Ken Kurisu is from Sapporo, Japan. He obtained his MD and PhD from the University of Tokyo, where he conducted both clinical work and research in eating disorders, obesity, and psycho-oncology. His doctoral dissertation focused on behavioral intervention using a smartphone application equipped with machine learning–based optimization. 

He is currently a research scholar on our Duluth campus, studying the psychological and physiological stress responses among smokers. His research interests broadly cover the biopsychosocial model of medicine. 

He has long enjoyed mathematics and is interested in applying statistical and machine learning methods in his research. He enjoys spending weekends surrounded by the natural beauty of Duluth with his toddler. 

Tracey Keogh is from Limerick, Ireland. She obtained her PhD in psychological research from the University of Limerick, where she examined the psychosocial factors influencing the relationship between depression and stress. She is a postdoctoral associate on our Duluth campus and is researching the psychophysiological effects of stress on addictive behaviors.

Her research interests lie in stress, early life adversity, mental health, and well-being. She is particularly interested in examining the ways that stress can ‘get under the skin’ with damaging consequences to overall health, both physically and mentally. She investigates the interactions between psychosocial, environmental, behavioral, and biological factors. Her own research has examined the role of childhood trauma, motivation, and coping behaviors on stress and mental health outcomes.

Her academic interests are aligned with her own research interests, and has been responsible for delivering research-based, cognitive, clinical, and biological psychology modules. One recent interest not aligned with her previous work that aligns with her teaching experience is examining differences between traditional and innovative methods of teaching, learning and assessment and their impact on higher education. Innovative methods such as using more interactive tools of engagement in learning and assessment like game-based learning and the role of GenAI. 

Her favorite food is a good Irish fry-up. She believes that it cannot be beaten! And in her free time, she likes exploring the outdoors and gravitates towards nature. She also enjoys the breathtaking view of Lake Superior. 

Briana DeAngelis studied Psychology (B.A.Sc.) and Communication (B.A.) at the University of Minnesota Duluth before joining the Department of Communication at Michigan State University (MSU) as a graduate student, instructor, and researcher focusing on quantitative research methods/statistics and cognitive/affective psychology and communication (attitudes, persuasion, social influence). She earned an M.A. and completed coursework, teaching, and research team components of the doctoral program before returning to Duluth in May of 2015 when she joined Dr. al’Absi’s team researching stress, resilience, and substance use. Her research interests span a variety of domains that center around understanding the human experience, including cognition, affect, biology, and behavior. 

In her free time, she enjoys learning, exploring the great outdoors, growing fruits and vegetables from seeds, and various arts and crafts.

Hailey is a research assistant for the lab in Duluth. She is from Paynesville, MN and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Neuroscience and Psychology from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. 

Her research interests include the biobehavioral characteristics of addiction. More specifically, Hailey is interested in how substance use disorder is related to its common comorbidities like PTSD, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. Her goals lie in educating the public. She aims to focus on prevention and treatment of substance use disorder in rural and underserved communities. 

In addition to her research interests, Hailey enjoys learning about history and culture. In her undergraduate experience she found this through minoring in Religion. She continues to do this in her free time through reading and learning about languages. 

Outside of her educational endeavors, she loves to paint, watch movies and cook. Her favorite season is fall, so she will put extra effort into cooking around that time and bring things in for the team to share.