I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Houston, where I am advised by Drs. Matthew Gallagher and Clayton Neighbors. My research interests focus on risk (e.g., sleep, distress tolerance) and resilience (e.g., mindfulness, psychological flexibility) processes at the intersection of addictions, trauma and health disparities. Recently, I was awarded an NIAAA F31 Predoctoral Fellowship (Parent F31) for my study entitled, An Examination of the Effects of Global Sleep Disturbance and PTSD on Alcohol Cue Reactivity. Individuals with PTSD/SUD represent an especially complex, prevalent, and difficult-to-treat population marked by an especially severe and chronic clinical course. I aim to dedicate my developing career as a clinical scientist to the pursuit of this line of research and, in particular, evidence-based treatments for this highly common psychiatric comorbidity within diverse and vulnerable populations.I highly value interpersonal connections and love working as a team with my colleagues. I'm always looking for new ways to connect! Be sure to check me out on ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lia-Smith) and Project SHORT (https://www.project-short.com/pre-grad-mentors/lia-smith)
Listed skills include Research, Psychology, Nonprofits, Teaching, and 26 others.