Southern Miss Psychology

09/28/2026

The 77th Annual Mississippi Psychological Association's Convention took place from 9/23 - 9/25 in Biloxi, MS, and USM's School of Psychology students, staff, and faculty left their imprint all over the program.

Specifically, USM students took part in the Student Poster Sessions and the Student Data Blitz, and received awards for their hard work. USM's award winners are as follows:

Student Poster Session:

🥈2nd Place - Sonal Johal (Clinical Ph.D.): Mentored by Megan Renna and Stephanie Smith. "Diet and Its Ties to Depression and Inflammation in Breast Cancer Survivors"

🥉3rd Place - Jesi Pigg (Experimental Ph.D.): Mentored by Kenji Noguchi. Undergraduate student co-presenters include Will Alsobrook, Lily McDaniel & Brandon Langley.
"Analyzing the Effect of Stress-Induction and Meditation on Test Anxiety"

Student Data Blitz:

🥈2nd Place - Rachel Kaplan (Clinical Ph.D.): Mentored by Stephanie Smith. "The Moderating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship between Irritability and Aggressive Behaviors in a Sample of College Students"

🥉3rd Place - Karoline Calongne (Clinical Ph.D.): Mentored by Sara Jordan. "Understanding Predictors of Academic Accommodation Use in College Students with ADHD"

06/29/2026

06/29/2026

The USM Center for Behavioral Health fills a critical need in the community and provides clinical training that will transform the students' lives and the clients they serve. We are so proud to see Dr. McRaney's dedication and passion for service lead to changed lives in Hattiesburg and Mississippi as a whole.

06/10/2026

100% of our psychology students applying for pre-doctoral internships were successfully matched with a site! 🎉👏

These 16 Golden Eagles matched among the 4,358 students competing nationally for placements. After five years at Southern Miss, these internships are the last step until they become full blown psychologists.

We are so proud of the students and faculty in our accredited Clinical Psychology PhD, Counseling Psychology and USM School Psychology programs!

Learn more: usm.edu/news/2026/releases/match-day.php

05/13/2026

Congrats to Saba Shahid on receiving the Graduate Student Research Award from the Office of the Vice President for Research!

As part of the University Research Innovation Awards, this faculty-nominated recognition celebrates a full-time graduate student who has demonstrated the highest standards of research or creative activity.

Saba is an experimental psychology Ph.D. candidate whose research stands out for integrating moral psychology with politically and socially consequential reproductive health issues.

05/06/2026

Congrats to Neonta Mahjabin, Outstanding Junior for the School of Psychology! 🎉👏🦅

Neonta is from Khulna, Bangladesh, and she is passionate about research, especially related to experimental psychology. Connecting theory with practice to tackle real-world challenges excites her and drives her involvement with the School of Psychology’s many active research opportunities.

Her position as an undergraduate assistant researcher in the Experimental Health Psychology Lab has involved over 13 projects exploring coping mechanisms, impostor syndrome and the relationship between healthcare satisfaction and mental health. She has presented her work at several conferences, including the Health Disparities Conference at Xavier University of Louisiana, Mississippi Academy of Sciences, annual meeting of The Southeastern Psychological Association, and the USM Undergraduate Symposium on Research and Creative Activity.

The strong knowledge of developmental psychology that she has gained at Southern Miss enabled her to secure an internship with the Autism Society of North Carolina earlier this year. Based on her dedication and performance, she has been invited to return as a summer intern as well.

Neonta has served as a learning assistant for Introductory Statistics in the Behavioral Sciences (PSY 360); an international student ambassador for USM International Admissions; president of the USM F.L.I.G.H.T Ambassadors; community service coordinator for USM’s Psychology Club; a special delegate for the Rotary Club of Hattiesburg, and a volunteer for i Friends - Hattiesburg, MS.

05/05/2026

Amazing work Karoline!

Congratulation to Karoline Calongne on successfully proposing her master’s thesis project today!

05/04/2026

Congrats to Saba Shahid, recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Research Award for the School of Psychology! 🎉👏🦅

Saba is an Experimental Psychology USM Ph.D. candidate from Pakistan. She is passionate about applying research to real-world problems and advancing psychological science.

Her research stands out for integrating moral psychology with politically and socially consequential reproductive health issues, supported by both a competitive Proposal Project Award and a Dissertation Completion Grant from The University of Southern Mississippi Graduate School. In parallel, Saba’s cross-national research on period poverty (U.S., Pakistan and India) has received the Peggy Jean Connor Competition Award at USM and moved beyond academia through collaboration with the Alliance For Period Supplies, including a national webinar and invited policy-focused campus talk.

Outside of her studies and research, Saba is very involved at the University, including participation and leadership in the Center for Women & Leadership Student Advisory Council, Center for Student Success, Pakistani Student Organization, Muslim Student Association, Graduate Students of Color Alliance - Usm Gsoca, Association for Psychological Science Student Caucus, and The Southeastern Psychological Association Annual Conference.

Saba’s research and campus engagement contributed to her selection as a recipient of the PEO International Peace Scholarship, which supports international women pursuing graduate education in North America to foster global peace through education.

After graduation this spring, Saba’s goal is to pursue a career in academia as a professor, advancing research on women’s health, reproductive decision-making and gender equity.

05/04/2026

Congrats to Ean Fisher, Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award recipient for the School of Psychology! 🎉👏🦅

Ean transferred to Southern Miss from Meridian Community College to major in psychology and study in the Southern Miss Honors College.

He is a member of Psi Chi honor society and a research assistant for the Perception Action Cognition Lab and the Memory Attentional Control and Aging Lab in the School of Psychology. His research interests primarily involve perception and action, particularly haptic and vision perception, but he is also interested in memory, attentional control and neuroscience.

Ean’s honors thesis investigates the effects of how depth and distance influence the perception of gap crossing within virtual reality. For this research, he was awarded an Eagle SPUR Grant from the Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research and placed second in the human physiology category for the USM Undergraduate Symposium on Research and Creative Activity. He looks forward to presenting this research again soon at the 2026 International Conference on Perception and Action.

In his free time, Ean enjoys traveling, reading, listening to music, video games and spending time with friends and family. After graduation this spring, Ean plans to pursue graduate training in experimental psychology and aspires to become a cognitive psychology researcher and professor.

05/04/2026

Congrats to Paris Labadie, Outstanding Senior for the School of Psychology! 🎉👏🦅

Paris is a psychology major from New Orleans, La. She is also minoring in criminal justice and child advocacy studies (CAST) at USM.

She serves as a psychology ambassador for the school and a research assistant for the Forensic and Correctional Team (FACT) and Child Routines and Behaviors Labs. Paris enjoys researching topics such as juvenile justice, forensic work and adolescent externalizing behaviors. She recently completed her Southern Miss Honors College thesis on externalizing behaviors in justice-involved youth in adolescent boot camps. Additionally, she conducts in-person SONA studies on college student aggression.

Paris is a member of Pi Beta Phi at Southern Miss, vice president of Psi Chi honor society, a student ambassador with Southern Miss Greek Seekers, and a member of Order of Omega leadership honor society.

After graduation this spring, she plans to enroll in the MSW program at Southern Miss to pursue forensic social work and child advocacy.