The social, health, AND risk perception lab
Meet the team
Primary Investigator
Graduate Students
Nicolle Simonovic, MA
Jeremy Foust, MA
Abigail O'Brien, BA
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Kaitlyn Warakomski
Shannon Aber
Muyi Li
Charlie Coward
Jennifer M. Taber, PhD
Jennifer Taber (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor at Kent State University in the Department of Psychological Sciences. She received her BA in Psychology at American University and her MS and PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Utah. Dr. Taber was a postdoctoral cancer research training award (CRTA) fellow for 2 years in the Behavioral Research Program of the National Cancer Institute. Her research lies at the intersection of social and health psychology and centers on promoting health behavior change across multiple domains. One of her major research interests is understanding when and why risk perceptions predict behavior and how to intervene to increase the likelihood that providing risk information will lead to behavior change, particularly in the domain of providing genetic risk feedback.
Contact Info:
Email: jtaber1@kent.edu
Office: Kent Hall Annex 309
Phone: (330) 672-3783
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Courses Taught:
Health Psychology (41581)
Psychology of Risk Communication (Seminar, 41495/81591)
Social Psychology (61580/71580)
Nicolle Simonovic, MA
Nicolle is a fifth year PhD student in the Psychological Sciences program at Kent State University. She is interested in the intersection of social psychology and health psychology. In her line of research, she uses social psychological theory and methods to understand engagement in health behaviors, particularly how perceptions of risk and ambiguity as well as defensiveness influence psychological responses to health information. Other areas of focus include the use of self-affirmations and construal tasks as intervention strategies for health promotion. Nicolle received her Bachelor's degree in Psychological Science from John Carroll University. In her free time she enjoys running, cooking, and taking adventures with family, friends, and her adorable dog Eddie.
Contact Info:
Office: Kent Hall 390
Phone: (330) 672-2319
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Courses Taught:
Psychology of Everyday Life
Health Psychology
Career Pathways In Psychology
Research Methods
Social Psychology
Jeremy Foust, MA
Jeremy is a third year PhD student in the Psychological Sciences program at Kent State University. He is interested in studying how people understand their health risk information, including instances in which people chose not to learn their health information—health information avoidance. He is also interested in learning about different research methodologies and statistical techniques that can be leveraged to understand health risk perceptions. Jeremy received his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Baldwin Wallace University and his Master's degree from Kent State University. In his free time, Jeremy likes to spend time with his partner, friends, and family. He also enjoys all things soccer related: watching soccer, reading about soccer, and playing soccer video games.
Contact Info:
Office: Kent Hall 390
Phone: (440) 554-8045
Pronouns: He/him/his
Courses Taught:
Quantitative Methods in Psychology
Health Psychology
Abigail O'Brien, BA
Abigail is a second year PhD student in the Psychological Sciences program at Kent State University. She is interested in utilizing social psychological theory to understand how people think about their health. Particularly, Abigail is interested in defensive responses to health information and how that subsequently influences engagement in health behaviors. Abigail received her Bachelor's degree from Kent State University. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, listening to podcasts, and spending time with her friends and family.
Contact Info:
Office: Kent Hall 390
Phone: (330) 410-4497
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Kaitlyn Warakomski
She/her/hers
Kaitlyn is currently a senior majoring in Psychology with a Counseling Careers concentration and minoring in Anthropology. After graduating, she plans on getting her Master’s in School Psychology. Kaitlyn is especially interested in social and cognitive psychology, and archeology. In her free time, she likes to read, make art, travel, and spend time with her friends and family.
Muyi Li
She/her/hers
Muyi is currently a senior majoring in Psychology. After graduation, she plans to continue gaining experience in a research lab. She plans to attend graduate school where she is interested in child development, including their trajectory and the development of risks. Muyi is also interested in how familial relationships affect child development. In her free time, Muyi enjoys photography, traveling, her cats, taking walks, and playing video games.
Shannon Aber
She/her/hers
Shannon is a senior majoring in psychology and minoring in human sexuality. After she graduates, she will go onto graduate school to pursue her goal of becoming a clinical or counseling psychologist. Her research interests include health psychology, assessment, discrimination in health care, and chronic illness. She is also a RA in Dr. Himmelstein’s SWAG Lab. In her free time she likes to travel, play cozy games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, and work on her family tree.
Charlie Coward They/them/theirs
Charlie is a junior majoring in psychology with a minor in biology. After graduating, they plan to attend graduate school and get their Ph.D. in Health Psychology. Specifically, they are interested in the various reasons why people choose to avoid healthcare information and what strategies they may use to cope with learning their risk. Outside the lab, they love to travel, play Dungeons and Dragons, and complete paint-by-numbers of their favorite game concept art.