Lab Members
Lab Director: Blair Wisco
Blair Wisco is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the director of the Cognitive, Psychopathology, and Emotion (CoPE) lab. Her research focuses on cognitive biases and emotion regulation processes in emotional disorders, particularly depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Blair's Email: bewisco@uncg.edu
Link to Blair's Google Scholar
Link to Blair's Faculty Page
Graduate Students
Faith Nomamiukor
Faith Nomamiukor graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Houston in 2018. She is now a 5th year graduate student and is applying for internships in Clinical Psychology. Faith’s dissertation is focused on understanding sociocultural determinants (i.e., masculinity and social support following trauma disclosure) of mental health among men who are survivors of sexual trauma.
Faith's Email: fonomami@uncg.edu
Link to Faith's Google Scholar
Cameron Pugach
Cameron graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2015 and an M.A. in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2017.Broadly, his research interests include PTSD and depression. He is interested in integrating experiential reports with physiological and behavioral indices to better understand how emotion regulation processes and cognitive styles (e.g., rumination) contribute to the manifestation and maintenance of these psychological disorders.
Cameron's Email: cppugach@uncg.edu
Link to Cameron's Google Scholar
Shae Nester
Shae graduated with their B.S. in Psychology from Liberty University in 2019 and M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Towson University in 2021. Broadly, they are interested in trauma, dissociation, and trauma-related emotions, cognitions, and physiological reactivity. They are also interested in using experience sampling designs and idiographic methods.
Shae's Email: Msnester@uncg.edu
Interested in becoming a graduate student?
Dr. Wisco will be accepting clinical psychology doctoral applicants for the 2023-2024 academic year. Students with a primary interest in PTSD would be a good fit with the lab. The incoming student would have opportunities to get involved in an NIH-funded project using ambulatory physiological assessment to measure reactivity to trauma cues in the daily lives of individuals diagnosed with PTSD and trauma-exposed controls. We also recently finished a lab-based project examining emotional and physiological effects of trauma-focused rumination, and have several active collaborations both within UNCG and with researchers at other institutions. Training is available in experimental psychopathology, ecological momentary assessment, and in acquisition and analysis of peripheral psychophysiology including heart rate variability, impedance cardiography, and skin conductance. Ongoing data collections focus on mixed-trauma civilian populations, but there are opportunities to conduct secondary analyses of datasets involving military veterans. In terms of my mentoring style, I use a "junior colleague" model, encouraging graduate students to develop their own lines of programmatic research with my guidance and support. Students from groups historically underrepresented in academia are especially encouraged to apply. You can find more information on how to apply for the doctoral program here.
See more pictures of the lab here!
Undergraduate and Post-bacc Research Assistants
Amanda King
Amanda is a volunteer research assistant while she finishes her undergraduate degree. She joined the CoPE lab because she had an interest in PTSD and was looking for hands-on experience in research. She is currently applying to graduate schools. In her free time, she enjoys paddle boarding with her two dogs.
Brayden Brigman
Brayden is a sophomore undergraduate at UNC Greensboro. He joined the CoPe lab to explore and gain greater understanding of his interests while also gaining experience to eventually apply for graduate school to get a PhD in clinical psychology. He enjoys reading, poetry, and watching football. :
Ainsley Strader
Ainsley is a senior undergraduate student studying Psychology and Sociology at UNCG. She joined the CoPE lab to learn more about the clinical research experience. She is interested in applying for graduate school for clinical psychology and wants to be a counselor to help those who struggle with their mental health. In her free time, she enjoys playing videogames, reading novels, and playing with her cat, Chicken Noodle Soup.
Morgan Wheeler
Morgan is currently a junior at the university. In addition to psychology, she studies French and Peace and Conflict Studies. She came to the CoPE Lab to pursue her research interest in emotion regulation, trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder. A fun fact you might not know about her is that she holds the title of the 2022-2023 Miss Black and Old Gold for the state of North Carolina.
Breanna Rogers
Breanna is a senior undergraduate student and research assistant at UNCG . Upon graduation in May, she is interested in pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology. Her research interests broadly include emotional regulation processes, personality pathology, trauma, and psychopathology amongst underrepresented minorities. In her free time, she enjoys video games, reality television shows, and baking.
Alumni
Natalie Gay
Lauren Farmer
Rachel Suresky
Amanda Hubert
Katie Goldsmith
David Harp
Katie Nicholson
Amanda Campbell
Mark Rogers
Karys Normansell
Amber Borcyk
Lola Ademoyero
Ryan Ridpath
Daphne Hill
Maria Ditcheva
Jennifer Haskins
Olivia Wells
Eileen Barden
Alexis Mongold
Amanda Baeten
Ashley Underwood
Parker Martin
Sarah Pitts
Alexa Britt
Cassidy Bennett
Kestyn Harris
Brittany Lutton
Joshua Brown
Taylor Wilds
Andy Fox
Calyssa Ponder
Rebecca McLean
Casey Scott
Autumn Roux
Allie Campbell
Casey May
Aanchal Lal
Myranda Cook
Ei (Crystal) Thinzar
Elizabeth Sandoval
David Miller
Dane Rivers
Sophia Priest
Joshua Grainger