ALCOHOL RESEARCH LAB
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Principal Investigator
Dr. Fairbairn is a Helen Corley Petit Associate Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her doctoral training in clinical-health psychology spanned multiple disciplines ranging from social psychology to biostatistics, a transdisciplinary perspective that has expanded through her years as an independent investigator to encompass fields ranging from machine learning to social neuroscience. In recognition of her alcohol research, she was named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, a Lincoln Excellence Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, and was the 2020 recipient of the Early Career Investigator award from the Research Society on Alcoholism. Her work focuses on basic social and emotional processes driving alcohol use as well as the application of novel methods and measures within addiction science more broadly
Catharine Fairbairn, Ph.D.
Dr. Silvia Murgia is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She holds a Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science, where her interdisciplinary work spanned cognitive neuroscience, child development, and auditory processing, with a particular focus on the effects of acoustic challenges and voice quality on speech understanding and cognitive effort. Her dissertation work utilized EEG to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying auditory processing in challenging listening environments, combining expertise in auditory science and physiological responses. Her current research focuses on leveraging hyperscanning techniques to investigate how alcohol use shapes social and emotional processes. She aims to combine her expertise in EEG and cognitive effort with the lab's work on how brain activity synchronizes between individuals during social interactions, offering new insights into addiction and social neuroscience.
Silvia Murgia, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Graduate Students
Jiaxu Han
Ph.D. Student
Jiaxu received her B.S. in Mathematics from Lanzhou University, China. Jiaxu is interested in the emotional benefits of alcohol that contribute to its abuse potential using neuroimaging and computational methods. Outside of work, Jiaxu enjoys hanging out with family and friends and playing Dota2.
Yang Lu
Ph.D. Student
Yang received his B.S. in Psychology with a specialization in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. He strives to understand and contribute to substance use research utilizing tools from both clinical and social psychology. Having a better grasp of the motivating and reinforcing mechanisms of alcohol use could help produce effective interventions that properly target social contexts. Outside of academic settings, Yang enjoys spending time with friends while taking photos or playing video games.
Eddie Caumiant
Ph.D. Student
Eddie received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests involve exploring the relationships between social anxiety, social context, and alcohol consumption. Specifically, he is interested in using experience-sampling methodologies alongside transdermal alcohol sensor technology to capture real-world drinking behaviors and affective experiences, as well as to examine how different social environments shape patterns of drinking. Outside of the lab, Eddie enjoys going to movies and playing board games with his friends.
Staff
Scott Jung
Senior Coordinator of Research Programs
Scott received his B.S. in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Illinois in 2024. He is currently a part of the Alcohol Biosensor Study. In his free time, Scott enjoys practicing Historical Europen Martial Arts and researching cultural psychology.
Jana Ji
Post-bacc Research Coordinator
Jana received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois in Spring 2025. Her research interests include exploring how social contexts impact the longitudinal patterns of substance use. She is also interested in investigating effective assessments and interventions for substance addiction in clinical settings. In her free time, she enjoys exercising, practicing calligraphy, traveling, and watching musicals.
Brianna Mae Huner
Post-bacc Research Coordinator
Brianna Mae received her Bachelor's degree in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Illinois in Spring 2026. Her research interests include investigating how social factors and interpersonal relationships impact substance use behavior. In her free time, she enjoys exercising, reading, writing, and fiber arts.
Laith Smeir
Post-bacc Research Coordinator
Laith Smeir received his Bachelor's degree in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Illinois in Spring 2026. His research interests surround using EMA and wearables to better understand how day-to-day factors such as affect, episode specific substance use motives, and (especially) sleep shape longer term substance use patterns and potential substance use disorders. Beyond alcohol, he is particularly interested in studying cannabis use. Outside of the lab, Laith enjoys weightlifting, fishing, and playing video games.
Sakshi Mundra
Research Coordinator
Sakshi received her M.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and her B.A. in Psychology from Ahmedabad University, India. Her research interests include exploring how cognitive and social processes inform decision-making in high-stakes contexts—such as eyewitness identification and legal judgment and how they can inform our understanding of health-related decision-making and substance use behavior. In her free time, Sakshi can be found working out, practicing Bharatanatyam or innovating some protein pack recipes in the kitchen.
Undergraduate Assistants
Lina Gil
Grady Calder
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Katie Linden
Patricija Kilijonaite​
Evan Short
Emerson Fatzinger
Lab Alumni
Caroline Storen served as a research coordinator in the Alcohol Research Lab for two years on the Alcohol Friend Group Study (Summer 2024 - Summer 2026). She received her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University in 2024.
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Camille Lansang served as a research coordinator in the Alcohol Research Lab for two years on the Transdermal Biosensosor Study (Summer 2024-Summer 2026). She received her B.A. in Psychology from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in Spring of 2024.
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Sam Naatz served as an honors student and undergraduate lab manager, assisting with the Alcohol Friend Group Study for one year (2025-2026). He received his bachelor's degree in Psychology and Statistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2026. He is now a post-bacc research coordinator in the Johns Hopkins Cannabis Science Laboratory.
Alexa Boland served as a research coordinator in the Alcohol Research Lab for two years on the Friend Group Study (Summer 2023-Summer 2025). She received her B.S. in Psychology from Bradley University in Spring 2023. Alexa is currently enrolled in the social psychology PhD program at Kent State University.
