FAQ | The BISQue Lab

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are your lab goals and topics studied?

We have two main goals in the BISQue Lab:

Examine how body image concerns (e.g., body dissatisfaction), positive body image (e.g., body appreciation), and eating behaviors (e.g., disordered eating) affect the mental health of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Identify ways to disseminate and implement LGBTQ-affirmative, evidence-based mental health treatment for clinicians to access working with LGBTQ+ clients.

We currently have several ongoing studies aligned with our lab’s goals.

Specifically, some of our current studies include:

Testing the protective role of community connection in the association between intraminority gay community stress and disordered eating.
Assessing the measurement invariance of a gay community stress scale among racially and ethnically diverse sexual minority men.
Examining the current state of sexual orientation and trans-inclusive gender identity reporting in the top eating disorder journals.

…and more! Check out our Current Research page for more studies and details. If your research interests align with our lab goals and current studies, we encourage you to apply!

What is your approach to mentorship?

Overall, my mentorship style takes a developmental and individualized approach. In terms of development, I try to provide mentorship that meets students where they’re at in their training. For example, for mentees in their first-year of graduate school, I generally provide more guidance and structure in terms of brainstorming of research ideas, manuscript writing, writing code for statistical analyses, etc., in contrast to mentees in their fifth-year for whom I aim to provide a greater level of autonomy in these areas. In terms of individualized mentorship, I also recognize that each student brings different strengths and experiences into graduate school, which I try to match in my mentorship. For instance, my mentorship in terms of manuscript writing would look differently for a first-year graduate student who just completed undergrad, in contrast to a first-year graduate student who has three years of post-bacc experience working in a research lab.

In past years of interviewing applicants, I have been asked specific (and thoughtful) questions about my mentorship, for which two of them are below:

How much feedback do you provide on papers (e.g., manuscripts, thesis/dissertation proposals, etc.) to your mentees? I provide lots of feedback, both in terms of strengths (e.g., “this is a strong and convincing paragraph”) and constructive comments (e.g., “these sentences are a bit unclear – try addressing XYZ first before talking about ABC”). My intention of providing a lot of feedback is to support your growth in research writing and as a researcher. Aligned with my overall developmental and individualized approach to mentoring, the amount of feedback I provide tends to decrease as my mentees further progress in their training.

How often do you meet with your graduate students? I schedule 1:1 meetings with my graduate students on an every-other-week rotation. I find that this frequency of meeting regularly provides enough contact to touch base about various projects, while at the same time recognizing that you’re balancing multiple other responsibilities (e.g., clinical work, class work, personal life tasks). That said, I keep an “open-door policy” in that I am happy to meet with my graduate students more frequently (e.g., once per week), if helpful. In addition to 1:1 meetings, I hold a “grad student only” lab meeting approximately two times per month as an opportunity for all my mentees and I to meet as a group. Most recently, I’ve used this time to discuss professional development-related topics and mentorship of undergraduate RAs.

What are expectations of graduate students in the lab in terms of

research outcomes and responsibilities?

Consistent with my developmental and individualized approach to mentorship, I recognize that every student will have different trajectories in their training. With that in mind, below are tentative expectations for a student joining my lab, along with the required research milestones in Miami’s Clinical Psychology PhD program:

Year 1 – My primary “expectation” is for students to acclimate to graduate school and moving to southwestern Ohio. For anyone, regardless of where you’re moving from or what you were doing before starting your PhD, this is a big transition! In terms of individual research, you will be expected to begin developing an idea for your master’s thesis. (Note: For students coming in with an approved master’s thesis, you will similarly be expected to develop a first-year project). Additionally, you will begin working on current projects in the lab (e.g., developing IRB protocols, collecting data, writing analyses, manuscript preparation), as well as gaining public presentation experience at conferences (e.g., the Midwestern Psychological Association, ABCT).
Year 2 – In the Fall semester of the second year, you will propose your master’s thesis. You will also continue your work in the lab, with additional responsibilities (e.g., mentoring undergraduate RAs, engaging in advanced quantitative and qualitative analyses, leading or co-leading manuscripts). At the beginning of Year 2, you will also begin clinical work in the program’s training clinic. As such, a professional development expectation in this year is to begin navigating how to balance your research and clinical responsibilities. By the end of the summer in Year 2, you will be expected to have defended your master’s thesis.
Years 3-4 – In Year 3, students in Miami’s program begin a clinical traineeship in the community to further develop their clinical skills. Along with clinical work, you will propose and defend your comprehensive exam (i.e., “comps”), which can take the form of a comprehensive review (e.g., systematic review) or portion of a grant proposal (e.g., Specific Aims, Research Strategy, and Human Subjects sections). My expectation is that the comps milestone serves as an actual product for submission (e.g., systematic or scoping review manuscript, grant proposal). Following comps, students will begin work on their dissertation, with the expectation to propose by the end of Year 4. During Years 3-4, since students will likely be on traineeship both years, my expectations in terms of lab responsibilities will be less compared to Years 1-2. That said, students can remain involved in lab studies and publications depending on each student’s capacity and interest, pending sufficient progress is being met in their clinical training.
Years 5 – Students will work primarily on their dissertation, with the goal of defending before starting internship. I also recommend that students aim to complete (or come close to completing) any additional research projects before starting internship in the following year.

