The HOPE Lab is dedicated to improving the mental health and wellbeing of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). We seek to conduct research to enhance the awareness of mental health symptoms, improve measurement, and improve service delivery so that people with IDD can experience healthy outcomes, community inclusion, and wellbeing.

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Ruth Brown, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Ruth Brown, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her program of research aims to address the mental healthcare disparity experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To this end, her work focuses on the development of evidence-based assessments, including the use of epigenetic biomarkers, of emotional and behavioral concerns in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is her hope that the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based assessment for this population will lead to improved detection, prevention, and treatment of traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression.

Current Research Team

Staff

Richard Chapman, PhD

Richard earned his PhD from the University of South Florida and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kansas. He is also the Assistant Director of Disability Leadership at VCU's Partnership for People with Disabilities. His primary area of research is self-determination intervention and assessment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Another primary area of research is the development of accessible mental health strategies including counseling and psychotherapy for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Lauren Hinton

Lauren is our research coordinator. She plans to attend graduate school and obtain a PhD in clinical psychology!

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Kathryn Mary Costanzo

Kathryn Mary is our Community Outreach Specialist. She graduated from Godwin High School in 2022 and from Project Search in 2025. She wanted to work with the HOPE Lab because she loves helping people and being part of a team. She likes making others smile and being kind.

Chariz Seijo

Chariz Seijo is a clinical psychology doctoral student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She previously received an MPH in Health Policy from Columbia University. Chariz is passionate about improving mental healthcare, especially for communities historically unable to access quality care.

Students

Shady Habib

Shady Habib is an Honors undergraduate majoring in Biology and Chemistry at VCU, who is passionate about healthcare equity and accessibility. He serves in the Undergraduate Student Government Association, where he leads a caucus focused on enhancing the quality of life for students with disabilities. Shady aspires to become a physician who champions for accessible healthcare and works to address systemic barriers faced by disabled communities, drawing on his lived experience and passion for advocacy. He is currently conducting research on COVID-19, exploring its impacts on wellbeing and equity within the Down syndrome community.

Nya Miles

Nya is an undergraduate student interested in psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduation she would like to get her masters and focus her studies on the intersection of posttraumatic stress, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the lived experiences of Black people. She is excited to be a part of the research that advances quality care for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Brooke Schofield

Brooke is a second year undergraduate studying Biology and Chemistry on the pre-med track, with a certification in Disability Studies. She hopes to become a physician and bring focus to the disabled population through medicine. She is excited to be a part of the HOPE lab and get started on projects to benefit the IDD community both in and out of healthcare!

Lariah Teasley

I'm from Norfolk, Virginia, and I am a biology major with a chemistry minor. I hope to become an OBGYN or neonatal specialist and I hope to serve in the military! A fun fact about me is that I am a self acclaimed "crocstar" and I have over 100 pairs of crocs!

Lab Alumni

Ester Jo

Ester graduated from VCU with a B.S. in Biology and a Minor in Chemistry through the Honors College. She joined our lab as a junior to explore inclusive research and advocate for the IDD community, gaining a deeper understanding of their mental health challenges. As an aspiring physician, she aims to bridge research and clinical practice to improve care and outcomes for individuals with IDD.

Kayla Van

Kayla graduated from VCU in May 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology. She joined the lab as a junior after finishing her summer fellowship with the VCU GREAT Program during Summer 2022. She conducted research on physical and mental healthcare disparities among Asian children with special health care needs and adolescents with IDD. As a current graduate student at VCU, she is dedicated to bridging gaps in healthcare. Her goal is to become a researcher focused on ensuring accessible, culturally responsive health services for minority and underserved communities.

Lynden Gilstrap

Lynden graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Cognitive Science and Data Analytics. She hopes to become a physician that provides care and advocates for minoritized and underserved communities.

Carine Leslie, MS

Carine is a sixth-year clinical psychology doctoral student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research focuses on developmental and psychosocial outcomes for children and adolescents exposed to trauma. To that end, she is interested in contributing to trauma-focused clinical research that aim to inform strengths-based and culturally-relevant programs, policies, and practices that bolster the positive development of youth.

Nico Morrandi - Zerpa

Nico is a 2nd year undergraduate Psychology major on the pre-medical track. They intend to attend medical school after graduating.

Allison D'Aguilar, PhD

Allison D’Aguilar Ph.D. served a postdoctoral trainee on Dr. Ruth Brown’s NICHD Grant, the Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of People with Down Syndrome. Previously she worked as a research team member on the Leadership Empowerment for Abuse Prevention project at VCU’s Partnership for People with Disabilities. Allison’s research interests include Community-based participatory health research and inclusive research with people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Benedette Arrey

Benedette Arrey is a third year biology major/chemistry minor. She's from Northern Virginia and has lived there her entire life with her family. She hosts a podcast every week to de-stress from everything she needs to do by talking about popular and relatable topics. A fun fact about her is that she has never broken a bone in her entire body! She's very excited to be part of this team and cannot wait start working on projects to benefit those in the future!

Zack Moore

Zack Moore is a psychology major at VCU, minoring in music. He has an interest in counseling and helping people in any way that he can. He's really excited to contribute to this research project!

Michael Mathews

Michael Mathews focuses on using skills learned through his interdisciplinary studies focus areas in psychology, political science, and special education to help individuals with disabilities. He is a member of the National Federation of the Blind and the Virginia Association of Blind Students and hopes to continue to use his connections to better the lives of those with visual disabilities or any other disability. He sees this lab as a way to continue to expand his knowledge and find way to be more effective advocate.

Naomi Othman

Naomi is a junior at VCU studying to become an Occupational Therapist, as working in the mental health field has always been a passion of hers. She is always interested in furthering her education and learning more about the intellectually disabled population.

Vivian Hunter

Vivian Hunter is currently a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University majoring in psychology and minoring in biology on a pre-medicine track. She has aspirations to become a physician who is able to help and advocate for underserved populations and make quality healthcare more accessible for all people.

Karyn Cook

Karyn Cook is a senior double-majoring in Journalism and History. She enjoyed doing research and has a sibling with autism. She is passionate about learning and helping those with disabilities.

Kayleen Reyes

Kayleen is a Junior in the Pre-health Track with a minor in Psychology. She wanted to join the team to acquire a greater depth of knowledge on mental and intellectual disorders and gain experience interacting with those who have them. She hopes to spread awareness of that knowledge and use it on future patients or on that population in general she believes there is no need to badly treat someone for being a little different.

Shrinidhi Vijay

Shrinidhi Vijay is a Graduate student at VCU's Brandcenter. Her Interests include Psychology and advertising.