Jaime Shields served as a research coordinator in the Alcohol Research Lab for two years on the Friend Group Study (Spring 2023-Spring 2025). She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Interdisciplinary Psychology in Spring of 2023. Jaime is currently pursuing industrial psychology in Chicago.
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Annie Byram served as an honors student and undergraduate lab manager, assisting with the Alcohol Friend Group Study for one year (2024-2025). She received her bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2025. She is now a post-bacc research coordinator at the Eating Anxiety Treatment Laboratory and Clinic at the University of Louisville.
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Jay Park received his B.S. in psychology from the Univerity of Utah and an M.S. in Clilical-Community Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Spring 2025. Jay is currently enrolled in the clinical psychology PhD program at the University of Missouri.
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Walter Venerable received his PhD in Psychology from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2025. His research interests include factors predicting the onset and development of alcohol use disorders. Through his research and clinical work, he is dedicated to helping people struggling with alcohol to find a new way of living. He is currently a staff psychologist at the Addiction Recovery Treatment clinic at the Sacramento VA.
Yujung Son served as an honors student and undergraduate lab manager assisting on the Alcohol Friend Group Study for one year (2023-2024). She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Psychology May 2024. She is now a post-bacc research coordinator at the Behavioral Health Research Lab at Carnegie Mellon University.
Rosalie Ruhlmann served as a research coordinator in the Alcohol Research Lab for two years on the Transdermal Biosensor Study (Fall 2022-Fall 2024). She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Interdisciplinary Psychology, before which she was a post-bacc research assistant at a developmental stress psychology lab. Rosalie is currently enrolled in the clinical psychology PhD program at Boston University.
Hieu Nguyen received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Clinical/Community Psychology. He was in the lab through his undergraduate career and served as a post bacc research coordinator on the transdermal biosensor study from Spring 2023 to Spring 2024. He is now a doctoral student in community psychology and DePaul University.
Anna Garrison received her B.A. in Psychology and Theater from Oberlin College. She served as a post-bacc research coordinator on the Alcohol Friend Group Study for two years (Fall 2021-Fall 2023). Anna is currently getting her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.
James Morris received his B.S. in Criminology and Psychology from Florida State University. James was a research coordinator on the Alcohol Friend Group Study for two years (Fall 2021-Fall 2023). He is currently getting his master's degree in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.
Laura Gurrieri received her B.S in Psychology from Truman State University in the Spring of 2020. She was a research coordinator in the Alcohol Research Lab two non-consecutive years (Summer 2020-Spring 2021, Summer 2022-Spring 2023), between which she was a research coordinator at Georgia State University. Laura is currently getting her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Talia Ariss received her B.A. in psychology from the American University of Beirut and an MA in Psychology in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Talia was a student in the Alcohol Research Lab prior to completing her PhD in clinical psychology in 2023. Her research interests focused on investigating the interplay between one’s emotions, cognition, and social interactions as they relate to substance misuse. Specifically, she researched factors that increase one’s likelihood of developing of a substance use disorder. Talia is now a Community Implementation Manager at the Foundation for Change.
Dani Kang received her B.S. and M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dani was a graduate student in the Alcohol Research Lab before she completed her PhD in clinical psychology in 2023. Dani studied the socio-contextual and emotional factors that might contribute to understanding the underlying mechanisms of AUD development. Additionally, she integrated electroencephalogram techniques into the lab’s alcohol administration paradigm to investigate the effects of alcohol on individuals’ cognitive processing of social contexts. Dani is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
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Rashmi Ghonasgi was an honors student and undergraduate lab manager in the Alcohol Research Lab for one year (2021-2022). She received her B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2022. She is currently a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at University of Central Florida.
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Liz Garrity was a research coordinator in the Alcohol Research Lab for one year (Fall 2021-Spring 2022). She received her B.S. in Psychology and English at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She earned her masters degree in psychology at DePaul University.
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Coco Yu was an honors student in the Alcohol Research Lab for two and a half years (2018-2021). She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a concentration in Clinical/Community Psychology and a minor in Business from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021. Coco is currently enrolled in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
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Zoe Lee was an honors student and undergraduate lab manager in the Alcohol Research Lab for two years (2018-2020). She received her B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2020. Zoe is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology and Fordham University.
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Sara Mei was an honors student in the Alcohol Research Lab for two years (2018-2020). She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology with a clinical concentration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2020. She is currently a doctoral student in counseling psychology at Colorado State.
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Brynne Velia received her B.S. in Psychology from Stony Brook University in 2017, and was a post-bacc in the Alcohol Research Lab for three years (2017 to 2020). She has her masters degree in clinical psychology from Georgia State University.
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Daniel Garcy was an undergraduate student and then a project manager in the Alcohol Research Lab for three years (2015-2018). He received his BS in Psychology with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2017. He is currently a doctoral student in behavioral neuroscience at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.
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Kaleigh Wilkins was an honors student and undergraduate lab manager in the Alcohol Research Lab for three years (2016-2018). She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017. Kaleigh is now a post-doctoral fellow in the child trauma program at the University of Chicago.
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Konrad Bresin was a graduate student in the Alcohol Research Lab for three years (2015 to 2018). He received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018. Konrad is currently an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Louisville.