Meet Our Graduate Students

Doctoral Students

Alaa Alkhalaiwi

Doctoral Candidate
alalk4@morgan.edu

Education
M.S. in Psychology, Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Saudi Arabia
B.S. in Psychology, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia

Biography
Alaa is a sixth-year doctoral student in the Psychometrics program at Morgan State University.  She has a Master's degree and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology.  Her primary research interest is how technology (video and artificial intelligence) can be leveraged to develop psychometric tools, and adapting instruments for use in different cultures. Her secondary research interest is in mental health promotion.

Undergraduate Courses Taught
General Psychology Discussion

R. Jerome Anderson

Doctoral Student
roand4@morgan.edu

Education
MEd., Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment, University of Illinois at Chicago
PhD., Urban Planning, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
JD, Duquesne University
MURP, Urban Planning, University of Pittsburgh
BA, Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

Biography
Jerome is a fourth-year doctoral student and a Research Assistant in the Center for Predictive Analytics. His primary interest is in finding new applications for use of the Rasch model in social and educational research. His interest in psychometrics and use of the Rasch model was piqued in a course in his MEd. program at UIC, and he has been hooked on Rasch ever since. His published works include an analysis of Liberian child nutrition data using the Rasch model. A secondary research interest is analyzing disparities in educational achievement of students in public school secondary education.

Gloria Buame

Doctoral Candidate
glbua1@morgan.edu

Education
M.S. in Educational Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
B.S. in Psychology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

Biography
Gloria is a fifth-year doctoral student. She is currently a Research Assistant in the CRèMe Lab.  Her research goal is to develop culturally sensitive data collection tools that adequately address the needs of diverse populations, especially International students. Her primary focus is the development of an instrument used to measure international students' self-efficacy in test-taking.

With prior research, she was part of a county research project that collected data on preschool effectiveness in grade school using classroom assessment scoring system and behavioral coding system to observe interactions and engagement between teachers and former preschool students from kindergarten to the third grade.

Undergraduate Courses Taught
General Psychology and General Psychology Discussion

Anya Jones

Doctoral Candidate
anjon46@Morgan.edu

Education
B.A. in Psychology, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD
M.A. in Educational Psychology (concentration in Statistical Analysis and Research Methods), Ball State University, Muncie, IN

Biography
Anya is a fifth-year doctoral student who specializes in qualitative and quantitative educational research. Her past research topics include Attention, Sensation and Perception and Multicultural Education in Nicaragua. Anya is currently a Data Quality Analyst and a former teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools. She is an advocate for equitable education and student wholeness initiatives, and works with organizations such as the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Greater Baltimore Urban League to promote youth empowerment. Anya plans to center her future research around K-12 standardized testing, specifically assessment and diagnostic instruments used for Special Education students.

Banji Kumolalo

Doctoral Student
bakum1@morgan.edu

Education
M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
B.Sc. in Psychology, University of Ado-Ekiti, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

Biography
Banji is a fourth-year doctoral student and a Graduate Instructor of an undergradate research methods course.  He is a mental health professional with several years of clinical practice in a tertiary health institution. His research goal is to develop culturally sensitive, relevant, and responsive measures that will sufficiently address the need of diverse populations particularly Africans and African-Americans. His primary focus will be on developing new psychological measures for use in the mental health practice in Nigeria as well as validating, and re-validating of existing measures used in mental health assessment and substance abuse treatment assessment processes in Nigeria. His past research endeavor had focused on Psychological Wellbeing, Depression, Anxiety, Suicide, Substance Use/Abuse among diverse populations and different age groups.  His other research interests include Substance Use Prevention and Recovery.

Erin Murphy

Doctoral Student
ermur6@morgan.edu

Education
M. S. in  Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
B. S. in Public Health Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Biography
Erin Murphy is a first-year doctoral student and Research Assistant in the Center for Predictive Analytics. Her research interests focus on detecting measurement bias in behavioral and psychological assessments, modeling study design features like sampling, and using AI in item and instrument development. She currently works as a Data Analyst at an EdTech firm, where she contributes to the design and analysis of educational assessments for students nationwide.  Previously, she supported a nonprofit organization in conducting multi-stage national surveys on topics including mental health, substance use, and criminal justice. Outside of her academic and professional work, she enjoys social dancing with her fiancé and caring for her collection of houseplants.

