PMC Neuropsychology practicum students (from left): Shalom Shapiro, Psy.D., Kara Rudisill, MS, Emma Rhodes, MS, and Kayci Vickers, MS.
Shalom Shapiro, Psy.D., completed his pre-doctoral internship at the Penn Memory Center in June and received his doctoral degree from Widener University in Clinical Psychology.Throughout this past year, Dr. Shapiro performed neuropsychological assessments with clinical and research patients at PMC and co-facilitated groups in Cognitive Fitness Program. Shalom is interested in the relationship between personality and neuropsychological functioning, as well as in the integration of neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapy.
Kara Rudisill, MS completed her year-long practicum training at PMC in June. She also performed neuropsychological assessments with clinical and research patients under the supervision of Dr. Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, Ph.D. Kara is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). Prior to PMC, Kara completed neuropsychological practicum placements at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Center for Brief Therapy at PCOM. She will be moving on to expand her training in psychotherapy and pediatric neuropsychology next year.
Kayci Vickers, MS and Emma Rhodes, MA recently completed their year-long advanced neuropsychology practicum, which included conducting comprehensive neuropsychological exams and co-facilitating Cognitive Fitness groups.
Emma, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, specializing in neuropsychology at Temple University, will be remaining at PMC through the summer. Emma earned an MA in counseling psychology from Northwestern University. Her research interests include the influence of sociocultural and health factors on cognitive aging, as well as executive dysfunction in older adults.
Kayci will return in the fall to continue to support neuropsychological testing services in the PMC. She is a doctoral student at Drexel University studying clinical psychology, with a focus in neuropsychology. Her research has focused on consistency in decision making in adult populations and rehabilitation techniques to regain cognitive functioning after brain injury. Kayci earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology from Drexel University and her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience at the University of Kansas.
In addition to her clinical work, Kayci also prepared and submitted a manuscript using ADCC cohort data and Emma will begin data collection for her dissertation project in the coming months.In the future, she hopes to continue this line of research with the goal of improving rehabilitation outcomes and treatment recommendations for individuals experiencing cognitive decline.
Dr. Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, Ph.D., on the accomplishments of PMC’s four neuropsychology students: “Shalom, Kara, Kayci and Emma were a hard-working, flexible and innovative team. We thank them for their dedication to the PMC and their compassionate care of our patients.”