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Our Team

Thania Galvan, PhD
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Thania Galvan, PhD
Principal Investigator
thania.galvan@uga.edu
Dr. Galvan is the director of the FUERTE lab and an assistant professor in the clinical psychology program at the University of Georgia. She received her doctorate from the clinical child psychology PhD program at the University of Denver, did an APA-accredited internship in the child track at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and completed an NIMH-funded T32 postdoctoral fellowship in traumatic stress at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is also a scholar in the Latinx Immigrant Health Alliance (LIHA). Her research is centered on promoting the well-being and positive development of Latinx youth and their families via the elimination of health disparities. Specifically, Dr. Galvan uses community-driven, culturally and contextually responsive research methodologies to understand the factors that contribute to, maintain, or exacerbate health disparities for Latinx families. As a bilingual (Spanish/English) and bicultural psychologist, she is also a strong advocate for increasing diversity and representation in the mental health field.
Area of Interest:
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Latinx Youth and Families
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Latinx Immigrant Health
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Mental Health Disparities
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Traumatic Stress
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Developmental Psychopathology
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Community-Based Research Methodologies
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Lab Coordinators

Ximena is a third year student at the University of Georgia. She is a double major in Cognitive Science and Psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience. Her research interests include Latinx populations, mental health, neuropsychology, & cognitive and developmental disorders, Following graduation, she plans to go onto a clinical psychology doctorate program where she hopes to specialize in neuropsychology. Outside of school, she enjoys spending the majority of her time with her family watching a movie, going on walks, or baking some simple but sweet goods.
Ximena Cabrera

Cindy Argueta
Cindy is a third-year student at the University of Georgia who is majoring in psychology with a minor in American sign language. Her research interests include parental roles and how they influence mental health in Latinx families, specifically the influence they have on children. She is also interested in the relationship between trauma exposure and Latinx mental health. After graduation, she plans on taking a gap year before eventually applying to PA school. In her spare time, she likes attending concerts for some of her favorite artists.
Graduate Students

Amanda Perozo-Garcia
Amanda is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at UGA. She is interested in researching mental health in Latinx youth and within the Latinx family structure. In her free time, Amanda likes to dance, do yoga/pilates, and cook

Dominique L. La Barrie
Dominique is a 5th-year developmental psychology graduate student with a focus on the impact of racial discrimination on Black and Latinx families and youth. Her research explores how cultural processes like ethnic-racial socialization can mitigate discrimination's negative effects. She aspires to pursue an academic career and support underrepresented marginalized students in academia. In her free time, Dominique enjoys watching movies, knitting, and weightlifting
Undergraduate Research Assistants

Gabby Schlossberg
Gabby is a third-year student who is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Criminal Justice. She is very interested in mental health and it's impact on risk-taking/criminal behavior. After graduation, she hopes to attend a Clinical Psychology PhD program. In her spare time, she loves traveling and going to concerts.

Bansari Shah
Bansari is a second-year Health Promotion major with an emphasis in Behavioral Medicine. After graduation, she plans to apply to medical school to pursue a career as a pediatrician. In her free time, she likes baking, traveling, and going on hikes!

Sofia Castañeda
Sofia is a third-year psychology major. She is passionate about psychology and is interested in seeing how it can be applied to help alleviate the mental health disparities that exist in the Latinx community. After UGA, she want to get her masters in school psychology and hopefully follow it up with an EdS. In her free time, she enjoys going to the gym and hanging out with friends.

Gabriela Castillo
Gabriela is a third-year Biology major at the University of Georgia. Her passions include research focused on Latinx communities and serving at the Good News Clinic in Gainesville, GA as a Medical Assistant and Medical Translator. She has aspirations of attending medical school and opening a non-profit primary care clinic that serves low-income families. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and jogging on scenic trails.

Jarissa Navarro
Jarissa is a third-year student at the University of Georgia who is majoring in Biology. After graduation, she plans on working as a medical assistant before eventually applying to PA school. In her spare time, she enjoys painting and gardening
