Current Research Vertical Team (RVT) members
Tara Rutter, MS
Email: ruttert@spu.edu
Expected completion year: 2022
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Previous education: MS, Seattle Pacific University; BA, University of California, San Diego
Practica:
University of Washington Autism Center Research Track; Seattle Children’s Autism Center, Seattle Children’s PEARL Clinic, UW LEND fellow
Research interests/dissertation topic:
Emotion recognition across modalities in young children with ASD, biological basis of neurodevelopmental disorders
Julianne Myers, MS
Email: jmyers@spu.edu
Expected completion year: 2023
Hometown: Mission Viejo, California
Previous education: BA, Reed College
Practica: Seattle Children’s RUBI Program, Seattle Children’s SNACS Clinic, UW FAS-DPN, Seattle Children’s Autism Center Mood and Anxiety Program, Seattle Children’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit
Research interests/dissertation topic: Sensory processing impacts on sleep patterns in children with neurodevelopmental disorders during a pandemic; ASD, prenatal alcohol exposure, social attention, sensory processing, sleep development, language and motor development
Vanessa Zhou, MS
Email: zhouv@spu.edu
Expected completion year: 2023
Hometown: Issaquah, Washington
Practica: Seattle Children's Hospital, The Seattle Clinic DBT Program
Previous education: BA, University of Washington
Research interests: executive function, mindfulness-based interventions, developmental disability, mental health inequity, multicultural psychology, racial trauma
Chloe Quinnett, MS
Email: quinnettc@spu.edu
Expected Completion Year: 2023
Hometown: Moscow, Idaho
Previous Education: BA, Whitworth University
Practicum: Providence Autism Center
Research Interests: Parent-child interactions, self-regulations, attachment, effects of trauma in children
Miles Feller, MS
Email: fellerm@spu.edu
Expected completion year: 2023
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Previous education: BA, University of Washington
Practicum: Sound Mental Health
Research interests/dissertation topic: Attention, trauma, self-regulation, cultural identity, externalizing/internalizing behaviors, immigrant trauma, LGBTQ+ mental health, Latin machismo, barriers to treatment, and evidenced-based interventions for at-risk and aggressive youth
John Strom, BA
Email: Stroma1@spu.edu
Expected Completion Year: 2024
Hometown: San Diego, California
Previous Education: BA, University of California Riverside
Research Interests: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Executive functioning, Emotional Regulation, Neuropsychological evaluation.
Kaitlyn Drafton, BS
Email: draftonk@spu.edu
Expected completion year: 2025
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Previous Education: BS, Arizona State University
Pre-Practicum: The Incredible Years: Dinosaur School at The Seattle Clinic
Research interests: neurodevelopment disorders, ASD pathology, executive functioning
Research Vertical Team (RVT) Members at Internship
Elizabeth (Liz) Bisi, MS
Email: eabisi@spu.edu
Expected completion year: 2021
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Previous education: MS, Seattle Pacific University; BA, Scripps College
Internship: Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
Research interests/dissertation topic: neurodevelopmental disabilities, motor and language development in children with ASD, sensory processing and integration, adaptive functioning, and social skill deficits
Dissertation: "Impacts of Motor and Sensory Impairment on Language in Young Children with Autism"; successfully defended June 2020