Katherine A. Duggan, PhD

PATHS Lab Director

Kat is an Assistant Professor and the director of the Personality And Trajectories to Health and Sleep (PATHS) Lab in the Department of Psychology at North Dakota State University. You can read more about her here.

Michael Price, MA

PHD PSYCHOLOGY, 2024 - PRESENT

My name is Michael Price, and I joined the PATHS Lab as a graduate student in the Psychology Ph.D. program in 2024. I earned my B.A. in both Psychology and History from the University of Texas at Austin in 2020 and my M.A. in Psychological Research from Texas State University in 2023. My research interests include sleep, dreams, personality, and how these relate to various cognitive processes (e.g., memory, creativity, mind-wandering) across the lifespan. My long-term goal is to obtain a tenure-track faculty position and continue to conduct research and teach in the psychology of sleep.

Clarice Shanks, MS

PhD Psychology, 2024 - present

My name is Clarice Shanks and I joined the PATHS Lab as a graduate student in the Psychology Ph.D. program at North Dakota State University in 2024. I am originally from Rosemount, MN, but I moved to Wisconsin to work on my undergraduate degree. In 2021, I received my B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. After finishing my bachelor’s, I decided to pursue a Master’s of Science in Experimental Psychology at Augusta University in Augusta, GA and graduated in the spring of 2024. During my time at Augusta University, I was a graduate research assistant in the Psycho-oncology department at the Georgia Cancer Center. It was this role that helped me realize my passion for understanding how and why different social phenomenon occur generally speaking as well as in the context of illness. My long-term goal is to obtain a tenure-track position at a university with a graduate program in psychology, so I can teach at both the undergraduate and graduate level and continue my research.

Hieu Le, BS

PhD Psychology, 2026 - Present

Hi everyone! My name is Hieu (pronounced Hugh) Le, and I am excited to have joined the PATHS Lab as a graduate student in 2026. I earned my B.A. in Psychology in 2025 at North Dakota State University and conducted scholarly research in the same lab from 2023 to 2026, so I am eager to pick up where I left off! I am broadly interested in studying the underlying mechanisms that mediate the association between personality and various life outcomes. I am currently working on a multi-part integrative review of personality processes (behaviors, thoughts, and feelings) that includes qualitative coding of review papers, meta-analysis, empirical studies, and sleep narratives. The study's results are hoped to create a codebook and methods to allow researchers from various disciplines to adopt a more mechanistic approach to studying personality. Another main research interest is examining "undesirable" traits (i.e., Neuroticism) and how they are adaptive across a variety of life domains and situations. I hope to rise to a position where I can continue to create research and translate them into meaningful public policies. In my free time, I like to weightlift, join my friends in Zumba, and try out plant-based foods around the Fargo-Moorhead area. 

Check out Hieu’s CV here.

Odalis García, PhD

PhD Psychology, 2021-2026; nsf grfp fELLOW 2023-2026

Odalis G. Garcia joined the PATHS Lab as a graduate student in the Psychology Ph.D. program in 2021. She is originally from the Houston, TX area and had come from the University of North Texas where she earned a B.A. in Psychology (2021). During her time at the University of North Texas, she became a McNair Scholar and conducted undergraduate research in topics such as “The Effects of Alcohol Consumption and Work Stress on Insomnia Symptoms in Nurses” and “Bidirectional association between daily stress and nightmares”. As a graduate student, her program of research focused on how sleep, dreams, and nightmares are impacted by stress across development. Her master’s thesis was titled “Applying a Modern Situational Measure to Improve the Reliability, Validity, and Outcome Predictability of Dream Assessment.” Her dissertation was titled “Investigating the Relationship Between Sleep, Dreams, and Emotional Autobiographical Memory Processes.” Dr. Garcia’s long-term goal is to obtain a tenure-track faculty position and continue to do research in behavioral sleep medicine.

Anita Adams, PhD

PhD Clinical Psychology 2025, University of Kentucky; affiliated PATHS Lab graduate student and external advisee, 2022-2025

Anita Adams obtained her clinical psychology doctorate from the University of Kentucky in 2025 with her clinical psychology doctoral internship at the University of Arizona. She is an Air Force “brat” and moved around a bit as a child, but eventually settled in North Carolina where she earned her B.A. in Psychology and English-Creative Writing from North Carolina State University. During her undergraduate research career, she studied the impact of culture and parental emotion socialization in children’s emotion understanding and development. She also studied emotion regulation, personality, and sleep behaviors in undergraduate student populations. During her post-baccalaureate experience, her research shifted to a more clinical focus, and she worked with older and middle adult and child populations with diagnoses such as dementia, hormonally-impacted depression (specifically perimenopausal depression), and autism.

