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Principal Investigator
Nev Jones, PhD. Nev is an associate professor in the Pitt School of Social Work and an interdisciplinary mental health services research with formal training in continental philosophy, community psychology, psychiatric rehabilitation and medical anthropology. Nev has published widely on the sociostructural determinants of mental health/disability, SMI and SMI-focused services, the peer support workforce and the involvement and leadership of individuals with personal experience of psychiatric disabilities in research.
Doctoral Students
Christina Bomnae Babusci, MSW (she/her) is a third year doctoral student, with a focus on Asian Pacific Islander disparities in public sector mental health services. Additional interests include comparative cultural research and broad ethnoracial disparities in the context of serious mental illness. Christina previously worked as an early intervention in psychosis clinician in Philadelphia, and she currently provides direct therapy and API community advocacy for an API-serving community mental health agency. She serves as the lead research coordinator for PathLab’s School, Work and Disability Benefits study (NIMH R01) and works across the Maryland – Pennsylvania NIMH Early Psychosis Intervention Network hub (CLHS), co-chairing the provider council, and organizing the Hub webinar series Advocacy in Action. Christina is also PI of a Pitt Center on Race and Social Problems / RISE-MH pilot grant focused on understanding differences in the experiences of individuals with schizophrenia in South Korea and the United States.
Christian Porter, MSW. Christian (he/him) is a doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. He earned his Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from Eastern Michigan University while interning at Michigan Medicine's HIV/AIDS Treatment Program, followed by a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Pittsburgh with an internship at UPMC Hope Team. Christian's professional journey includes working at Michigan Medicine's Psychiatric Emergency Services and a local homeless shelter in Ann Arbor, the Delonis Center. Through these experiences, he observed the interconnectedness of services and the cyclical nature of social issues, motivating him to pursue a PhD.
Kathryn T. Luk, LGSW, MSW (she/her) is a doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. She received an MSW from the University of Pittsburgh’s joint MSW/PhD program and a BS in Neuroscience with a minor in Public Health from the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences. Her scholarship employs trauma-informed and recovery-oriented lenses to examine service user outcomes associated with experiencing compulsion and coercion within the mental healthcare system. Her dissertation will evaluate the use of, and factors associated with compulsion and coercion within New York state’s Assisted Outpatient Treatment system, with a specific focus on ethnoracial disparities. Informed by her personal and professional experiences working with victim/survivors of gender-based violence accessing the mental healthcare system, Kathryn’s long-term goals are to continually evaluate and implemented the integrating trauma-informed care and recovery-oriented services into behavioral health systems.
Shannon Pagdon, BA. Shannon (she/they) is a doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Forensic Psychology at Jon Jay College of Criminal Justice and is a former Research Coordinator for EPINET New York State Psychiatric Institute. Shannon is someone with lived experience of psychosis and has a background in peer support. She is the co-creator of Psychosis Outside the Box and is currently serving as the Vice President of lived experience research within IEPA.
Undergraduate Students
Thomas Cahill (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Research Coordinators
Callie Bennet, MSW. Callie is a recent MSW graduate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. They received their Bachelor of Science in Counseling from Lesley University. Callie worked in various clinical settings including inpatient, residential, and outpatient mental health before pursuing a research career in 2023. Their research interests include autism, trauma and development, self-harm, suicidality, and clinical education.