Kelsey Winkeler: Clinical Psychology PhD Student

Thanks for visiting my website!

I am a graduate student researcher in Brooks Casas and Pearl Chiu’s labs in the Computational Psychiatry Unit at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute of Virginia Tech Carillion.

Our labs are at the intersection of computer science, neuroscience, clinical psychology, and economics; we design studies that investigate social interactions, psychopathology, and response to treatment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and microeconomic games. A great open access recent example of our lab’s work is this paper on reinforcement learning in depression.

If you want to get in touch, feel free to contact me using the links in the sidebar, or email me to set up a meeting.

CV

Click here for a PDF of my CV!

Research

My dissertation is investigating changes in neural habituation that occur after residential treatment for PTSD in Veterans, using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). You can read a previous paper published on this by Dr. Katie McCurry

I am also collaborating with Vansh Bansal and Dr. Dong-Youl Kim on a real-time neurofeedback project leveraging this paradigm to determine whether neural habituation to negative stimuli can be altered in PTSD.

My preliminary examination was a systematic review of symptom improvement-related changes in neural substrates of PTSD in adults; it is currently under consideration for publication at the Journal of Affective Disorders. One unique aspect of this paper is that I included all studies of PTSD that captured neuroimaging data and symptom data before and after treatment– regardless of treatment type or fMRI paradigm. This will be helpful for future researchers seeking a comprehensive guide to the studies that have been performed in neural substrates of PTSD treatment– as previous reviews were limited to psychotherapy.

My masters thesis uses an iterated Trust Game and functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate aspects of trust and its neural substrates that are disrupted in Veterans with PTSD. Currently, we are building upon this work using a belief-learning model to understand different aspects of trust: initial expectations, responsiveness to partner behavior, belief learning rate, and altruistic behavior. Most recently, I presented on this project at the Society for Biological Psychiatry meeting 2025 in Toronto, and at the Society for the Science of Clinical Psychology poster competition at ABCT 2025 in New Orleans.

I am also collaborating with Dr. Zhuoya Cui and Dr. Lusha Zhu on a study of Veterans with PTSD that uses a novel economic social competition task and a different belief-learning model to understand the behavioral components driving interpersonal conflict: conflict aversion, inequality aversion, belief learning rate, and social status preference.

Talks

My research focuses on interpersonal interactions in Veterans with PTSD, using economic games and fMRI. You can learn a little about it under the Talks tab. Most recently, I presented at the Society for Biological Psychiatry meeting 2025 in Toronto, and at the Society for the Science of Clinical Psychology poster competition at ABCT 2025 in New Orleans.

Publications

I currently have three publications in the works: two research articles related to cooperative and competitive interactions in PTSD, and one systematic review of symptom improvement-related changes in neural substrates of PTSD (submitted to the Journal of Affective Disorders).

Before my PhD, I collaborated on a few interesting studies involving various combiations of plants, genetics, and volatile metablomics, which you can read about in my Publications tab.

Clinical Portfolio

I recieved specialized training in two modalities: Parent Child Interaction Therapy at Carilion Children’s in Pediatric Behavioral Medicine, under the supervision of Dr. Tara Mitchell, and in dialectical behavior therapy at Boston Child Study Center in Portland, Maine, working under the supervision of Dr. Michael Hollander.

I was additionally a graduate student clinician and supervisor at the Psychological Services Center at Virginia Tech, under the supervision of Dr. Chloe Hudson in my fourth year; under the supervision of [Dr. Adrienne Means-Christensen] (https://blacksburgbehavioralhealth.com/) in my second year; and under the supervision of Dr. Lee Cooper in my first year. For more information about my prior clinical experience, check out the Clinical Portfolio tab.

Teaching

Previously, I was an AmeriCorps member and a middle and high school science teacher. This sparked my passion for equity and accessibility in education and healthcare. You can read a little about my teaching experience under “Teaching”.

In my free time, I also still provide mentoring and outreach to undergraduates at my alma mater, the College of Wooster, via the Fighting Scots Career Connections website, as well as a handful of high school students. If you’re not a Wooster alum and would like advice about grad school, being a first-generation college student, or anything else, feel free to send me an email and we can chat.

Other Adventures

I have a few other interests outside of research. I like to garden and especially enjoy growing dahlias; I recently hybridized some for the first time and will begin growing the seeds next year! I have an excellent rescue dog that likes to go for long walks and sigh dramatically. I’ve run two marathons (Indianapolis and Maine Coast) and a number of half marathons veeeery slowly; some day, I hope to run a marathon in every state!