Mr. James P. Soeffing graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2000 with a BA in Psychology. Upon graduation, he took a position working with Dr. Michael Perlis as a polysomnographic technician at the University of Rochester Sleep Research Laboratory. In the three years that followed, he went on to become both the lab technical coordinator and a Registered Polysomnographic Technician (RPsgT). Mr. Soeffing is now a doctoral student
in the clinical psychology program at
The University of Alabama, with a concentration in
health psychology. He
is currently working
on his dissertation involving the behavioral treatment of insomnia comorbid with bereavement. His
current research interests include behavioral sleep medicine and sleep difficulties associated with post traumatic stress disorder. Beginning in September 2008, Mr. Soeffing will be attending the internship in clinical psychology at the Syracuse VA Medical Center.
James can be contacted at
soeff001@bama.ua.edu
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Mr. Gregory S. Vander Wal graduated from
Samford University (Birmingham, Al) in 2005 with a B.A. in
psychology. Mr.
Vander Wal is currently a fourth year doctoral student in clinical health psychology at the
University of Alabama under the supervision of Dr. Kenneth Lichstein. He focused his masters thesis on developing a measure of perceived sleep related distress as it relates to people with insomnia. His research interests include behavioral
sleep medicine, the
assessment of sleep related phenomena, health behaviors, and comorbid insomnia.
Greg can be contacted at
gsvanderwal@bama.ua.edu.
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Mr. Yuriy Ustinov graduated from The
University of Texas at Austin in 2005. He received a B.A. in Sociology
with a minor in Psychology. Yuriy is currently a doctoral student in the
clinical health concentration of the clinical psychology program at The University
of Alabama. His research interests include behavioral sleep medicine,
health psychology, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Yuriy can be contacted at
yustinov@bama.ua.edu.
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Ms. Megan E. Ruiter graduated from the University
of Arizona in 2005 with a B.S. in psychology. While at the University
of Arizona she completed a senior honors thesis under the supervision of Richard R. Bootzin, Ph.D. She also worked at The University of Arizona Sleep Respiratory Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Stuart Quan.
She is currently a third-year doctoral student in clinical health psychology under the supervision of Kenneth L. Lichstein, Ph.D. She focused her master's thesis on a meta-analysis of ethnic differences in normal and disordered sleep between Caucasian Americans and African Americans. She currently works at the Alabama Neurology and Sleep Medicine Sleep Disorders Center treating primary and comorbid insomnia with behavioral sleep medicine. Her primary research interests are in
behavioral sleep medicine, health psychology, and the relationship
between sleep, ethnicity, memory, and anxiety.
Megan can be contacted at meruiter@bama.ua.edu.
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Haley Dillon graduated from the University of Georgia (UGA) in 2005 with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing. While at UGA, she was involved with a study looking at the behavioral and psychological pathways through which sexual victimization affects physical health. The following year, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on behavioral interventions for smoking cessation.
Haley is currently a second year doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Alabama. Her research interests include behavioral sleep medicine, health psychology, and comorbid insomnia.
Haley can be contacted at hrdillon@bama.ua.edu
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Mr. S. Justin Thomas graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with a B.S. in biology and in 2008 with a B.S. in psychology. His undergraduate psychology honors thesis examined the sleep behaviors in a population of subjects with epilepsy. While a student at UAB, he worked in both clinical and research capacities as a registered polysomnographic technologist. He also conducted circadian rhythm research as a Dement Fellow under the direction of Dr. Mary Carskadon. Justin is currently a first year doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Alabama. His research interests include behavioral sleep medicine, insomnia, and the impact of poor sleep quality on various medical conditions.
Justin can be contacted at sjthomas1@bama.ua.edu.
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