Meet our current team!
Ryan Hill, PhD - Lab Director
Ryan Hill is a professor in the Department of Psychology at LSU and a licensed psychologist in the state of Texas. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Psychology, then received his masters and doctoral degrees in clinical science of child and adolescent psychology from Florida International University. He is the head and founder of the Research for Suicide Prevention Lab. His research interests are focused on suicide preventions among child, adolescent, and emerging adult populations. This includes more specific areas of interest such as examining interpersonal processes as they relate to the development of suicidal thoughts, developing web-briefed interventions to reduce suicidal risk and enhance resilience, and studies to prevent suicide among underrepresented and underserved populations. For more information on his recent publications, click here or visit his faculty page here.
Austin Starkey, B.S., Graduate Student Researcher
Austin Starkey is a first-year graduate student at LSU working with the SPRL Lab. He was born in Lima, OH and graduated from Florida State University with a B.S in Psychology and Sociology. After graduating, he worked in Dr. Pamela Keel’s Eating Behaviors Research Clinic at Florida State where he managed an R01 examining the biobehavioral indicators of binge eating disorder among adult women. Following this, he took a position as a research associate with the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative for VEterans (STRIVE) where he worked with Dr’s. Craig Bryan, Justin Baker, and Lauren Khazem on clinical trials specifically aimed at treating suicidality. His research interests include suicide prevention among transition age youth, namely those from minoritized and underserved populations. Additionally, he is interested the development of treatments for non-suicidal self-injurious behavior among adolescents. In his free time, he likes to spend time with his girlfriend Emily and their three cats, Dr. Wilson, Dwight, and Angela.
You can contact Austin through his email: astar32@lsu.edu
Tyler Hendley, B.S., Graduate Student Researcher
Tyler Hendley is a first-year graduate student on Dr. Ryan Hill’s Suicide Prevention Research Team. Tyler is from Kannapolis, NC, and graduated from Clemson University’s Honors College with a B.S. in psychology and a minor in life sciences. While at Clemson, he worked in Dr. Robin Kowalski’s Social Psychology Lab where he researched K-12, college/university, and mass shootings. After graduation, Tyler was accepted into McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School’s Post-Baccalaureate Clinical Fellowship in the Simches Center of Excellence in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. While at McLean Hospital, he served as a Community Residence Counselor, Clinical Educator Specialist, and research assistant at the 3East DBT Adolescent Residential Program. As a research assistant, under the supervision of Dr. Alan Fruzzetti, he tracked treatment progress and outcomes of adolescent patients receiving treatment at the 3East DBT Program. After graduating the fellowship, Tyler rejoined Dr. Kowalski’s research endeavors to investigate suicidality and mass shootings. His research interests include suicide prevention in child and adolescent populations, examining interpersonal processes as they relate to suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and gun violence on a mass and individual level. In his free time, he likes to fish, attend sporting events, and listen to live music.
You can contact Tyler through his email: thendl1@lsu.edu
Brityn Strickland, Honors Student
Brityn is a third year undergraduate student majoring in psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience. A fun fact about Brityn is that she has an orange cat named Crowbar. In her free time she enjoys watching RuPaul's Drag Race with her roommates!
Jackson Bolner, Lab Assistant
Jackson Bolner is a third-year undergraduate student at LSU. He is a psychology major, and after graduation, he would like to go to graduate school for either clinical psychology or counseling and become a LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). In his free time, he enjoys training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and reading.
Ava Wood, Lab Assistant
Ava is a senior psychology major at Louisiana State University. She wants to have her own private practice for marriage and family counseling. She loves to travel and some of her favorite places she has been to include India, South Africa, and Costa Rica.
Alyson Rivers, Lab Assistant
Alyson is a third-year undergraduate at Louisiana State University and is currently in her first semester working in the SPRT lab. She is majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Forensic Psychology. Her research interests include psychological trauma and suicide prevention, with a special focus on survivors of sexual violence. In her free time, Alyson enjoys art, yoga, and dancing.
Caleb Yaccarino, Lab Assistant
Caleb is a third-year undergraduate at Louisiana State University majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology. His goal is to help figure out ways to improve the mental health of individuals and to learn the ins and outs of psychology studies. A fun fact about Caleb is that he is from New Jersey, but he knew he was going to go to LSU since the age of ten.
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Madison Williams, Lab Assistant
Madison is a fourth-year undergraduate at Louisiana State University majoring in psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience. Her interests include psychological disorders and behavior. In her time outside of class, Madison is a member of the LSU Colorguard.
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Elizabeth (Beth) Frait, Lab Assistant
Beth is a fourth-year undergraduate at Louisiana State University majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology. She wants to attend graduate school for clinical psychology, or criminology and hopes to become a clinical psychologist. She is interested in helping people with suicidal thoughts. In her free time, she enjoys reading, sewing, and playing video games.
Ruth Nolen, Lab Assistant
Ruth is a second-year undergraduate at Louisiana State University double-majoring in plant and soil systems and chemistry. A goal of Ruth's is to explore their varied interests while getting their bachelor's degree and eventually attend graduate school to continue contributing to meaningful research. Their hobbies include hiking and supporting LSU athletics.
Shania Winchester, Lab Assistant
Shania is a third-year undergraduate at Louisiana State University majoring in psychology. Some goals that she is currently working toward are attending graduate school to pursue a degree in clinical or counseling psychology, among other things. A fun fact about Shaina is that she loves to dance!
Aaron Gotte, Lab Assistant
Aaron is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in psychology and an MBA graduate student. He is an early graduate intending to enter doctoral studies and conduct business-related psychological research. Aaron enjoys karaoke, his two beautiful cats, Chinese language, and fitness.
Alena Knieper Lab Assistant
Alena is a senior at Louisiana State University double-majoring in biology and psychology. She intends to pursue graduate school to obtain a Master's degree in Neuroscience. In her spare time, Alena enjoys reading and writing.
Former Lab Members
Zain Hussain, BA
Sophia Abbahou
Carter McCray, BA
Blake Vieyra, BA
Kaylee Perkins, BA
Arya Menon
Janie Morgan, BA
Amelia Todd, BA
Jaidyn Procell, BA
Frequent Collaborators
Mitigation of Suicidal Behavior (MOSB) Lab, Dr. Raymond Tucker
Anxiety and Trauma Research Program, Dr. Daniel Capron
SPRL often collaborates alongside the MOSB lab, led by Dr. Raymond Tucker and the Anxiety and Trauma Research Program, led by Dr. Daniel Capron. Both labs are interested in suicide prevention, with MOSB focusing on the testing and adaptation of theoretical models of suicide, the creation of new suicide risk assessment tools, and the identification of unique suicide risk and resilience factors in diverse populations. Dr. Tucker is an associate professor of psychology at Louisiana State University and a licensed clinical psychologist. For more about the MOSB Lab, visit their lab site.
Dr. Capron is an associate professor of psychology at Louisiana State University. For more about the Anxiety and Trauma Research Program, visit their lab site.