Dr. Camilo Ruggero
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Camilo.Ruggero@utdallas.edu
Dr. Camilo Ruggero (lab leader) is a clinical psychologist and professor in psychology at UT-Dallas. He grew up in Corpus Christi and Austin, Texas and graduated from the Plan II Honors program at UT-Austin. He earned his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Miami and completed a clinical internship and NIMH-sponsored post-doc in psychiatry at Brown University’s medical school. His research has focused on assessment of mood and related disorders and he has played a major role in a new empirically-based approach to classifying and describing mental illness called HiTOP. He served for many years as a director of a Center at the University of North Texas focused on combating behavioral health disparities in the North Texas region. He is a prolific researcher (>120 peer-reviewed publications) with support from a host of federal and state agencies (i.e., NIMH, NIAID, HRSA, SAMSHA, NASA, THECB and NIOSH).
Project Coordinators
Mary Gum
Mary Gum is a research coordinator in Dr. Camilo Ruggero’s COMPASS Lab at UTD. She graduated from Amherst College as a double major in Psychology and Anthropology. She wrote her thesis on child’s development of selective trust. Mary is also interested in the occurrences of comorbidity in psychopathology, especially in cases with an ADHD diagnosis. In the future she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. In her free time, Mary enjoys spending time with her puppy, going on hikes, and playing lacrosse.
Mia Vasquez
Mia Vasquez is a research coordinator for Dr. Camilo Ruggero’s COMPASS Lab. She received her B.A. in psychology from Texas A&M University in College Station. She is interested in researching psychopathology, specifically psychotic disorders and personality disorders. In addition, she is interested in the development of psychological assessments. In her free time, Mia enjoys watching movies, reading, listening to music, and yoga.
Graduate Students
Deisy Gonzalez Zapata
Deisy Gonzalez Zapata M.S. is a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Texas (UNT). Her research, supported by a diversity supplement grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), focuses on culturally inclusive mental health care for Latino communities. Specifically, she is dedicated to adapting mental health assessment tools for Spanish-speaking populations to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps in care. Through her work, Deisy strives to address health disparities and advance a more equitable mental health care system.
Nick Brewster
Nick Brewster is a 2nd year clinical psychology Ph.D. student at the University of North Texas working jointly with Dr. Ruggero and Dr. Holly Levin-Aspenson. He holds an MA in psychological research and BA in psychology from California State University, Long Beach. Nick is broadly interested in mental health-related stigma, improving measurement of stigma constructs, and the implications of HiTOP for stigma reduction efforts. In his spare time, Nick is a passionate enjoyer of video games and Irish/Scottish folk music.
Fatima Syed
Fatima Syed graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2022. Currently a first-year Master’s student in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience at UTD, she has a special interest in pediatric disorders and diagnosis. Her love of children, combined with her experience working in a preschool introduced her to the intricacies of development and cognition in a very real way. Fatima aspires to pursue a research role and ultimately attain a PhD in Clinical Psychology. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, videography, and baking.
Enisa Adil
Enisa Adil is a first-year master’s student in the psychology program at UT Dallas. She is originally from Albania, Europe, and moved to the US for her studies. She graduated from UCLA in 2021 where she studied psychobiology/behavioral neuroscience. She is currently engaged in autism research, specifically the double empathy problem and social cognition. Enisa has previously worked as behavioral therapist for children, as such Enisa plans to get a PhD in clinical psychology and to continue her work both in clinical practice and research.
Undergraduate Students
Melody Schomette
Melody is a senior psychology major with a minor in music. She graduates in December of 2024 and plans to pursue a degree in clinical psychology focusing on assessment and community mental health. Her hobbies include hiking, writing music, cooking, playing games, and spending time with her family.
Sanjana Manikandan
I am an IT Management graduate student with a keen interest in AI/ML and Psychology. I am also a coffee nerd.
Samhita Kadali
Graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a B.S. in Bioengineering specializing in bioinformatics. Currently pursuing a master's in computer science at UTD.