alumni – Page 11 – GWU Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Ana Maria del Rio Gonzalez, Ph.D. alum of the Applied Social Psychology program, receives 2017 CFAR Adelante Award for AIDS research

cgeeJanuary 21, 2018July 26, 2018

October 26, 2017

Please join us in congratulating DC CFAR Investigator, Ana Maria del Rio Gonzalez, PhD, as the recipient of the 2017 CFAR Adelante Award. Through Adelante, the Centers for AIDS Research strive to develop early-career investigators who focus on HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care in the Latino/Hispanic community. Dr. del Rio Gonzalez's project is entitled, "Factors associated with PrEP intentions and use among Latina immigrant transgender women in the DC metropolitan area".

This study will focus on individual and social-structural factors associated with intentions to use and actual use of PrEP among Latina immigrant trans women, ages 18 and older, living in the DC metropolitan area. The specific aims are: (1) To gain a culturally-grounded understanding of individual and social-structural factors associated with PrEP intentions and use among Latina immigrant trans women in DC.; (2) to assess levels of PrEP awareness, intentions and use among Latina immigrant trans women, as well as changes in these levels over a 6-month period, and to examine how individual and social-structural factors are associated with these changes, and (3) to synthesize the qualitative and quantitative results, and assess the validity of the findings.

Click here for more information on the CFAR Adelante Program.

Alumni Spotlight – Aaron Moffett (BA ’99)

rwatkinsNovember 16, 2017January 20, 2018Leave a comment

As Team USA head coach at the Invictus Games, Aaron Moffett, BA ’99, combines his psychology training and his sports passion to help veterans overcome physical and emotional wounds.

At the Toronto opening ceremonies of the 2017 Invictus Games, with dignitaries like Britain's Prince Harry and former president Barack Obama looking on, USA Head Coach and Columbian College alumnus Aaron Moffett, BA ’99, took a moment to survey his team of athletes. They included a world record-holding Navy swimmer who lost both his eyes when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan; a one-armed archer whose Air Force squad was ambushed by a terrorist cell in Indonesia; a wheelchair cyclist who, after years of serving as linguist for the Air Force, developed debilitating multiple sclerosis; and a veteran servicewoman who found a measure of peace in the pool after struggling with the effects of a sexual assault.

“These wounded warriors are overwhelmingly resilient, incredible people who are dedicated to their country,” Moffett said. “I am privileged to be even a small part of their recovery.”

Read the full story: https://columbian.gwu.edu/coaching-wounded-warriors-across-finish-line

Alumni Spotlight – Isaiah Pickens (BA ’05)

rwatkinsNovember 16, 2017January 20, 2018Leave a comment

After graduating from GW ('05), Pickens initially planned to pursue careers as both an actor and a psychologist. It didn’t take long, he said, to learn that “you can’t go on auditions and get your PhD at same time,” he said. But after earning his doctoral degree at Fordham University, Pickens was determined to combine psychology and entertainment as a means of reaching a broad audience. He created iOpening Enterprises, a multi-media company that promotes accessible health messages to young people through books, film and life skills workshops. He is a regular contributor to Psychology Today, HuffPost and BlackDoctor.org, and he has appeared in national media outlets to discuss the psychological implications of current events as they relate to trauma and mental health issues.

Read the full story: https://columbian.gwu.edu/guiding-troubled-teens