Lab Director
Tanya C. Saraiya
Ph.D.
Dr. Tanya Saraiya (she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She also holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University. Broadly, Dr. Saraiya aims to make trauma treatments better, for a diverse range of people. With her team, she develops and evaluates therapy treatments for PTSD and co-occurring substance use disorders (SUD). She is particularly invested in how such treatments can be optimized to historically marginalized populations in research, such as women, racial and ethnic communities, and individuals with complex, clinical presentations, such as opioid use disorder and complex trauma. Dr. Saraiya is invested in how individual identity and cultural context influence healing. As such her work also focuses on how race and culture interact with our understanding of what trauma is and how to best approach it. She welcomes new students and patients to clinical research.
Doctoral Students
Tamina (she/her) is a fourth-year student in the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program at Rutgers University. She has a particular interest in trauma and forensic psychology. Tamina believes in utilizing
a multidisciplinary approach to mitigate the adverse effects of an oppressive legal system and to promote healing and repair on the individual, community, and systems levels. Prior to attending Rutgers, Tamina spent six years practicing as a criminal defense attorney in the Bronx where she represented indigent clients on misdemeanor and felony cases.
Tamina Daruvala
Sonali Singal
Sonali (she/her) is a fourth-year student at Rutgers University's Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program. She obtained her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Songwriting from Northeastern University. Before coming to Rutgers, she worked as a Mental Health Associate and a Research Coordinator. She is interested in conducting translational research, creating more culturally-informed evidence-based treatments for those with anxiety and trauma symptoms. She hopes to work in clinical care as well as teach university courses after graduating.
Chloe (she/her) is a third-year student at Rutgers University's Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program. She received a B.S. in Psychology from Brown University. Before coming to Rutgers, she worked as a student research assistant in the Sleep for Science Lab and was a peer educator in the Sexual Health Awareness Group. She is interested in the intersection of trauma and sexual health.
Chloe Rosenkranz
Sara Hameed
Sara (she/her) is a first-year Clinical Psychology PsyD student at Rutgers University. She obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Barnard College, Columbia University. Before coming to Rutgers, she worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator on intervention-based studies for depression, anxiety and PTSD. She is passionate about increasing the accessibility of care to marginalized groups who have experienced trauma, including ethnic and racial monitories as well as immigrant and refugee populations.
Research Assistant
Priya (she/her) holds a B.A. in Psychology (Hons.) from the University of British Columbia and is a Research Associate at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. She is passionate about knowledge translation and community-based participatory research, with a particular interest in understanding and addressing trauma and substance use issues among racial/ethnic minorities.
Priya Johal
Lab Alumni
Daphne Gray
