Lab Director
Richard B. Slatcher is the Gail M. Williamson Distinguished Professor in the Behavior and Brain Sciences area of the Department of Psychology at University of Georgia.
Post-docs
Dr. Rebecca Walsh is a postdoc in the Close Relationships Lab. Her research examines interpersonal communication, particularly in romantic couples. She focuses on questions such as: How can people elicit high-quality support in times of stress? How and why do support conversations shape personal and relationship well-being over time? And what situational factors promote (or stifle) open self-disclosure and responsiveness—two key intimacy-building behaviors—in everyday conversations?
If you are interested in writing an NSF, NIH or foundation-based post-doctoral fellowship to do a post-doc in our lab, please email lab director Rich Slatcher at richard.slatcher@uga.edu.
Graduate Students
Ceyda Ozer received her B.A. and M.S. in Psychology from Sabancı University in Istanbul, Turkey, and is a doctoral student in Social Psychology at UGA. Her research broadly focuses on day-to-day social interactions with close and weak ties, and how these interactions shape well-being. She is especially interested in how people forecast and evaluate their everyday social interactions with weak ties, and how these judgments are reflected in their social behavior and well-being. She is also interested in how these processes vary across different cultural contexts and social situations.
Brandi Reynolds received her BS in Psychology from the University of Florida and her MA in Psychological Research from Texas State University. She is currently a doctoral student in Social Psychology at UGA. Her research broadly focuses on the role of sexuality within romantic relationships, and specifically how couples can enhance sexual desire and satisfaction. Her research also explores current trends such as the sex recession and dating outlooks.
Sara Cloonan received her BS in Psychology and History from the University of Richmond and is a doctoral student in social psychology at UGA. Her research uses a multimethod approach to investigate the interpersonal mechanics of emotion regulation within close relationships, focusing on the dyadic processes that facilitate emotional recovery and promote positive relationship outcomes. Her research also explores the role of responsiveness and affectionate touch as key catalysts that "boost" the effectiveness of interpersonal emotion regulation.
Lab Alumni
Daisi Brand received her Ph.D. in social psychology at University of Georgia. She is now an Assistant Professor at Lafayette College.
Alessia Telari was a visiting international scholar in the UGA Close Relationships Lab in 2024. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Milano-Bicocca and is now a post-doc at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
Christina Leckfor received her Ph.D. in social psychology at University of Georgia. She is now a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
Michael Harvey received his Ph.D. in social psychology at University of Georgia. He is now a Data Scientist at Johnson & Johnson in Jacksonville, FL.
Sabrina Bierstetel received her Ph.D. in Social and Personality Psychology at Wayne State University. She is now an Assistant Professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Russell Houpt was the data manager for the ALOFT project. He recently earned his PhD in quantitative psychology from Arizona State University.
Dr. Ledina Imami received her Ph.D. in Social and Personality Psychology at Wayne State University. She is now an Assistant Professor of psychology at Oberlin College.
Dr. Julia Briskin received her Ph.D. in Social and Personality Psychology at Wayne State University. She is a research Data Scientist at the National Center for Principled Leadership & Research Ethics (NCPRE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Allison Farrell was a postdoc in the Close Relationships Lab and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Miami University (Ohio).
Maria Alonso-Ferres was a Visiting International Scholar in the Close Relationships Lab in 2018. She is now an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Granada.
Dr. Sarah Stanton was a postdoc in the Close Relationships Lab and is now a Senior Lecturer (tenured Associate Professor) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Samuele Zilioli was a postdoc in the Close Relationships Lab and is now an Associate Professor in the departments of Psychology and Family Medicine at Wayne State.
Dr. Erin Tobin received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Wayne State University and is now an integrated clinical health psychologist in Academic Internal Medicine (AIM) at Henry Ford Hospital.
Dr. Keith Welker received his Ph.D. at Wayne State University and is now a Senior Research Scientist at the Constructive Dialogue Institute.
Dr. Heidi Kane was a postdoc in the Close Relationships Lab and is now an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Dr. Peilian Chi was a postdoc in the Close Relationships Lab and is now an Associate Professor at the University of Macau.