People

Natasha L. Burke, PhD

Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Fordham University

Dr. Burke's (she/her) research program makes inroads into eating- and weight-related disparities by addressing measurement, models, and interventions for multiply marginalized children, adolescents, and emerging adults. Her interests include the complex interplay among weight status, sociodemographic characteristics, psychological comorbidities, and associated risk factors. Given the persistence of significant eating- and weight-related health disparities, her goal is to continue to inform research and interventions in racial/ethnic minority and economically disadvantaged populations.

Dr. Burke teaches classes on health psychology, child psychotherapy, psychopathology, multicultural psychology, and foundations of psychology at Fordham. She also supervises clinical psychology doctoral students at Fordham's Community Mental Health Clinic.

Graduate Students

Yvette G. Karvay, MA

Doctoral Candidate

Yvette (she/her) is a 5th year in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Fordham University. Her research interests include weight stigma and related abuse, disordered eating behaviors, food insecurity, and the classification of eating disorders, especially as these realms intersect with underserved and marginalized populations.

Tatyana Bidopia, MA

Doctoral Candidate

Tatyana (she/her) is a 4th year in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Fordham University. Her research interests include understanding sociocultural risk and protective factors for eating disorders and body image concerns in multiply marginalized populations, namely Latina women and girls. She is also passionate about increasing the accessibility of culturally responsive eating disorder treatments in underserved populations.

Julia Yermash, BS

Doctoral Student

Julia Yermash (she/her) is a 3rd year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Fordham University. Her research interests include weight stigma in healthcare settings, the relationship between food insecurity and eating pathology, and sociocultural influences on eating behaviors in marginalized populations. She also hopes to increase the dissemination and implementation of culturally-tailored eating disorder treatments for adolescents and young adults in community-based settings.

Serena Xinyu Hu, BS

Doctoral Student

Serena Xinyu Hu (she/her) is a 2nd year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Fordham University. Her research interests include understanding the sociocultural and psychological risk and protective factors of eating- and weight-related disorders, especially in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Serena also hopes to integrate intersectionality in eating disorders research and to improve health equity.

Narise Ramlal, BA

Doctoral Student

Narise (she/her) is a 1st year in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Fordham University. Her research interests include weight stigma and how the interaction of discrimination towards those holding multiple stigmatized identities creates a series of treatment barriers. She hopes to increase the understanding of how stigma related to weight, mental health, and racially and ethnically minoritized (REM) group membership contributes to health disparities.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Molly Lataille

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Molly (she/her) is a senior in Fordham College at Rose Hill, majoring in Psychology and minoring in French and Francophone Studies. On campus, she is the secretary of both the Psychology Club and PAUS (Pet Advocacy for Underprivileged Survivors), as well as the treasurer of Spire (a women’s empowerment organization). Molly joined the lab in April of 2022. She is interested in the relationship between disordered eating and school-related stressors in adolescents. Molly plans on attending graduate school, so she is looking forward to exploring fields she might want to pursue.

James Demetrius

Undergraduate Research Assistant

James Demetrius (he/him/his) is a senior at Fordham University, Rose Hill College. He is interested in learning about how disordered eating behaviors among marginalized and underserved communities are related to past traumatic experiences and anxiety disorders. In the future, he hopes to enter a Clinical Psychology doctorate program and research more about the prevalence of eating disorders among forensic populations. He has recently began volunteering for the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, as a Crisis Support Counselor.