Director
Tamika Zapolski (she/her), PhD, HSPP is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine, with a dual appointment in the Department of Psychology at Indiana University - Indianapolis. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Kentucky in 2013 and completed her clinical internship at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Her research focuses on risk for substance use and other health behaviors among racial/ethnic minority youth and young adults, particularly Black youth and young adults.
Given limited integrative literature on understanding Black American risk for alcohol use and related problems, Dr. Zapolski developed a theoretical model for alcohol use among Black Americans that was published in Psychological Bulletin. Using this theoretical model and an ecological framework, Dr. Zapolski has expanded on her research to also understand risk/protective for other substance use outcomes and mental health challenges. Specifically, she is examining the interactive effect of cultural variables (e.g., discrimination, racial socialization, racial identity) on physiological, individual level (e.g., personality, expectancies, perceptions of risk), interpersonal (e.g., parental/peer support, parent/peer substance use and mental health challenges), and environmental (e.g., access to drugs, school support, neighborhood disorganization, violence exposure) factors to better understand substance use and mental health challenges among youth and young adult populations.
Dr. Zapolski is currently supported by several internal and external funders, including Indiana University IU Responding the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge Funds, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She is a core faculty member within the Adolescent Behavioral Health Research Program (BHP), a multidisciplinary team of researchers within Indiana University created to improve the health and well-being of youth and young adults through research, education, and intervention. Dr. Zapolski is the director of Community Engagement within the BHP, as well as the director of the Youth Coalition, a youth-led program aimed at providing leadership and training opportunities for youth aged 13-18 in the Indianapolis area. She is also a mentor, and previous scholar, for the NIH-funded Learning for Early Careers in Addiction & Diversity (LEAD) Program and a mentored scientist with the NIH-funded Center for Translational and Prevention Science (CTAPS).
Staff
MacKenzie Whitener (she/her), MPH, CCRP, has served as a full-time Clinical Research Coordinator and PRISM lab manager since 2018. In her current role, she focuses on fostering relationships with local schools and community partners, and oversees all aspects of PRISM lab studies. Collaborating closely with Dr. Zapolski, she manages multiple diverse clinical research studies while also assisting with study design, participant recruitment, enrollment, and retention, logistics management, and initiatives for lab expansion. MacKenzie also plays a crucial role in preparing manuscripts, writing grants, and training new team members.
Her research centers on Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and its potential to improve access to mental health care in rural and underserved communities. She is particularly dedicated to implementing and evaluating mental health interventions for adolescents in school settings.
Alexa Harris (she/her), BA serves as a Clinical Research Specialist with the PRISM lab. She works on the IU School of Medicine's Youth Coalition (YOCO), which engages youth aged 13-18 in mental health research and community-based projects. Her research interests include community mental health interventions and health disparities.
Graduate students
Ian Carson (he/him), MS, is a 5th year doctoral student in the PRISM lab. His research interests center around developing a comprehensive understanding of risk and protective factors related to negative mental health outcomes in the context of online sexual orientation discrimination. Ian's overarching goal is to leverage information about these factors to create innovative mobile health interventions to address the harmful effects of exposure to online sexual orientation discrimination, whether through direct harassment or vicarious exposure. He currently holds a master's degree in clinical psychology from IUI and has published in journals such as Archives of Sexual Behavior, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, and Health & Justice, among others. His research aims to contribute to the broader understanding of LGBTQ+ mental health and inform policies and practices that support this community. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community himself, he hopes to bring a unique perspective which leverages his lived experience as a gay man to his research.
Devin Whitt (he/him), BS is a 4th year doctoral student in the PRISM lab. His research primarily concerns experiences of discrimination and its effects on racial health disparities among young adults. He is specifically interested in understanding factors that reduce racial health disparities in hypertension and cardiovascular disease among African Americans through dieting as well as eating behaviors.
Interns and research assistants
Aaliyah Saunders (they/them), completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Purdue University, West Lafayette. They are a scholar in the Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program for the 2024-2025 cohort. Their research focuses on health disparities affecting marginalized communities, with the goal of highlighting systemic inequities and advancing equitable mental health solutions.
Ariel Hicks (she/her) has worked for the PRISM Lab since 2021. She is a leader for the IU School of Medicine Youth Coalition and assists with various research projects in the lab. Additionally, Ariel is enrolled in a Clinical Counseling program at Marian University in Indianapolis, IN.
Previous StudentS
GRADUATE
Devin Banks, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri—St. Louis
Alia Rowe, Staff Psychologist, Atlanta VA Health Care System and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Richelle Clifton, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington School of Medicine
Shirin Khazvand, Postdoctoral Fellow, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
POST-BAC
Kennedy Pope, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, University of Oklahoma
Rieanna McPhie, Continuing Education Coordinator, CLEARS project, University of Washington
Olivia Staples, Doctoral Student, Clinical-Community Psychology, University of South Carolina
Claudia Byer-Tyre, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, The Ohio State University
Queenisha Crichlow, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Maney Darby
UNDERGRADUATE
Micah Faidley, PhD, CCRP, Research Specialist II, Regenstrief Institute, Inc.
Taylor Pemberton
Peyton Carroll
Rachel Jackson
Adam Barnhill
Skya Rogers
Yewande Adetokunbo
Ian Carson
Abigail Wainman
Jenna Harvey
Tong Meng
Tierni Talley
Natisha Pabla
Ariana Hendricks
Natasha Cheatham
INTERN
Morgan Armor
Lindsey (Jones) Cunningham, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, Florida International University
Venessannah Itugbu
Kanila Brown
Rahissa Winningham
Marcy Beutlich, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, Howard University