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START Team

Our team of clinicians and researchers work together with our colleagues in other disciplines with the goal of better understanding anxiety, trauma and stress-related disorders so that we can offset the negative impact they have on individuals, families, our local community, and society as a whole.

Dr. Alfano

Dr. Candice Alfano is Associate Professor of Psychology, a licensed clinical psychologist, and Director of the Sleep and Anxiety Center of Houston (SACH) at UH. Her research program broadly focuses on the causes, development, and treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders across the life-span. Her research is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Dr. Alfano has published over 60 empirical papers, book chapters, and books, and serves on the scientific council of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).

Dr. Gallagher

Dr. Matthew Gallagher is Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, a licensed clinical psychologist, and Director of the Houston Anxiety Resilience & Treatment (HART) Laboratory at UH. His research interests include evaluating novel behavioral treatments for PTSD and anxiety disorders, identifying mechanisms of change of existing treatments, and understanding psychological factors that promote resilience to PTSD and other anxiety disorders. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology (SMEP), and the Department of Defense (DoD). Dr. Gallagher is the author of over 50 empirical articles, chapters and books.

Dr. Sharp

Dr. Carla Sharp is Professor of Psychology, Director of Clinical Training, Director of the Developmental Psychopathology Lab at UH and Director of Adolescent Research at the Menninger Clinic. Her research program is translational and examines the social-cognitive and affective basis of psychopathology in children and adolescents. She is particularly interested in attachment trauma and how it affects the personality development in children and adolescents. Her research is funded by the NICHD, NIMH and various foundations. She has published over 150 empirical articles, chapters and books.

Dr. Viana

Dr. Andres G. Viana is Assistant Professor of Psychology, a board certified clinical child and adolescent psychologist, and Director of the Child Temperament, Thoughts, and Emotions Lab at UH. His research focuses on temperamental, cognitive, and parenting-related processes associated with the development of anxiety, as well as the nature of the covariation among these processes. Dr. Viana’s research is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in the area of anxiety disorders in both children and adult populations. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders and the Child and Youth Care Forum.

Dr. Vujanovic

Dr. Anka A. Vujanovic is Associate Professor of Psychology, a licensed clinical psychologist, and Director of the Trauma and Stress Studies Center (TaSSC) at UH. Her research program is broadly focused on studying risk and maintenance processes for PTSD, biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying the comorbidity of PTSD and substance use disorders, and treatment development for PTSD and/or co-occurring conditions. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Veterans Health Administration, and various foundations. Dr. Vujanovic has authored over 95 empirical articles, chapters, and books.

Dr. Zvolensky

Dr. Michael J. Zvolensky is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor and Director of the Anxiety and Health Research Laboratory and Substance Use Disorder Clinic (AHRL-SUTC). His research is aimed at identifying mechanisms underlying the co-occurrence of anxiety/stress conditions with problematic health behaviors, such as addictive disorders (e.g., smoking), as well as physical illnesses (e.g., asthma, chronic pain, HIV/AIDS). He has published over 450 peer-reviewed articles and books/book chapters and his work has been funded by NIDA, NCI, NIMH, CDC, among other agencies (e.g., American Lung Association) and foundations.