Graduate Students
Miguel Blacutt (he/him)
Email: mblacutt@nd.edu
Miguel is a doctorate student in clinical psychology at the University of Notre Dame and joined the lab in 2023. Miguel graduated with a BSc from McGill University and an M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Miguel is interested exploring dynamic risk and protective factors for suicide and non-suicidal self-injury in real-time. Outside of the lab, Miguel enjoys running, college football, and spending time with his family (partner, dogs, reptiles).
Irene (they/them) is a third-year graduate student in the clinical program. They hold a BA in Psychology and Statistics from Smith College and previously worked in the Nock Lab at Harvard and the BaCH Tech Lab at McLean Hospital. Irene’s research focuses on the risk and protective factors in suicidal behaviors, particularly why some individuals stop themselves while others proceed with suicide attempts. Their work seeks to understand how the capacity to engage in different strategies varies between (e.g., sociocultural factors, individual differences) and within individuals (e.g., during crises), with the goal of developing personalized and accessible interventions that account for these complexities. Beyond research, Irene is committed to disseminate scientific findings and implement scalable interventions in minoritized communities. Outside of work, Irene enjoys watching sunsets and meditation. Learn more about Irene here.
Veronika Kobrinsky (she/her) is a second-year Clinical Psychology PhD student. Her research focuses on leveraging multimodal approaches (e.g., experience sampling, passive sensing, machine learning) to improve the real-time identification, prediction, and intervention of self-injury and suicide risk. She is particularly interested in the momentary cognitive-affective and interpersonal mechanisms that drive dynamic, heterogeneous shifts in vulnerability and effective coping processes, with the ultimate goal of using this knowledge to inform the development of just-in-time adaptive interventions. Guided by implementation science frameworks, her work aims to expand access to crisis services for underrepresented groups through the equitable co-design, implementation, and evaluation of scalable, evidence-based interventions and digital complements to care. Before joining ASSIST, she earned her B.S. in Psychology from Fordham University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, running, and spending time with her friends, family, and puppy.
Nick Parkos (he/him)
Email: nrparkos@wisc.edu
Connor O’Brien (he/him)
Email: cmobrien7@wisc.edu
Connor is a first-year graduate student in the ASSIST Lab. He received his B.S. in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he also worked as a research assistant. He then joined the ASSIST lab in February of 2023 and worked as a research coordinator in the lab through June 2024. Connor’s research focuses on understanding daily risk and protective factors for non-suicidal self-injury, as well as understanding mindfulness and acceptance among individuals with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Outside of the lab, Connor enjoys hiking, swimming, reading, and good coffee.
Ethan Weires (he/him)
Email: weires@wisc.edu
Ethan is a first-year graduate student in UW–Madison’s Clinical Psychology doctoral program. He received a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Iowa and prior to joining the ASSIST Lab, Ethan was a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Mood and Behavior Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is interested in improving the short-term assessment and prediction of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and non-suicidal self-injury, especially through the measurement of temporally and descriptively fine-grained features of risk over time. Additionally, Ethan is interested in using data collected with real-time methodologies to inform theory development and prevention efforts. In his free time, Ethan enjoys spending time with his family, going on long drives, and training jiu jitsu.