MCPER congratulates Kristina Metz, a researcher with the Texas Center for Learning Disabilities and Middle School Matters Institute, for successfully defending her dissertation: “The Role of Family Functioning, Family Messages, and Child Cognitions in the Development and Maintenance of Depression.” Metz next will begin a psychology internship at La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago, which specializes in treating children with chronic illnesses, with developmental disabilities, or who have been abused.
Metz, a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology with a concentration in school psychology, earned her bachelor of arts degree in child development at Vanderbilt University. She went on to conduct research on early intervention programs at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. Her research interests include school-based early intervention programs, family-school connections, and international education development.