Laboratory Personnel

Director

Julia Buckner is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at LSU and the Director of LSU's Anxiety and Addictive Behaviors Laboratory & Clinic. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at LSU-Health Sciences Center and a Visiting Professor at the London South Bank University School of Applied Sciences. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Buckner's program of research primarily focuses on: (1) psycho-sociocultural causal and maintaining factors implicated in substance use disorders and co-occurring anxiety-substance use disorders; and (2) development and evaluation of empirically-informed treatment and prevention protocols for substance use disorders, including treatment for co-occurring anxiety-substance use disorders. Dr. Buckner has had over 190 publications and she has utilized a variety of methodological procedures in her research, including ecological momentary assessment, affect and craving induction paradigms, attentional processing paradigms, technology-based interventions, and randomized clinical trials. She has been involved in several NIH grants as PI, co-PI, consultant, and sponsor and is currently Project Director on a graduate education training grant from the US Department of Health & Human Services' HRSA. She has also received awards from organizations such as the American Psychological Association, College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, and Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Addictive Behaviors & Anxiety Disorders Special Interest Groups.

Graduate Students

Paige Morris received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Temple University in 2017. She joined LSU’s Clinical Psychology program in 2020. Her research interests include examining sex differences in substance use behaviors and identifying psychosocial factors, such motivational and context-specific differences in substance use that predict problem severity and treatment outcomes, especially among cannabis users. She will complete her pre-doctoral internship at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in New Orleans.

Caroline Scherzer received her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development from Virginia Tech in 2018. She joined LSU’s Clinical Psychology program in 2021. Her research interests include improving treatment outcomes for adults with substance use disorders (especially opioid use disorders) by identifying mediating and moderating factors involved in the onset, experience, and maintenance of maladaptive behaviors in order to translate this information into evidence-based interventions. 

Katie Thomas received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Cognitive Science from Rice University in 2019. She joined LSU’s Clinical Psychology program in 2023. Her research interests include the interaction of traumatic stress on substance use patterns as well as identifying protective factors that reduce risk for the development of substance use disorders. 

Luke Vargo joined LSU’s Clinical Psychology program in 2023 after receiving his Master of Arts degree in Psychological Research from Texas State University the prior spring. His research interests pertain to the transdiagnostic mechanisms between substance use (particularly cannabis use) and anxiety disorders in hopes of refining available evidence-based psychological treatments.

Christopher Buenrostro joined LSU's Clinical Psychology program in 2024 after receiving his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Santa Clara University the prior Spring. His research interests include the etiology and treatment of substance use disorders.

Undergraduate Students

Delaney Sawicki-Lake is a sophomore at LSU majoring in psychology. She plans to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include anxiety disorders and the grief process.

Elanna Russell is a junior at LSU majoring in psychology, with a concentration in forensic psychology and a double minor in philosophy and criminology. She plans to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include behavior analysis.

Emma Coleman is a sophomore at LSU majoring in psychology. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school. Her research interests include the impacts of substance misuse on social networks and family functioning, as well as the psychosocial factors involved in these relationships.

Kaden Trantham is a senior at LSU majoring in psychology. He plans to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a focus in neuropsychology. His research interests include dementia and other neurocognitive disorders.

Paris Turtle is a junior at LSU majoring in psychology. She plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in psychiatry. Her research interests include aging.

Honors Students

Amelia Knox is a senior in LSU’s Ogden Honors College, majoring in psychology. Her honors thesis project concerns the impact of imposter syndrome on undergraduate students’ mental health and alcohol-related behaviors. She plans to attend graduate school in counseling psychology and become a therapist. 

Lan Qiu is a junior majoring in Psychology with double minors in Business Administration and Chinese.. Her research interests include the mental health of marginalized groups, particularly racial minorities, and anxiety. She plans to attend graduate school in clinical psychology.