Yannick Nsani

Doctoral Student
yansa1@morgan.edu

Education
Ph.D. in Sociology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan-si, South Korea
MSc. in Disaster Risk Management, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
BSc. in Managements, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon

Biography
Yannick is a third year doctoral student with current research focusing on cognitive and behavioral factors that influence speed learning abilities. His previous research measured risk perception to natural and environmental disasters ; coastal flood, typhoon, earthquake and tornado. His future research will i.) Apply Rasch models to ensure invariant unidimensional measurement in the development of psychosocial scales for natural hazards analysis; and ii.) Apply Item Response Theory models (IRT) for measuring personality factors of grit, dogged determination, risk analysis and resilience for student centered success.

Undergraduate Course Taught:  Introduction to Psychology Discussion Sections

Bamidele Ogunleye

Doctoral Student
baogu5@morgan.edu

Education
M. Sc. in Clinical Psychology, Ekiti State University, Nigeria
B. S. in Psychology, Ekiti State University, Nigeria

Biography
Bamidele is a first-year doctoral student and a Research Assistant in the Center for Predictive Analytics. He is a Clinical Psychologist with nearly seven years of experience in the field of Mental Health, practicing with a major health institution in Nigeria. His focus is on the development and refinement of assessment instruments that are culturally relevant and psychometrically valid for the use of diverse populations. His goal is to develop assessment instruments that are devoid of cultural bias and have high psychometric validity for mental health and educational assessment in Nigeria, and to adapt and revalidate the imported instruments being used to ensure they are reliable, valid, and culturally appropriate for Nigerian populations.

Lucy Okam

Doctoral Student
luoka1@morgan.edu

Education
M.Ed. in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation, University of Jos, Nigeria
B.Sc. (ed.) in Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Biography
Lucy is a third-year doctoral student in the Psychometrics program at Morgan State University.  Her primary research interest focuses on understanding human cognitive processes to meet the needs of diverse learners, especially students with special learning needs and marginalized populations. I am particularly interested in modeling individual differences in behavior and cognition through adaptive testing, response time and cognitive modeling. By these approaches, we can develop targeted interventions to enhance human cognition and learning strategies. Her previous research employed a response card as a formative assessment tool to provide feedback mechanism while instruction is ongoing to improve students learning.

Adeola Osabiya

Doctoral Student
adosa2@morgan.edu

Education
M.Ed. in Higher Education in Student Affairs Administration, Salem State University, Salem, Massachusetts
B.Ed. in Adult Education, Concentration in Political Science, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State Nigeria

Biography
Adeola is a first-year Ph.D. student in Psychometrics at Morgan State University. Her research explores the enhancement of psychometric models, the advancement of data-driven educational policies, and the improvement of assessment design and implementation. She is particularly drawn to Adaptive Learning and Assessment Systems, which combine item response theory, test development, measurement validity, and machine learning to support personalized learning and culturally responsive evaluation. Adeola currently serves as a Teaching Assistant (Discussion Leader) for PSYC 101, where she facilitates student engagement and supports foundational instruction in psychology. Her interest in psychometrics emerged from a commitment to improving how educational systems recognize and respond to diverse learning needs. She aspires to develop innovative assessment frameworks that inform policy and empower learners across global educational contexts.

Undergraduate Courses Taught:  General Psychology Discussion Sections

Micah Russell

Doctoral Student
mirus3@morgan.edu

Education
M.S. in Psychometrics, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
B.A. in Psychology, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA

Biography
Micah is a second-year doctoral student at Morgan State University. His research interests are founded in making assessment more accessible to a wider breadth of individuals. He looks to create more engaging and interactive environments in which to assess individuals through the application and use of virtual reality and embodied cognitive techniques. Research interests and experience includes transliminality and visual accuracy and NSF-funded research investigating fire perception.

Merell Turner

Doctoral Student
metur9@morgan.edu

Education
M. A. in Psychology, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina
B. A. in Psychology, Minor in Criminal Justice, Oakland University, Rochester, Illinois

Biography
Merell is a first-year doctoral student and Research Assistant in the GG lab with Dr. Kyle Nolla. Merell champions a biopsychosocial approach to health and wellbeing. She is a dynamic and results-oriented professional with a proven track record in data operations, program evaluation, and user experience research. Her robust understanding of human behavior and data interpretation fortifies partnerships with educational, healthcare, and government institutions to assess quality, promote improvement, and ensure accountability. Merell is interested in the intersection of psychology and technology to facilitate groundbreaking research and digital solutions that foster a whole health approach to improved client outcomes.

