student studying biochemistry and computer science at the University of Missouri. He has a strong interest in how computers can make biological problems easier to tackle and loves working with data. In the lab, he works on data entry and analysis, as well as various other tasks.

Dillion McCann

Dillion McCann

Bio

Dillon McCann plans to further his education with a master’s degree in health informatics and/or a master’s in health care administration. Ultimately, he plans to earn a PhD in health informatics. In the lab, he participates in data entry and analysis for the Recharge and SPIN studies. He trains new members of the lab on the protocol for data analysis and oversees their work to ensure the data is being analyzed accurately. He also assists in writing Recharge manuscripts.

Deija McLean

Deija McLean

Bio

Originally from a small town in Ohio, Deija received a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in early and middle childhood studies. Her primary research and clinical interests are autism spectrum disorder and applied behavior analysis (ABA).

Katie McLeod

Katie McLeod

Bio

Katie McLeod is an undergraduate research assistant studying Biology and Psychology with hopes of pursuing an advanced medical degree. In the lab, Katie helps with many tasks including data entry, creating surveys, and assisting in clinical interviews to name a few.

Melissa Munoz

Melissa Munoz

Bio

Melissa earned a bachelor’s degree in cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine, and a master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Missouri. Her research experiences include looking at the persistence and retention of people of color and diverse communities. Melissa has received training in the delivery of a cognitive behavioral sleep intervention designed to target insomnia in children with autism spectrum disorders and learning about the implementation of a clinical trial involving a behavioral intervention protocol.

Himangshu Rathinakumar

Himangshu Rathinakumar

Bio

Himangshu Rathinakumar is an assistant in the Mizzou Sleep Research Lab. She graduated from PSG Medical School in India in 2014 and was recognized as the best intern of her class. She was ECFMG certified in 2017. Her primary interest is in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy. She has participated in WHO-sponsored research on consumer awareness of pharmaceutical drug trials. Her past research experience includes studies on awareness of coronary artery disease and of micro- and macro-vascular complications in diabetics. She currently plays an active role in the upcoming research projects of the lab.

Devin Smalley

Devin Smalley

Bio

Devin Smalley plans to go to graduate school and further his education by getting his master’s degree and then a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience. In the lab he helps by scoring the sleep diaries and then doing data input for the sleep diaries.

Nicole Winkler

Nicole Winkler

Bio

Nicole Winker worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Mizzou Sleep Lab, creating surveys, organizing and processing data and assisting with various tasks around the lab. She helped with participant interviews for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Yuki Yang

Yuki Yang

Bio

Yuki Yang is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri studying Biological Sciences in hopes of attending Pharmacy School when she graduates. In the lab, Yuki assists with sleep diary entries, patient intakes, as well as various other tasks.