I should note that the experiences listed above are not a complete list. For instance, opportunities like teaching and applying for student funding (e.g., NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program) will also be available. Overall, my expectations will vary student-to-student based on your individual research goals and interests.

What are qualities or experiences you look for in prospective graduate students?

First, I’d like to acknowledge that applicants who have applied to work with me in past years clearly have a wealth of research, clinical, and personal experiences, which makes the admissions process both challenging and exciting! That said, below are certain qualities that I consider important when reviewing applications:

Primary interest in LGBTQ+ research, particularly related to body image and/or eating behaviors. My goal as a mentor is to train future clinical researchers who pursue careers focused on conducting research that can improve the lives and mental health of LGBTQ+ individuals. As a licensed psychologist, I have a deep appreciation for clinical work, especially for LGBTQ+ clients who have historically not received high-quality, appropriate care from clinicians. However, if your career goal is to work primarily as a clinician, training in my lab would not be aligned with my goal as a mentor. In summary, prospective graduate students who would be a “good fit” in my lab are those who are interested in conducting LGBTQ+ research consistent or closely related to the lab’s goals, with intentions of pursuing a career focused on research.

Prior experiences (broadly defined) that have prepared you for graduate school. My expectation of incoming first-year graduate students in my lab is that you will have had prior experiences that have prepared you for PhD-level training. “Experiences” can mean a lot of things, including but not limited to: working as a post-bacc in a research lab, getting first-hand lab experience as an undergraduate RA, presenting a research poster at a conference, or writing a senior thesis during undergrad. An important caveat is that I recognize such opportunities are not equitably accessible to everyone based on one’s identities and environmental circumstances. In such cases, I encourage applicants to share what experiences they have had, and how such experiences have prepared them and/or led to their interest in pursuing research in my lab.

Prior experiences (broadly defined) working with LGBTQ+ or marginalized populations. Like the previous point, “experiences” can mean a lot of things, including but not limited to: working in a research lab focused on LGBTQ+ or other marginalized populations, clinical work (e.g., at a crisis call center), volunteering at an LGBTQ+ community center, or advocacy work. As mentioned previously, my goal as a mentor is to train students with a primary interest in conducting LGBTQ+ research aligned with the goals of my lab. For that reason, an applicant who has an interest in body image or eating disorders broadly (not LGBTQ-specific) would not be a good fit for the lab.

Additional questions commonly received from prospective graduate students.

Below are questions that I’ve commonly received or often hear from prospective graduate students.

My interests are related to physical health outcomes, like obesity, among LGBTQ+ people. Would I still be a good fit for your lab?
- No, my lab does not conduct research on obesity or any obesity-related constructs (e.g., weight loss/dieting, weight management). Relatedly, my lab is committed to inclusivity, respect, and equity for individuals of all body shapes and sizes.

I am interested in LGBTQ+ mental health broadly, but not necessarily body image or eating disorders. Would I still be a good fit for your lab?
- Likely not; my goal is to recruit students with interests that closely align with the lab’s goals, which center around body image, eating behaviors, and related topics (e.g., weight stigma) among LGBTQ+ people.

Is there any advantage to emailing you expressing interest in your lab? Am I able to schedule a brief meeting with you before applying?
- The answer to both questions is no. Regarding the first question, I do not give greater consideration to applicants who email me. Regarding the second question, based on the high number of applicants who express interest in my lab, I am unable to meet with students before our program’s interview dates. Once the application period ends, I closely review and give full consideration to each application received.