Undergraduate Courses Taught
Statistics, Psychology as a Profession, and Psychology Seminar

Godwin Chinemerem Umeobi

Doctoral Student
goume1@morgan.edu

Education
M.Sc. in Forensic Psychology from Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, Nigeria.
B.Sc. in Psychology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Associate Degree in Psychology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.

Biography
Godwin is a fourth-year doctoral student. He is currently a Graduate Instructor for General Psychology. He is a member of the Culturally Responsive Measurement (CRèMe) Lab. Godwin is interested in developing culturally responsive psychological measures and adapting tests developed in other cultures to sufficiently meet the specific needs of various populations, especially Africans. He is also interested in the application of technological tools in cognitive and non-cognitive test development and administration.

Godwin has worked on several projects involving developing and validating survey instruments, data collection (on-site and online), and analysis using SPSS and Process Macro. He aspires to adapt and re-validate frequently used psychological instruments in Nigerian cultural (research and practice) settings.  Godwin's initial research areas were security consciousness and anti-social behavior tendency among young adults in southeastern Nigeria.

Undergraduate Courses Taught
General Psychology and General Psychology Discussion

Master's Students

Shamia Boone

Master's Student
shboo7@morgan.edu

Education
B.S. in Psychology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland

Biography
Shamia is a second-year master’s student in the Psychometrics program at Morgan State University. Her research interest is in measuring childhood adversity in underrepresented communities. Childhood adversity can cause the brain to over activate the stress response system, which can lead to poor health conditions. Shamia is interested in creating and validating self-reporting surveys that measure childhood adversity, overall health and socioeconomic status in middle aged adults.

Primary Area of Research Interest
Developing culturally sensitive measurements

Undergraduate Courses Taught
Introduction to Psychology and Counseling Psychology

Isaiah Fahie

Master's Student

Education
B.S. in Psychology, Morgan State University

Biography
Isaiah is a second-year master's student.  His research interests have to do with how negative social and environmental factors impact behavior and relationships later in life.

Christopher Green

Master's Student

Education
B.S. in Psychology at Morgan State University
Certification in Electroneurodiagnostics at The Institute of Health Science

Biography
Christopher Green Jr. is a third-year graduate student in the Psychometric masters program. His primary research interest is in neuropsychological assessment for traumatic brain injuries. His interest motivates him to develop a cultural and physical performance sensitive AI based tasks to assess and predict neuronal activity and cognition. Furthermore, he is a research assistant for Dr. Bryant. Christopher’s secondary research interest is physiological and physical performance factors that influence cognition.  While Christopher was earning his bachelors of science in Psychology at Morgan State University, he served as a Program Coordinator for Beat The Streets Baltimore. His activity in the organization brought STEM and wrestling programs to underserved students in Baltimore City. In addition, he is a ABRET registered EEG technician, and has performed neurodiagnostics at Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Maryland Hospital. He aspires to be a neuropsychologist and an advocate for diversity in STEM.

Credentials
Registered EEG Technician by the American Board of Electroencephalographic Technologist

India Harper

Master's Student

Education
B.S. in Psychology, Morgan State University

Biography
India is a second-year master's student.  She is currently interested in measurement related to childhood education from pre-k to middle school. 

Trevon Wilmer

Master's Student

Education
B.S. in Psychology, Morgan State University

Biography
Trevon is a first year Master's student. His research interest focus on Social Emotional Learning in urban areas in pre-k thru 12th grade. Trevon serves as a Graduate Assistant for the undergraduate internship program as well as Graduate Research Assistant working with Dr.Nettles.  With prior experience mentoring the youth with agency Natural Born Champions he wants to continue  focusing research on education on all grade levels. With this experience he has also worked in a Psychometrics lab presenting at national conference such as ABRCMS.

Destiny Wood

Master's Student

Education
B.S. in Psychology, Morgan State University

Biography
Destiny is a first-year master's student in the Psychometrics program at Morgan State University. Her research interest focuses on sports psychology and student well-being, particularly how stress, life outside the classroom and athletic performance impact academic success.  Destiny is passionate about exploring resilience and mental health in both students and student athletes and is interested in designing surveys and assessment tools to measure these factors. Destiny's goal is to apply her research to better support student athletes’ academic and personal success.

Primary Area of Research Interest:  Survey design for student well-being and athletic performance