Meet Michael Pellicane, a University Fellowship recipient. Michael is a Psychological Sciences Ph.D. student studying Clinical Psychology.
Please give a short overview of your research.
My research focuses on mental health among sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations, particularly how cognitive processes like attention and rumination serve as a mechanism in the development of SGM mental health disparities.
What made you choose to pursue your graduate degree here at Kent State?
I chose to attend Kent State because of my research mentor, Jeff Ciesla. His supportive and flexible mentorship style has allowed me to pursue research in graduate school that I could not have done anywhere else.
What do you enjoy most about attending Kent State for graduate school? and/or What do you anticipate taking advantage of at KSU?
I have enjoyed the psychology faculty’s passion for research and their generosity in supporting students with their own research.
What are your future goals?
My long-term goals are to continue my research on gender and sexual minority mental health as a professor and to conduct assessments for gender-affirming medical care.
What does this award mean to you and how will it aid you?
My dissertation will examine the relationship between attentional bias to threat, experiences of minority stress and discrimination, and mental health symptoms in sexual minorities. The University Fellowship will allow me to devote more time to my dissertation work and prepare it for publication.