Dr. Antonio Cepeda-Benito Antonio Cepeda-Benito graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1988 and received a Ph.D. in psychology from Purdue University in 1994. His first faculty appointment was at the Assistant Professor level in the Department of Psychology at Texas A&M University (TAMU). He was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2000 and to full professor in 2005. In 2006, still at TAMU, he was appointed Associate Dean of Faculties, and in 2009 he was named Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost. In July of 2012, he became the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at the University of Vermont (UVM). Dr. Cepeda-Benito resumed his faculty appointment in the Department of Psychological Science at UVM in 2016. Over his career, he has received various teaching and service diversity awards including Psychology Teacher of the Year (1998), the Academic Inspiration Award (1999), the College of Liberal Arts Superior Service Awards in Diversity (2002), and the Provost Outstanding Individual Achievement Diversity Award (2003). He has also received two National Awards of Excellence from the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse (NHSN), one for contributions in Public Service (2006) and the other for Mentoring (2008). He is a founding member of the steering committee of the RED Latino Americana (REDLA) on drug addiction, as well as the founding Chair of the International Research Collaboration Subcommittee of the NHSN. In 2009 he was named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business Magazine.
Dr. Cepeda-Benito’s research connects the disciplines of Behavioral Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology to investigate drug addiction and eating disorders from a cross-cultural perspective. He has published extensively and his research has been supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Texas Department of Health, and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology. Dr. Cepeda-Benito is licensed to practice psychology both in Texas and Vermont. His professional practice and research emphasize vulnerable populations.
To learn more about Dr. Cepeda-Benito's work click here
Tom Geist is currently a graduate student in UVM's Clinical Psychology PhD program and one of the Lead Researchers in the Cross Cultural Psychology Lab. Tom has a BSBA in Business, a BA in Psychology, and a MS in Allied Medicine from the Ohio State University. His Master's Thesis investigated the changes in attitudes, knowledge, and self-efficacy about disseminating evidence-based advice about e-cigarette in a population of Healthcare Providers. He has previously worked as Clinical Research Coordinator for the Ohio State Center for Neuromodulation and Regional Director for the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation. Tom's primary interest is investigating the role of stigma in different substance use disorders across cultures. His secondary interest is public policy related to substance abuse and criminal justice.
Emily Pomichter is the Cross-Cultural Psychology Lab Manager and one of the Lead Researchers. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 2018 with a B.A. in Psychological Science, and will begin working toward a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Vermont in Fall 2019. Emily received the Hannah Howard Award from UVM, and in March 2017 presented our lab's research on "Smoking Histories, Beliefs about Smoking and Quitting, and Exposure to Counseling in Current and Former Smokers Referred for Lung-Cancer Screening" at the SRNT annual conference. Her primary research interests are body dissatisfaction and its impact on smoking/vaping and the efficacy of honest placebos.
Audrey Eisenmenger is a research assistant in the Cross-Cultural Psychology Lab. She also works as a clinician in a detoxification and stabilization program for individuals experiencing substance abuse. A recent graduate of the University of Vermont with a minor in Psychological Science, she plans to apply to graduate programs in counseling during the coming year. Her research interests include smoking cessation and the intersection between substance abuse and anxiety disorders.
Hannah Dobson is a current research assistant in the Cross-Cultural Psychology Lab while she works to complete her degrees in Psychology and Neuroscience. Hannah interns at the Howard Center and works as a mental health office assistant at Vermont Psychological Services, she hopes to continue working with children with diverse backgrounds to help support and expand upon current intervention plans.
Emma Kilroy is working as a research assistant in the Cross-Cultural Psychology Lab and a
teaching assistant for Research Methods in Psychological Science as she pursues a degree in both
Psychological Science and Spanish at the University of Vermont. With this degree, she hopes to
one day effectively counsel Spanish-speaking, as well as English-speaking, clients. Her primary
research interests include the effects of language in the expression of emotion and cultural
variation in attitudes towards mental health.