Her current research is centered on the relationship between trait responses to emotion (e.g., how one’s consistent style of coping develops into a personality trait) and adverse childhood experiences. More specifically, she is interested in how one’s early life experiences can impact one’s later emotional and physical health into adulthood. She is also interested in how trait responses to emotion may serve as transdiagnostic mechanisms for psychopathology. If we can identify these transdiagnostic mechanisms, we can leverage them to improve psychosocial and physical health outcomes for minoritized populations. Dr. Adams’s dissertation was titled “Development of the Trait Response to Emotion Dimensional Measure for Use in Minoritized Populations.”

Joelle Hannam, BS

POSTBAC TRAINEE; BS Psychology and Sociology 2025; Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholar; NIH INBRE Scholar; thesis student; in the lab since 2022

Joelle joined the lab in 2022 while she was an undergraduate student at NDSU. She was a thesis student working on independent research focused on sleep-related beliefs and behaviors in low-income communities using quantitative and qualitative methods. She is currently working as a Research Intake Coordinator at Sanford Health.

Katelyn Hanson

BS Psychology 2026; in the lab since 2022; Thesis student

Katelyn is currently an undergraduate student in psychology. She hopes to apply for her PhD in clinical psychology working with pediatrics. Katelyn is interested in all things cognition, communication, and children. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and teaching dance to ages 3-12 as well as reading, camping, and being out on the lake.

Allie Niska

BS Biological Sciences 2024; in the lab since 2022

Allie is a biology major (biomedical sciences emphasis) with a minor in psychology. She is working towards becoming a physician focused on pediatrics or neurology. In her free time, she likes to run, read, and travel.

Joelle Hannam

BS Psychology and Sociology 2025; Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholar; NIH INBRE Scholar; thesis student; in the lab since 2022

Joelle is an undergraduate Psychology and Sociology double major. She is working on independent research focused on sleep-related beliefs and behaviors in low income communities using quantitative and qualitative methods. She hopes to pursue graduate training in clinical or counseling psychology.

Mariel Cabeza

BS Biological Sciences 2024; in the lab since 2023

I am originally from Lima, Peru and currently attend North Dakota State University. After graduation I will be applying for medical school in the hopes of becoming a pediatric surgeon. I want to participate in research since it contributes to the knowledge of how to treat widespread chronic conditions. My favorite part about research is that there is always something new to learn everyday. Also, in research most of the time there is no right or wrong answer, and that even the most “insignificant” finding can be quite valuable in the long run. During my spare time I work as a learning assistant for Organic Chemistry, volunteer at a Child’s Autism Center, bake and draw.

Polly Rudolf

BS Psychology 2025; in the lab since 2023

Polly is a Junior studying Psychology with a Business minor. Her hope is to obtain a PsyD in clinical psychology and work as a pediatric psychologist. Polly spends her summers teaching art to kids and working at a daycare. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, painting, and playing soccer.

Jocelyn Demontiney

BS Psychology 2024; in the lab since 2023

Jocelyn wants to work as a child and adolescent therapist one day. She is also considering career paths in clinical psychology. She is participating in research because she is eager to collaborate with new and experienced scientists and contribute to meaningful projects and discoveries. In her free time she spends time with friends and family and travels! You can always catch her strolling around Target, too.

Jocelyn Casavant

BS Biological Sciences 2024; in the lab since 2023

Jocelyn is pursuing a career in medicine with the hope of becoming a family practice doctor in a rural community. She is interested in learning about the intersectionality of different aspects of health. She recognizes that many factors have an impact on health, especially physical, mental, and social well-being. In her free time, she loves to hike, travel, and spend quality time with loved ones.

Mintong Li

BS Psychology 2027; in the lab since 2023

Mintong Li, an undergraduate psychology student, is deeply intrigued by the intersection of psychology, culture, and health. Her goal is to pursue a Master’s or PhD in counseling psychology, aspiring to work in diverse community settings. During her free time, she actively participants in cultural associations, enjoys digital art, and finds relaxation in playing piano.