Our Team

Race and Intergroup Dynamics Lab

Race and Intergroup Dynamics Lab

Kira H. Banks, Ph.D.

Dr. Kira Hudson Banks is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Saint Louis University, an APA-accredited Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Her research examines the experience of discrimination, its impact on mental health and intergroup relations. She has published in American Psychological Association journals such as American Psychologist, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, and The Harvard Business Review and popular media outlets such as Huffington Post and The Atlantic. As a consultant, she has worked with schools, communities, institutions of higher education and corporations to improve diversity and inclusion efforts and engage people in productive dialogue and action. She served as a racial equity consultant for the Ferguson Commission and has continued as the Racial Equity Catalyst for Forward Through Ferguson. She received her BA from Mount Holyoke College, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
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Our Team

Michaela Jones, B.S.

Michaela is a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Saint Louis University. Her research focuses on mental health stigma in the Black community and among communities of color more broadly. She is particularly interested in increasing engagement with mental health services...
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Anjum Umrani (she/her)

Anjum Umrani (she/her) is a 4th year doctoral candidate in the Race and Intergroup Dynamics lab at Saint Louis University. Anjum's research interests primarily focus on identifying interventions that can be implemented early in development to prevent youth of color...
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Olivia M. Cruz-Oyola

Olivia M. Cruz Oyola (She/Her/Hers) is a first-year clinical student who earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Louis University in 2023. Olivia’s broad clinical and research interests are in community-based healing and trauma prevention in adolescents of color....
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Kaevyn Maple, M.S.

Kaevyn is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program at Saint Louis University. She has also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Global studies at Texas Tech University and a Master of Science in clinical psychology at...
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Onyinyechi Anukem

She is a graduate of the clinical psychology program at Saint Louis University. She earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. She completed an APPIC accredited pre-doctoral internship at the University of...
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Jasmine Desdune, PhD

Dr. Desdune received her PhD in clinical psychology from Saint Louis University in 2022. Her research interests concern colorism and skin bleaching, especially in the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. She currently lives and works in Manchester, England for the National Health Service...
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Kyara A. Green, PhD

Dr. Kyara Green is an early career psychologist at the Hampton VA Medical Center. She recently completed her graduate studies at Saint Louis University earning her Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology. In terms of research, Dr. Green focused her...
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Bryce K Davis, Ph.D.

Bryce K. Davis is a pre-doctoral intern in Clinical Psychology at the University of Nevada - Reno, Counseling Services. In his pre-doctoral internship, Bryce has completed an emphasis in multicultural counseling and outreach. He is currently completing an emphasis in...
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Theodore Triston Ivory (He/Him/His)

Theodore Triston Ivory is an undergraduate student at Saint Louis University with a double major in Psychology (BA) & African American Studies. Triston’s research interests currently focus on Black men’s mental health & figuring out the best ways to care...
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Nylah McLarren, B.A. (She/Her)

Nylah McLarren is a recent graduate of University of Missouri (2024) graduating with her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. Nylah is dedicated to making a lasting impact not just in her own community, but...
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L Mai (She/They)

L Mai is an undergraduate student at Saint Louis University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and minoring in Political Science. Their research interests surround topics of race, generational trauma, culture and family dynamics, impacts of genocide, and discrimination....
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