Researchers
Laurel Sarfan, Ph.D. | Clinical/Implementation Assistant Researcher at UC Berkeley and Research Scientist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California
Contact: sarfanld@berkeley.edu
Laurel Sarfan, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley mentored by Dr. Allison Harvey in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic. Laurel received her B.A. in Psychology from Whitman college, followed by her M.A. from the University of Chicago. She completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Miami University, where her research focused on transdiagnostic mechanisms of anxiety and related disorders. She completed her APA-accredited clinical internship at VA Northern California Health Care System – East Bay. Broadly, Laurel is interested in testing transdiagnostic mechanisms and treatments for psychopathology, dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments, and factors that drive meaningful behavior change.
Emma Agnew | Clinical Research Manager
Contact: emmagnew@berkeley.edu
Emma Agnew is a Clinical Research Manager and Supervisor in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic. She grew up in Los Angeles, CA before earning a BA in psychology, cum laude, from Colorado College. She went on to graduate with her Masters in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley in 2018. Since then she has served as a clinician for several years in Seneca’s San Francisco Connections Program, working with children and families in crisis, before joining Dr. Harvey’s lab. She is interested in strengthening the relationship between research and practice in the mental health field.
Anne Milner | Post-Doctoral Scholar
Contact: aemilner@berkeley.edu
Anne Milner, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral scholar in the Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic at UC Berkeley. Anne grew up in the United Kingdom and received her B.S. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Bristol, followed by her M.S. at the University of Birmingham. She completed her Ph.D. in Cognition, Perception, and Cognitive Neuroscience at UC Santa Barbara, where her research focused on further understanding factors modulating attentional biases toward reward-related stimuli. Under the mentorship of Dr. Allison Harvey, Anne is interested in how cognitive factors such as those involved in learning and memory can be used to inform the development of transdiagnostic treatments to improve treatment outcomes.
Graduate Students
Marlen Diaz | Graduate student
Contact: marlen.diaz@berkeley.edu
Marlen Diaz is a doctoral student in Dr. Allison Harvey’s lab in the Clinical Science program. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2018 with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish Language & Literature with a minor in Education. Prior to returning to Dr. Harvey’s Lab Marlen worked at a community mental health clinic providing short-term prevention and early intervention services to adolescents and children in a school setting. She then returned to UC Berkeley, as a Project Coordinator with The Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic. Under the mentorship of Dr. Harvey, Marlen is interested in researching the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments in the community setting. She is also interested in researching transdiagnostic treatments, mood disorders, behavioral patterns and stigma.
Sophia Oliver | Graduate student
Contact: smoliver@berkeley.edu
Sophia (she/her) is a Clinical Science PhD student in Dr. Allison Harvey’s lab. She graduated from UC Davis, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Public Health Sciences. Prior to graduate school, Sophia completed an honors thesis under Dr. Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz at UC Davis, exploring the impact of gun and community violence exposure on sleep and post traumatic stress symptoms. She also worked as a Project Coordinator with Dr. Harvey on research focused on memory support strategies, habit formation, and implementation and dissemination science. Under the mentorship of Dr. Harvey, Sophia is interested in researching the role of sleep and circadian processes as transdiagnostic mechanisms in mental health. Her goal is to contribute to knowledge on developing and refining scalable, evidence-based interventions that enhance treatment outcomes, support client adherence, and advance mental health equity in underserved populations. Sophia is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and is deeply committed to promoting equity in access to higher education and research pathways for underrepresented groups.
Kelly Dombek | Graduate student
Contact: kelly_dombek@berkeley.edu
Kelly Dombek is a doctoral student advised by Dr. Allison Harvey in the UC Berkeley Clinical Science program. She graduated from Haverford College in 2017 magna cum laude with a B.A. in Philosophy and minor in Psychology. She received her M.P.S. in Clinical Psychological Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, with her capstone project entitled Implementing Evidence-Based Treatments for Severe Irritability in Youth: A Multi-Stage Trial. Prior to joining Dr. Harvey’s lab, Kelly received an NIH Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) and worked in the NIMH Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics Lab under the mentorship of lead investigator Dr. Melissa Brotman and deputy director Dr. Ramaris German. At NIMH, she gained experience in researching transdiagnostic treatment development, biomarkers of mood dysregulation, and mobile experience sampling techniques. Under the mentorship of Dr. Harvey, her research is currently oriented towards examining mechanistic links between intra-individual sleep and circadian habits and the development and treatment of mood disorders.