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Monika A Waszczuk, PhD
Dr. Monika Waszczuk is an Associate Professor of Psychology. She completed her undergraduate training at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK. Afterwards, Dr. Waszczuk received her MSc and PhD in Behavioral Genetics from the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, UK. Following her graduate training, Dr. Waszczuk joined the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University in New York, where she completed her postdoctoral training and conducted research as an Assistant Professor. Many of her projects at Stony Brook University have been in collaboration with the World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program. Dr. Waszczuk is an executive board member of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) Consortium and serves as a Chair of the HiTOP Genetic Workgroup. Dr. Waszczuk joined the faculty of RFUMS in 2020.
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Research Interests
The overarching goal of Dr. Waszczuk’s research program is to explicate the role of genetic vulnerability in the etiology and co-occurrence of physical and mental health conditions. Research topic include:
- Application of polygenic risk scores to predict severity and long-term course of PTSD, inflammation, and other health outcomes in responders to the 9/11 disaster.
- Interplay between personality traits, health-related behaviors, and trauma/stress exposure in mental and physical health.
- Etiology of psychiatric conditions, in particular emotional disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety, PTSD), in developmental and adult populations.
- Psychiatric comorbidity, classification, and the HiTOP model, with a focus on transdiagnostic approaches.
Are You a Prospective Graduate Student?
Dr. Waszczuk will not be accepting students for the 2026/2027 academic year.
Current Students
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Amanda Masserlie, MS Amanda is a seventh-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program. She graduated from RFUMS with an MS in Clinical Counseling in 2019. Her primary research interests focus on the effects of anxiety on cognitive functioning across the adult lifespan. Her clinical interest is in adult neuropsychology, specifically transplant neuropsychology, neuro-oncology, pre-surgical evaluations, and cognitive function in complex medical cases. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, and traveling. |
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Krista Ekberg, MS Krista is a fifth-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program. Prior to entering the RFUMS doctoral program, she worked as a research assistant at DePaul University, assisting with an NIH-funded project investigating the prevalence of pediatric myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Broadly, Krista is interested in examining comorbid psychological and physical health outcomes in pediatric populations, with a specific focus on investigating how genetic vulnerabilities contribute as underlying factors. She is currently completing clinical training at the Building Early Connection Center at Rush University Medical Center. |
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Christopher Khudari, MA Christopher is a third-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. Before joining 黄色视频, he received his BA in Psychology from the University at Buffalo and his MA in Psychology from Stony Brook University. Following his Master’s degree, he worked as a project coordinator at Stony Brook Medicine on an artificial intelligence study examining PTSD and health in World Trade Center Responders. He also served as a clinical interviewer for a Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) project. He completed the All of Us Research Scholar Program, and is currently completing his clinical placement practicum at the UI Health Craniofacial Clinic. He is broadly interested in how genetic risk factors and personality traits influence psychopathology and health outcomes.
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Simran Dhaliwal Simran is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2024 with an Honours Specialization in Psychology (BSc Hons) and a Major in Biology. Before beginning her doctoral studies, Simran worked as a clinical research coordinator in the Suicide Prevention Research Collaborative at Sunnybrook Research Institute (affiliated with the University of Toronto). In that role, she coordinated studies focused on suicide, self-harm, and sex and gender differences in adolescent mood disorders. She also assisted with research in a trauma interventions lab, examining the use of virtual reality to study experiences related to consciousness and dissociation. In her free time, Simran enjoys playing tennis and trying out new restaurants. |
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Katarzyna Klimek Kasia is a second-year student in the Psychology Clinical Counseling MS program. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2022. She currently works as a research assistant for the Healthy Brains and Child Development Study at Northwestern University. Broadly, her research interests include pediatric neuropsychological assessments in diverse populations, and how environmental, social, and biological factors interact with genetic factors to influence development and psychopathology. In her free time, Kasia enjoys Polish folk dancing, reading, and going to the movie theater! |
Lab Alumni
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Elaine Schultz, PhD |
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Palak Singh, PhD |
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Anakaren Elizondo, MS |
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Jessica Krawiec, MS |
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Youjin Kim, MS |
Recent Publications (selected)
Please see for a complete list of her current/previous research funding and peer-reviewed publications.
Mann, F.D.*, Waszczuk M.A.*, Clouston, S.A.P, Bromet, E.J., Marx, B.P., … Kotov, R. (in press). Polygenic Risk and Exposure Severity Predict Trajectories of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Design. Molecular Psychiatry.
Waszczuk, M. A. (in press). Genetic Evidence for Personality in a Hierarchical Model of Psychopathology. In Hopwood, C. & Sharp, C. (Eds.) Dimensional Diagnosis: Practical and Conceptual Issues in the Integration of Personality and Psychopathology.
Ekberg, K., Michelini, G., Schneider, K. L., Docherty, A. R., Shabalin, … , Waszczuk, M. A. (2025). Additive Contributions of Polygenic Risk Scores and Interpersonal Stressors to Adolescent Body Mass Index. Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine.
Mann, F.D., Waszczuk M.A., Clouston, S.A.P, Feltman, S., Ruggero, C.J., … Kotov, R. (2025). Long-Term Trajectories of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A 20-Year Longitudinal Study of World Trade Center Responders. Nature Mental Health.
Hoy, N., Waszczuk, M. A., Sunderland, M., Lynch S., Sachdev, P. … Mewton, L. (2025). Longitudinal investigation of the relationship between dimensional psychopathology, grey matter structure, and dementia status in older adulthood. Psychological Medicine.
Messerlie, A.E., Guidotti-Breting, L.M., Calamari, J.E., Sweet, J.J., Geary, E.K., …, Waszczuk, M. A. (2024). Task-based Attentional Control: The role of Anxiety and Age. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. 40 (1), 94-101.
Ekberg, K.†, Michelini, G., Schneider, K. L., Docherty, A. R., Shabalin, … , Waszczuk, M. A. (2024). Weighing the Genetic Risk: Associations Between Polygenic Risk Scores for Cardiometabolic Phenotypes and Adolescent Depression and Body Dissatisfaction. Pediatric Research.